San Francisco Bay Area artist Amy Foley

Reggie Wilson (Brooklyn, NY)

Create door #3…then walk thru…

Merge your creative side with your science/nerd side. 

Avoid making decisions at all costs…Nope, do it anyway

YES I CAN! Know if you care about something or not. Trust!

Something can be the right answer at the moment, but not forever…  It’s not the last time you have to decide

It’s not Either/Or but Both/And

Creative People need to be Creative. What are the cultures that foster that?

Define your own road.

From now to 65 is a party.   

Tiffany Mills (Brooklyn, NY)

My 40s is a time to expand. The company is rooting and building higher as we: gain visibility nationally and internationally, increase the size of the company, cultivate new outside collaborators, and grow our overall budget. Now, I am creating layered evening-length works that draw upon collaboration across mediums. We are being presented at larger, more established venues, which are iconic to NYC. Our touring continues to grow nationally, and now internationally.

Amy Foley (San Francisco, CA)

I'll be 42 later this year — so far so good! I have been performing a lot in the last couple years, and I will continue to do so as long as the fates allow. A couple years ago my dear friend Tanya Bello asked me to dance in a piece with her company, project b. I was 39 or 40 and hadn't performed in two or so years. I remember thinking, "This will be either my final performance or the one that pushes me back into this world." For better or worse, it was the latter. Dancing in that show was a visceral reminder of what I treasure about performing — recognizing and experiencing that intangibly creative, bold, adrenaline-fueled part of myself that I do not currently access through any other area of my life. I love the improvisation live performance requires; I love the camaraderie with other dancers it affords; I love that I have to be brave in order to do it. It presents challenges and JOY.

The project-based manner in which I have been working for the last number of years works well for my body and for my family. I do have aches and pains and physical limitations and vain concerns — to be sure. But I try to remember that I had a lot of those in my 20s as well. I am a professional dancer, after all. The aches and pains and concerns about my appearance are not only due to my age.

Last year I decided to apply to graduate school in order to earn my MFA in dance, something I had considered for many years. I went through an involved process to apply to the University of Washington program, and I was thrilled and honored be accepted. Ultimately, however, I did not attend. It was an agonizing decision but one I am at peace with. I think I had to walk all the way to the edge to realize that it was not quite the right time for me. Perhaps it will still happen, who knows?! So. Earlier this year I started to work on forming my own company. I have been creating work for the last handful of years and am ready to gather and cultivate my artistic visions and body of work. Bellwether Dance Company is born. In my 40s — still searching, stumbling, learning, and I hope, growing.

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Dancers Reflecting about Their 40s:

Adriane Fang, Sarah Wilbur, and Dawn Stoppiello

Jennifer Nugent, Carley Conder, Damon Rago, and Rebecca Johnson

Jennifer Salk, Rebecca Lazier, and Kate Weare

Katie Kruger, Annie Rosenthal Parr, Sarah Crowell, and Jeanine Durning

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