Adriane Fang        Photo by Stan Barouh

I have asked this question throughout the year as artists write profiles for the project. Today, you can read responses from Cynthia Oliver, Sarah Wilbur, and Adriane Fang.

From Cynthia Oliver (Urbana, IL):

Flexibility and sharpness – sure, in relation to what our bodies can do, but even more importantly in your life practice. As human beings. Critical thinking. Fearlessness about so many things. And a willingness to speak back to power. Change the world. But not to attempt doing so without looking at ourselves first.

From Sarah Wilbur (Los Angeles, CA):

Technical skills in modern dance are multiple and something that all aspiring professionals need to practice on the daily. For me, what’s equally important is that aspiring performers embrace the cultural and political history of the techniques that they study to deepen their personal belonging to the influences and values driving these forms that we reproduce and work so hard to master. I think that the difference between a technician and a dancer rests on the latter’s awareness of the historical ground upon which their work stands. Of course, if we’re talking about career sustainability in dance (modern dance?), then this entire comment is irrelevant. Not only are there minimal concert performance careers out there in the 21^st century economy, but also modern dance owns painfully little real estate in US arts philanthropic circles, at present. If dancers enjoy modern dance but want to eat, most should hone more monetizeable skills, including teaching and self-management, however these practices make the most sense to an artist based on their personal ideology. At the risk of stating what has been historically obvious to anyone working in the field for a decade or more…there are painfully few wages to be earned for modern dance performers in the US. I’m willing to debate this (email me at s.wilbur@ucla.edu), but really our time might be better spent discussing the many ways that dance attaches itself to non-dance institutional values for recognition. Dance in health care may seem tangential to some, but I often cite arts-based health interventions in the present economy as a sleeper patron of dance education and performance. Artists no longer need to own degrees in dance therapy to find opportunities in our over burdened health care system; they just need to choose to belong to those contexts, and to do their homework to know what questions to bring to the table, if this suits them.

From Adriane Fang (Silver Spring, MD):

Well, I think the qualities needed right now are the same as always – resilience and resourcefulness. Modern dance has never been a form that has widespread, popular support. Dancers need to innovate and create the situation they want to be in.

I think the smart thing to do is to develop marketable workplace skills – right now skills such as web programming and personal training seem to be useful. Since none of us got into this profession for the big bucks, paying rent and supporting our modern dance habit are of vital concern.

I also believe the answer depends on what a person’s criteria for success as a modern dancer is – is it only about having a full-time dedicated company job? That seems to be a narrow visualization of the term. There aren’t many company jobs of that sort available, but that’s nothing new; there were always more dancers than jobs. I think people need to broaden the criteria which allows one to identify themselves as a modern dancer. 

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You can also read more responses to this question in an August 2015 post with artists Keith Johnson, Onye Ozuzu, and Linda C. Smith. Click here.

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