Freelance dancer. Most young dancin’ boys don’t think about the freelance life as a career option. However, for some, this is a choice. For others it’s a necessity—at least part of the year. In the United States, the dance season is short. Most dancers must freelance during the eight to fourteen weeks the company is […]
How to Become a Good Partner (from a Ballerina’s Perspective)
Partnering. It’s a huge part of a male dancer’s job. For some, partnering feels difficult and they hate it. For others, it’s comes naturally, and they love it. No matter where you or your son fall on this spectrum, it’s necessary to become a good partner to succeed in a dance career. Male dancers who […]
A Young Male Ballet Dancer’s Perspective on Performing Manon
This past November 2015, my son, Julian Amir Lacey, premiered in the lead role of the three-part ballet, Manon, produced by SemperOper Ballett in Dresden, Germany. This famous ballet was choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, and the MacMillan Foundation chose Julian to perform the principle part in two of six performances. Julian danced the role of […]
Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 3)
This is the third and final part of my interview with Wilhelm Burmann, who many professional and aspiring professional dancers take class from daily at Steps on Broadway in New York City. Willy has trained the best of the best in the New York dance community. From corps members to principles and soloists to Broadway […]
Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 2)
It’s been over a month since I posted Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 1)—or anything else here on this blog. I apologize. My life has been crazy. You’d think it would be calm and simple without my dancin’ boy at home. Life works in mysterious ways, and just as […]
Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 1)
The day that Julian walked into Wilhelm Burmann’s advanced professional ballet class at Steps on Broadway in New York City he became one of the many dancers whose careers have been touched by this ballet teacher. In fact, on that morning, like most others at Steps, Willy’s class was filled with soloists, principles and corps […]
Ailey’s Kirven James Boyd on Being a Professional Dancer
Almost two months ago, Alvin Ailey contacted me and asked me if I’d like to run a piece on one of their dancers. Of course, I said “yes.” They’d already featured this particular dancer, Kirven James Boyd, in an article on their website and wanted me to use this text; however, I requested that Kirven […]
Septime Webre of the Washington Ballet on Boys in Ballet
A little over a month ago I was pleasantly surprised to receive a video from Jacques Berlinerblau in which he interviewed Septime Webre of the Washington Ballet. If you recall, I mentioned Berlinerblau in this post when he wrote a post at The Chronicle called “My 6-Year-Old Son Takes Ballet—You Got a F#$%^$#@ Problem With […]
Rupert Pennefather on Being a Dancer
I do have news of Julian and how he is doing at SAB, but I thought I’d change things up a bit today. While I was in New York City I was contacted by email and offered the chance to air an “exclusive” video of Royal Ballet principle Rupert Pennefather speaking about some of the […]
Jazz Dance Pro Sue Samuels on Raising a Male Dancer
Almost three years ago I had the pleasure or meeting Sue Samuels, a legend in the jazz dance world and mother of Emmy award-winning tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith. She and I had connected, if I recall correctly, via Facebook or email, about apartments in New York the first year Julian went to the American […]
Joey Dowling on How to Succeed as a Dancer (Part 4)
After it’s all the training has been completed, one question remains: Will the dancer get a dance job? Will he make it through the audition and into a company or a show? What can a male dancer—or any dancer for that matter—do to increase the odds of becoming a successful professional dancer? And what does […]
Joey Dowling on Dance, Choreography & Transitions (Part 2)
Since many young dancers have dreams of not only becoming professional dancers but also of becoming professional choreographers, I decided to ask Joey Dowling how she transitioned from successful dancer into her career as a successful choreographer. This post includes my questions and her answers. I have to admit that my interest in this topic […]
Joey Dowling on Dance, Choreography & Transitions (Part 1)
I had the pleasure of speaking to Joey Dowling last year when Julian attended the New York City Dance Alliance convention in San Jose. She told me some stories about her transition from dancer to businesswoman that I found quite interesting. Like Joey, as a young teen Julian spends all his time dancing. By the […]