Articles from the ‘Professional Dancer’ collection

Observations on the Definition of ‘Professional Dancer’

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT Over New Years, I initiated a series on what professionalism means in dance, since it’s one of those occupations wherein it’s difficult to find 30 to 40 years of continuous salaried work. I have my own wobbly insecurities about my legitimacy as a dance artist, especially since […]

March 5, 2018  |  Read Article

The Attitude of Being a Professional

DELPHINE HSINI MEI is an interdisciplinary artist and performer based in Taipei, Taiwan. She shares her frustration with commonly held assumptions about dancers, and stresses the subjectivity of pursuing an artistic endeavor. Her responses are part of a larger series dissecting what it means to be a professional dancer. To read […]

March 1, 2018  |  Read Article

Professionalism Through a Burlesque Lens

RAVEN GEMINI is a burlesque dancer with Chicago’s Vaudezilla. She shares a peek into the world of burlesque dance and how some of the assumptions often made about professional dance differ in burlesque. Her responses are part of a larger series dissecting what it means to be a professional dancer. To […]

February 26, 2018  |  Read Article

Exploring the Identity of Professional Dancer

KELVIN VU is a freelance dancer in Tel Aviv and former dancer in the Batsheva Youth Ensemble. With experience both dancing in a full-time company and doing project-based work, he has a wide lens on what professionalism in dance can be. His responses are part of a larger series dissecting what […]

February 22, 2018  |  Read Article

Professional is Awake

HOLLY MAIZ is a dancer, mover, dance/movement therapist and improviser in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who practices dance in a deep, integrative way that informs her understanding of professionalism. Her responses below are part of a larger series dissecting what it means to be a professional dancer. To read other perspectives […]

February 19, 2018  |  Read Article