(845) 246-6944
· info@ArtTimesJournal.com
WANNA DANCE!
By
Francine L. Trevens
ART TIMES March 2006
Ever dream of being in show business? Dancer, singer, actor? Think it would be glamorous and fun?
It can be and is...sometimes. When you are dancing. More often, between gigs, however, it
is discouraging, disappointing and disillusioning.
Most performers have to face the reality that they need a second
career. We often hear of
cab drivers, sales clerks and waiters who are also in show business. I’ve known one who sold rare books, and
another who designed clothes.
Of course, a good many become dance teachers. Some become college professors, such as
Charlie Repole. This gives
him the freedom to direct and choreograph summer theatre shows regularly,
as well as work with students eager to learn more about the performing
arts.
The late Jeremiah Sullivan, who appeared on Broadway as Solieri
in AMADEUS, among many other roles, was a much sought after astrologer.
He even had several royal clients.
It was easier juggling that sort of career than a nine-to-five
job. Many other performers do go the daily grind route, with the
understanding that when a role calls, they may go dancing off into the
stage lights for a while.
Because of the acknowledged uncertainty of the life, several
organizations have cropped up to help performers find alternate work. There’s the Actors Work Program division
of the Actor’s Fund and Career Transitions for Dancers – dedicated
to helping former dancers move into a new field, sometime working at both
until the final transition is made.
Vivian Eng spoke to them about possibilities at one time.
They assured her she would find a second career she’d love as much
as dancing, but she still doesn’t believe it. She did manage to get a
bread and butter career, however, through a former dancer friend who became
a supervisor at a small legal firm. The firm often needed outside temps
to proofread. Her friend
helped Vivian by telling her where to take classes, how to work on her
own, and “held my hand” as she learned. That was back in 2001. Ms. Eng feels quite competent now and
often works for that same company as well as several other places as a
legal proofreader.
“You have to be
very careful. One comma out
of place could be a major problem.”
Vivian, who just returned from a tour of THE KING AND I, has
done many productions of that musical. Vivian was raised all over North
America. Her father was a
medical researcher and went where the interesting projects took him. But she’s been a New Yorker for some time
now.
A 5’ 5” dancer, she’s rather tall for an Asian, but too short
for Rockettes and the wrong size for the Asian role in A CHORUS LINE. She feels this has limited
her dancing career somewhat, but she loves dancing as much as ever. She continues taking dance classes, does
shows when she lands a job, and does legal proofreading as well. Vivian Eng has appeared in every production
of THE KING AND I in the past 15 years, according to choreographer Tony
Stevens.
Many dancers find alternate careers for themselves. Thommie
Walsh of A CHORUS LINE renown works in real estate while still directing,
teaching and choreographing when opportunities arise.
“When teaching master classes across the country I always stress
that college is essential and that having a minor is a smart thing to
take on,” Thommie said.
“In A CHORUS LINE. A dancer falls, in agony, and obviously
will never dance again. The
director asks, ‘what would you do if you couldn’t dance anymore?’
“It is something that all artists should not take so lightly,
as I did 32 years ago. Luckily,
I began to choreograph, direct and teach directly out of A CHORUS LINE.”
(Michael Lichtenfeld was one dancer to whom the unthinkable happened,
causing him to switch to choreography when he pulled a hamstring in the
middle of the run of a show.)
“Recently I got my real estate license, hoping to enhance my
financial situation,” Thommie Walsh enthused. “As you know, being an artist is a roller coaster ride. A sale – real estate-- is a lot
more difficult than I had thought, but stimulating to learn a new dance,
if you will.
“Each time I have crossed back into theatre gigs since this
new adventure, I have appreciated the experience so much more. And the real estate adventure? I am really
thrilled that my intellect is capable of other things besides theatre.
Now I am filling my time between theatre gigs and it feels great
not waiting by the phone for Hal Prince to call me.”
Jeanne Pearson, who was in the long-lived off-Broadway hit
THE THREEPENNY OPERA at the then Theatre de Lis, has a good head for figures
and detail. She actually
worked in investment banking for a time, at the World Trade Center. Luckily,
she left that position several years before the 9/11 disaster.
While appearing several times a week with the now defunct Hasselfree
Mysteries in such cabaret style musical shows as The Hollywood Music-Kills, she served
as personal assistant to the well-known Stanislavski expert, Sonia Moore.
Currently, Jeanne is with a party-planning firm where many other performers
are also employed. Her ebullient
personality is a real plus in dealing with corporate executives planning
major fund raising or honorary events. As a hostess, her phenomenal memory
for names is a major plus. Jeanne still auditions, occasionally landing
juicy roles such as Lady Bracknell in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST. In between, she has a stimulating second career.
Michon Peacock, who understudied Chita Rivera in the original
CHICAGO, was doing the revue UPSTAIRS AT O’NEALS when she became pregnant.
She had been working as an administrative assistant, doing bookkeeping
and such to earn additional money while dancing. After her daughter was
born, when time came to return to work, she realized she no longer loved
theatre as she once had. She decided not to return to dancing. Her part time job blossomed, and now she
is Conservatory Director for Cap 21 at NYU. In addition to helping young people get started in their theatre
careers, she and other dance teachers at the University do an annual Faculty
Follies. They did HEY BIG
SPENDER in 2004 and in 2005, CELLBLOCK TANGO. Tony Stevens choreographed both numbers. Michon and her daughter
visited backstage with Chita Rivera and her daughter this winter. It was a personal thing, but “turned into a photo-op!” That’s show biz for you.
Another case in point: A former child dancer who has a thriving
career as massage therapist to fellow performers. Joel Benjamin has been company massage
therapist for fourteen stage shows and five films. His client list includes Rue McClanahan, Tovah Feldshuh, Farah
Fawcett and the late Raoul Julia among a host of other luminaries. But Joel Benjamin remains a dancer at
heart.
Summer of 2005,
a fortuitous circumstance gave him the opportunity possibly to be “standby
to the standby” in HAIRSPRAY. He
worked for months learning and practicing the various routines. The idea was, if he could cut it, and
also cut 50 pounds off his weight, he’d get the contract. He took the chance.
Joel, who has a B.S. in Psychology/Pre-Med from Columbia and
an M.F.A. in Arts Administration from NYU, as well as a massage therapy
degree from the Swedish Institute, was a singer/dancer in seven Broadway
shows while a kid. Joel appeared in Bells
Are Ringing in which he was in the “Hello, Hello There” number
and The Music Man as part of the chorus of eight used throughout
the show. After that, he
was in a series of “flops.” An
Equity member before his age hit double digits, he left the union at thirteen
because High School and college preparation took up his time. Little Joel
Benjamin grew and grew and grew, physically and intellectually.
Despite a pre-med degree at nineteen, he “discovered a renewed
interest in dance and formed my own troupe.” He was Artistic and Managing
Director of the American Chamber Ballet, where he also danced and choreographed.
When that ended in 1978, Joel needed something to pay his rent.
Occasional gigs dancing and choreographing with modern dance and
ballet troupes wouldn’t quite cut it. Massage therapy provided that living.
No one knows more about aching body parts than a dancer, so what
was more natural than following his new career in his old theatrical milieu,
where his magic hands do the professional dancing? Not only did various films such as A LOVE AFFAIR, retain his
services for the next ten years, but also companies such as Millennium
U.N. Plaza Hotel, the Club La Raquette/Parker Meridian Hotel, and various
Broadway stars.
Then small miracle – roles for more than lithe and slim
dancers began opening up. The
role Harvey Fierstein created in HAIRSPRAY, for example. Joel worked one or two days a week learning
the many dance numbers, while continuing his own massage therapy business.
He rehearsed for months without a contract, which might be forthcoming
soon. (It is not unusual for Broadway shows to save money
by not signing the Broadway contract, with its steep health, welfare and
other benefits, in addition to a sizeable salary, until practically curtain
time.) There were various possibilities for using him - in the National
Tour, in the Las Vegas version, as a Broadway understudy. As of this writing, no decision had yet been made.
Dancers don’t choose to dance — dancing chooses them.
Their feet may follow the choreography, but it is their hearts
that are dancing. Let the music begin – the offer
be made – and dancers are more than willing to tap their hearts
out.
Dancing is a labor of love – and if that love is sometimes
unreciprocated – well – we can’t choose whom or what to love,
can we?