Hope Mohr Dance     Photo: Margot Moritz

After 6 wonderful and formative years dancing with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City, Utah, I transitioned from a full-time company setting to a freelance career in 2014. In addition, I started the process of becoming a GYROTONIC® instructor, finishing my certification in 2015. Since relocating to the Bay Area almost exactly one year ago, I have been in a rich period of growth as I navigate this shift as a dancer and teacher. The most appealing aspect of working this way is I get exposure to lots of different processes and environments, and get to work with a wide array of people. The more tedious aspect can be the scheduling and juggling of multiple jobs/projects, and how to find balance in the busy times and sustain yourself and keep momentum in the slow times. Every month and even week can be completely different, below is how the week of September 19th-25th looked for me.

Monday, September 19th

6am Wake up, kind of. I hit snooze twice… By 6:15 I force myself out of bed to get ready for the day, a bit rushed at this point. Intended on walking my dog, instead she gets a quick pee in the backyard. Mondays always seem to jolt me.

7-8:15 Commute from Lake Merritt (Oakland) to the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

My mode of transit into the city varies, depending on the time and traffic status. Today I hop on my bike for a quick ride to the BART station, lock it up there, and then take the train two stops into downtown SF, then catch the bus up to The Seed Center, the GYROTONIC® studio I teach private sessions at.

8:30-10:30 I have 2 clients back to back. I rush out afterwardS to hop on the bus, trying to make it back downtown in time to take class.

11:15-12:30 Ballet.

My dance vitamins I like to call it. Always a humbling experience, but have been appreciating ballet much more these days, especially since relocating to the Bay Area. I really appreciate the somatic approach of many of the teachers here.

12:30-1:30 Walk to BART and head back to Lake Merritt. Ride my bike home. My dog is waiting anxiously for me when I return. She has decided to take mercy on me today and not eat the tennis shoes I left out, even though I shortchanged her on a walk this morning.

2-4 Eat lunch and take Tali (the pooch) out for a hike and ball chase up in the Oakland Hills at Joaquin Miller Park.

4:30-6 Have a mini rehearsal with myself in my mini studio apartment.

On December 1st, World AIDS Day, I will be performing at Long Beach State University in a thirty minute solo – twice over the course of a day – along with 7 other dancers from around the country, a continuous loop spanning 8 hours. The solo was choreographed by Keith Johnson, a professor and mentor of mine, when I joined him at a Djerassi Artist Residency in May 2015. I have been relearning the solo after over a year away from it. Learning off video never seems to get any easier, and it is a physical and nuanced piece. To save on rehearsal space I am trying to get a sketch of some sections here in my apartment, so I can maximize my time in the studio next week.

6-9 Make dinner, do a little self care on the foam roller, and do some planning for teaching tomorrow morning.

9-11 Get lost in a haze of distraction on Instagram, do a little reading, procrastinate some emailing. There’s always tomorrow, right?

Tuesday, September 20

7-9:30am Up and out the door for a walk with Tali around the lake to help me wake up and get moving. Many squirrels are out, which is very enjoyable for Tali. Afterward I make breakfast, and do a little Yoga at home to warm-up for rehearsal.

10-1 Rehearsal at Temescal Arts Center, Oakland, with Risa Jaroslow & Dancers

I just began working with Risa in August, along with two other dancers — Scott Marlowe and Lauren Simpson, and bassist Lisa Mezzacappa. We are working on creating material for an informal showing coming up October 22nd and 23rd at TAC, to share and get feedback for further developing an evening-length work to be performed at the ODC Theatre April 27-30, 2017. I am really enjoying the process, both getting to know Risa, and new dancers, as well as sharing the space with a musician and an instrument with so much character and presence like the bass.

1-2 Grab a quick lunch and drive into the city.

4-5:30 Teach a client at The Seed Center, finish up some notes and prep for some sessions tomorrow morning.

6-7:30 Contemporary class at Lines Dance Center with a fellow dancer and friend Suzette Sagazi. We planned to go together, which is nice to motivate me to get to class even after a long day.

7:30-8:30 Sit in longer than expected traffic back home. Seems anytime is fair game for traffic in this town.

8:30-10 Eat some semblance of a dinner, more like a combination of leftovers, plus a lot of chips and salsa. I tell myself I will eat healthier tomorrow. Get to bed as soon as possible..

Wednesday, September 21

5-6am Wake up and get ready… I have a client at 7am in SF. Who really wants to workout at 7am?! Luckily my dad lives close by and will stop by this morning at some point to take Tali out.

6-6:45am Drive into the city. Traffic is a little lighter this early…

7-10:30 Teach 3 clients at the Seed Center.

Although I have taught dance for many years, teaching GYROTONIC® is still new and challenging for me. Some days I leave feeling excited and fulfilled, and other days insecure of my knowledge, like I have no clue what I am doing.

Clients come and go, and it's hard not to take it personally when they leave, but today, just having someone tell me her body felt great and she loved our session, makes me feel like a million bucks. I will try to hold onto this feeling.

10:30-11:30 Do my own workout at the Seed Center

11:30-12 Drive back home to grab lunch and let Tali out. Only 30 minutes to drive out of the city?! What a dream.

12:45-1 Drive to rehearsal.

1-4pm Rehearsal with Risa Jaroslow at Ellen Webb Studio in Emeryville.

4-7pm Swing by the grocery store after rehearsal for groceries and then take Tali up to the park.

Mid-week I like to go to take the Sunset Trail up at Joaquin Miller Park. It opens out to a view back west over the Bay, and on a clear day you can see the Port of Oakland with all the cranes, the Bay Bridge, and the Golden Gate in the distance. I sit on a bench and look out for a while and try to unwind. Even with all the traffic and high cost of living in the Bay, right now I am reminded of the beauty, sitting among the trees watching the fog roll in.

7-8pm Make a real dinner, much healthier than last night. Cook up some fish, rice and veggies, plus a salad. I make enough to have leftovers for tomorrow.

8-10pm Take some time for the administrative side of my life. EMAILS. Contacting/responding to clients and scheduling for upcoming projects. I have my calendar next to me as I try to figure out the puzzle of balancing teaching, rehearsals, performances, and trying to keep time for myself to take class. Next month around this time I start back with Hope Mohr Dance, as things with Risa Jaroslow/Dancers takes a little break until January of 2017, so I anticipate this scheduling shift, and slot in my private clients around it.

10-11pm Prepping for tomorrow morning’s clients, and fall asleep with my manuals and books and computer shoved to the side of my bed.

Thursday, September 22nd

6-7am Breakfast, shower, take Tali out. Pack up my lunch.

7-8am Carpool with a friend who works in the same neighborhood as The Seed Center. We sit in stop and go traffic most the way into the city.

8:30-9:30 One client at The Seed Center. After my session, I check my email briefly to find I was invited to an audition I applied for a month or so ago. I am excited to be invited, but also start to wonder how I would rearrange my schedule to be available to go, afford the flight there, etc….

10:30-11:45 Ballet at ODC. I duck out before petit allegro. If I’m honest with myself, it may partly be because I suck at petit allegro and just don’t seem to have the motivation this morning to force myself to do it, but today I rationalize that it is necessary for me to have time to eat lunch and have a little break before heading back to the East Bay for rehearsal.

1-4pm Rehearsal with Risa Jaroslow at Ellen Webb again.

4-7pm Head home and take Tali for a walk around the neighborhood. Eat dinner and do more catching up on emails. Still mulling over whether or not to do this audition in a couple weeks…

7-9 Relax and watch some Netflix after remembering that the rehearsal I usually have Thursday evenings with Rogelio Lopez is cancelled tonight. He is working on an evening length piece set to premiere mid March 2017 at Dance Mission in SF.

9:30-10:30 Take an evening stroll with the dog and my neighbor/dear friend/college roommate/fellow dancer, Andrew Merrell. We chat dance, life, upcoming projects, etc. He is now subjected to the rambling of my conflicting thoughts on whether or not to go to this audition.

10:30 My partner, Graham, gets home from work. He works as a firefighter on the Tahoe National Forest 3 hours northeast of the Bay and returns back to Oakland every Thursday evening through Sunday. We catch up on the week for a bit before heading to bed.

Friday, September 23

6:45am Wake up, make coffee and breakfast

7:45-8:30 Drive to Harbor Point Tennis Club in Marin where I am subbing for a fellow GYROTONIC® instructor over the next couple of months, who is also a dancer and gone performing.

8:30-9:30 Workout. I can use the club facilities for free here.

9:30-10:30 Client session

10:30-11 Drive back to East Bay.

12-3 Lunch. More Emails. I sign and send off a contract for a project with Tandy Beal and Company, who I will be beginning rehearsals with for a project in the end of October. I also touch base about dates for a project I will do back in Salt Lake City in December with Charlotte Boye-Christensen, the Artistic Director of NOW-ID.

3-4 Revisit the solo for Keith Johnson’s “Bodies Matter."

5-6pm Andrew comes over to join Graham and I for dinner, and then we head into SF to catch a show and see some of our brilliant friends perform.

8-10pm See Nina Haft’s “King Tide” at the Joe Goode Annex in SF. This was my first time seeing an evening length work of Nina’s. It was beautiful and deeply embodied by the dancers. What a perfect way to spend a Friday evening.

Saturday September 24th

9am-1pm Sleep in. Leisurely wake up and make coffee. We walk to the Farmers Market and get produce for the week, a huge perk of where we live. Come back home and make pancakes.

1:30pm-12am Since this week was a bit lighter dance wise, I make up the income gap with catering here and there. I cater a wedding in the Dogpatch neighborhood of SF. What should take 20min takes 45 min…on a Saturday. Sheesh.

Sunday September 25th

10am-1pm Wake up feeling stiff from racing around catering last night.

Work on getting a bio and headshot off to Keith Johnson for the performance in December. I can’t afford a new a headshot at the moment, and my hair has grown quite a bit since the last ones I’ve taken, so I ask my boyfriend to take one for me next to the coffee shop we’ve been sitting at.

3-7pm Head into the city to go to the Baker Beach with Graham and the dog. Summer weather has finally hit SF, and I want to soak it in. The beach is completely covered with people. Apparently we are not the only ones to have this idea.

7-9pm Make pizza for dinner, plan for classes tomorrow, and book a flight — with trepidation, but also excitement. I email clients who I will have to reschedule to be able to make this audition. You never know if you don’t try. At least I can enjoy the fall colors and visit a few friends while I’m there.

9-10pm Do a little Yoga and some stretching before bed. Trying to calm the mind before a new week begins.

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Related posts:

Artist Profile: Joan Woodbury of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

Artist Profile: Keith Johnson

Artist Profile: Charlotte Boye-Christensen

Artist Profile: Tandy Beal

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