Hillary Kooistra and Kyle Abraham. Photo courtesy of Hillary Kooistra.

Hillary first wrote a piece for Life as a Modern Dancer two years ago; this week, we are excited to share an update about her work with A.I.M. 

Can you talk about your role as General Manager – your responsibilities and weekly tasks?

Many of the tasks I held as Company Manager for A.I.M have carried over to my role as General Manager. I still manage and travel on every company tour, so a bulk of my work is centered around advance communication with presenters, tour itineraries and logistics, and on-site facilitation of the company’s daily schedule of activities. On tour, it is my job to know where all artists are at all times, and I often accompany them to engagement activities, photoshoots, press appearances, or rehearsals. The dancers can come to me with any questions about the tour, venue, or performance, and I will liaise with the presenting organization to get them an answer quickly.

When I am not tour, I spend almost every working day out of our NYC office (when I’m not there, I’m probably at rehearsal meeting with dancers, overseeing a costume fitting, greeting a VIP attending the rehearsal, or anything in between!). A.I.M expanded its administrative staff this year, hiring a part-time Development Director and a part-time Administrative Assistant. These two superhero women are taking on a bunch of work that I had been doing over the past couple of years, and providing much needed support in areas that we had not even touched in the past due to capacity. Lately, I've been delegating and supervising more than I am used to, but I am very, very thankful that they are there!  

Even with the added staff members, there is still plenty of work to do! Some of my daily office tasks include: preparing for upcoming tours, maintaining our company’s media presence and keeping up to date with all our press, proofreading grant applications, and answering general inquiries about the company that come my way. We just completed our second season at the Joyce Theater, so my past few weeks have focused heavily on production, PR, development, and company management matters related specifically to the new works we premiered.

How is the company running now, with Kyle teaching at UCLA as well?

During the portion of the school year when Kyle teaches at UCLA, the company is either on tour (without him) or in rehearsals in New York. For the latter scenario, we have two superstar dancers, Matthew Baker (A.I.M’s Choreographic Associate) and Tamisha Guy (Rehearsal Director), who run rehearsals in his absence. These rehearsals focus on the learning and/or upkeep of A.I.M’s existing repertory, particularly as it needs to be brushed up for tour. The model works well: the dancers get time to revisit upcoming material and re-familiarize themselves with the choreography while Kyle is out of the room. When he does come to NYC and they’ve had a chance to sit properly with the material, they can take full advantage of the notes and tips he has to offer.

Administratively, not much changes when Kyle is in LA. He lets the staff know of his teaching schedule in advance: when he will be on email, when he is only available on phone or text, and when he is not available at all. His current work situation has encouraged our staff to develop a great deal of trust among one another, as we cannot all be in the same room having a face-to-face conversation all the time. He trusts us to make certain decisions and carry out certain tasks without his input, and we know when to bring him into the conversation. We try to meet as a staff (in person or over the phone), at least every two weeks, and can discuss any questions that have piled up over time. The rhythm we have established while Kyle is out west makes communication much easier for us all year round.

Where is A.I.M. based – its offices, where it rehearses? Do you also have flexibility to work from home?

The A.I.M administrative team works out of a cubicle in the New York Live Arts office building, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Live Arts rents cubicles to dance companies, arts non-profits, and independent artists, so we share a coworking space with organizations such as Shen Wei Dance Arts, the New York Neo Futurists, and Arts in Education Roundtable…as well as the entire New York Live Arts staff.

The company is a bit more nomadic in terms of rehearsals; we rent space in studios throughout the city as rehearsal needs come up. Some company favorites include New York City Center, New 42nd Street Studios, Mark Morris Dance Center, and Baryshnikov Arts Center, but we will honestly rehearse wherever we can find space! Kyle recently finished his tenure as a Joyce Resident Commissioned Artist, so we spent most of the rehearsals for our Joyce season in their new studio at Gibney. (Gibney just went through a huge renovation and built six BEAUTIFUL new studios!)

I am very lucky that I do have the flexibility to work from home, but I usually prefer to come into the office. Since our staff has expanded, there are more people for me to interact with when I physically show up for work, and I’ve found that it is far easier for me to communicate with my colleagues face-to-face rather than via email, especially if we are working on a project together. Our Executive Director, Joe Stackell, is the only other full-time employee at A.I.M who comes into the office every day, and he and I have a great rapport. He never fails to make me laugh, so I’m always happy to come into the office and spend my day with him. That said, I do have the flexibility to work from home or remotely if need be. Since our company (including myself) is on the road so much for tour, we are very used to communicating via email/Google chat/phone/text, and I have all the resources I need to work on the go, as well as from an office.

Hillary Kooistra (second from left). Dance/NYC Symposium, courtesy of The Actors Fund.

Which conferences, workshops, publications, and websites do you find most useful and informative for your work?

Gatherings such as the Dance/USA Conference and the Dance/NYC Symposium are fantastic opportunities for dance professionals to come together and network, catch up, and exchange tips for operating arts organizations. I am a member of the Dance/USA Manager’s Council, a network of Managers and Executive Directors for companies across the country that have similar budget sizes to A.I.M, which I can call upon for advice year-round. We have meetings at the APAP and Dance/USA conferences, as well as an ongoing email exchange where people can pose different questions or issues that their companies face and receive advice from trusted colleagues.

I get a lot of information about the dance world from Dance Magazine, both their online and print versions. I’ve really enjoyed reading the dance community’s perspectives on issues of equity and movements such as #MeToo, which DM has been focusing on along with their regular features and stories. I’m also a huge fan of Joan Garry’s blog, which includes tons of advice for Executive Directors and administrators running nonprofits. She has a post titled “Small Nonprofits Are Anything But Small” that I just wanted to underline over and over again! I turn to Movement Research’s Critical Correspondence whenever I want to sink my teeth into really intelligent writing about issues working dance artists/administrators/enthusiasts find important, and the Brooklyn Rail for thoughtful, in depth reviews of NYC dance performances. Since I spend much of my time on the road and booking flights, I also tend to frequent different travel blogs for tips.

What have been some highlights or personal accomplishments in your position over the past few months?

A.I.M’s most recent season at the Joyce Theater was a huge highlight for me. The last time we were at the Joyce was in 2015, when I was brand new to A.I.M and to the professional dance field (I’d been hired almost straight out of college a month and a half earlier, and had only completed two tours with the company prior to this huge NYC season). I had to navigate donor/funder relations, production needs, dancer hospitality, and more along the way, in a fast-paced environment that allowed no space for learning (I owe a lot to some incredible mentors and to the Joyce staff for being so patient with me!). I remember leaving that week hoping that A.I.M would return soon, so I could have a second chance to prove I could handle managing a company at such an important venue.

This time around, I felt a lot more comfortable. We presented a very robust season (two mixed repertory programs that included three world premieres, two company premieres, and work by guest choreographers!), but after two and a half years of touring, two New York seasons, and spending plenty of time around the NYC dance community, I knew how to prepare for the week and how to handle any surprises that came up last minute. I also genuinely had fun! The theater was filled with familiar (and new!) faces every night, and audiences left buzzing after every performance. Everyone was very happy with the run, and there was far less troubleshooting than I anticipated. The week showed me how much I've grown since I was hired as a Company Manager in 2015, and reminded me how much I love this job…and the dance world in general.

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Related posts:

5 Questions with Hillary Kooistra (her first post from 2015)

The Arts Administrator's Alphabet (Hillary was a contributor to it)

Artist Profile: Jeremy jae Neal (of A.I.M.)

My Dance Week: Kayla Farrish (now a company member with A.I.M.)

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