Save some cash...

So in my on-going quest to make the dancer's life a little easier, I thought I would clue you in on a couple "steals" that I think other dancers might want to take advantage of...First of all, we all know that taking class in the city can be on of your biggest expenses. Currently, a single class at Broadway Dance Center is $18 or, translation...three meals. OK, but you have no choice, right? Well yes and no, there really is no good substitute for a damn good ballet class (Nancy Bielski at STEPS, anyone??) and if you want to bone up on a particular style like vogueing or house, then going to a class certainly is worth the green. On the other hand, sometimes you just need to maintain, stretch the muscles, strenthen the upper body, work your releve...and for that my friends, a great Vinyasa yoga class might just do the trick. Take the 6 train to Astor Place or NQRW to 8th street, walk east on St. Marks Place. Here you will find Yoga To The People...I cannot recommend this place enough. It has a totally laid back atmosphere, chill crowd, great music and they don't wimp out on the intensity...YOU WILL SWEAT, I repeat, SWEATING WILL OCCUR. For any of you who have taken my class before, you know that I am extremely pro-sweat, so for me to say this means its really going to kick your bootay. Best of all, the class is donation based, which means you NEVER have a financial excuse for sitting on your butt and doing nothing. When times are good and the check's in the gate, drop an extra ten in the kleenex box(ya, that's their "cash register") and when money is tight, down-dog yourself to St. Marks and be grateful for this amazin resource. Second tipper...I know that I might receive emails and tsk tsk from people for this next one, but I think its very individual and only applies to some people. But the city can be a very dreary place from Oct to May, and it can really start to affect your mood. Coming from California, I grew up going to the beach and the feeling of being in the sun and sand has always picked me up. In addition, if an audition for Capri Sun is casting in Jan, the agency doesnt care if its 13 below, they want you to look like you just drove in from Oahu. So my suggestion for those of you who DO NOT BURN and TAN EASILY...mid-city gym on 42nd street, between 8th and 9th, offers unlimited standing tanning beds for $20 a month. Ya, I know, my jaw dropped when I found this one, unheard of price. And please, for those of you who can't wait to write me about the dangers of UV rays, the research I have done indicates the importance of not burning. Some people can be in a tanning bed for two minutes and come out beet red...for them, its probably a BAD idea. But if you have a little color and brown with ease, a little bit of sunshine can do amazing things for your mood. The last little tip I have is the Russian Turkish Baths on East Tenth, between first and A. This place is $30 for the entire day, and will relax your body in unbelieveable ways, there are saunas, cool pools, Russian furnace, massage, showers, and a cafe. Check it out, your body will thank you. Alright, thats all for now. Peace and Love to you all!!

It's all connected...

While I've known it to be true for a long time, I've recently been reminded of the fact that he NYC dance community is so incredibly interconnected that it's really ignorant to imagine that its just YOU versus the industry. I encounter this mentality on a weekly basis from dancers, who seem to think that the business is biased against them, or harbors a personal vendetta. Unless you have done some serious bridge burning(and I mean SERIOUS), your lack of work probably has more to do with "networking neglect"...I actually ought to coin that phrase!! Your circle of dancer friends and contacts are a far more effective means of finding gigs than any cattle call you'll find on Craig's list or elsewhere. The subscription price to this valuable info, is you being just as vigilant about helping the dancers YOU know get work. The more you help other people survive in the city, the more surprise opportunities will appear at your door. I guess its just the Golden Rule of Showbiz, if you want others to think of you when a gig comes up...well then, you better start doing the same. I know I've harped on this one before, but it comes up frequently in response to a comment I hear from people A LOT. People always say to me, "damn, you know everybody!" Actually, this statement is far from true, and yet, at the same time, it does illustrate an important fact. I do have friends who are amazing breakdancers, classical ballerinas, and crunchy moderns LOL...but I ALSO keep the company of lawyers, artists, actors, producers, casting agents and composers. My point is, I might get a call from my lawyer friend who wants to talk to a producer...and I hook it up. There might be an aspiring director who needs to film breakdancers in a scene...and I can set it up. And etc, etc, etc...but all this would be impossible if I just isolated myself in my own little commercial dance world, and only worried about what auditions I needed to go to, or what gigs I was right for. These things are important, but they don't help you build the kind of connections that can really help propel your career forward...OK, I'm out for now
Peace and Love,
R

Bite The Bullet...Get Flexible

WOW, so as I'm sure y'all have noticed, my entries into the blogosphere have been intermittent to say the least. While this is actually a really good thing(explanation en route), I promise to be more regular and not leave ya hanging! But digress I must...my point is this, sometimes you have to completely let your contingency plan go and trust that you can build a parachute on the way down. The most recent case in point being "mi vida" at the moment. Basically, what I am trying to say, is that the city presents you with strange and perplexing, catch 22 type challenges, the biggest of which maybe how you compromise between the need to survive and the need to create your art. The typical answer is to find a JOB that pays well enough to cover living expenses, and yet, leaves you with enough time to do what you, as an artist, REALLY want to do(need to do, in some cases). But if I am going to keep it real, the type of job I just described is almost a fantasy. The majority of great, well-paying jobs in the city are also some the biggest time commitments, whereas, the most flexible and chill jobs, really don't compensate you adequately to survive...hmmmmmm, so what is the answer? Well, I suppose its going to be different for everyone, but in my experience, sometimes it takes a completely irrational leap of faith to break the cycle of "ball-and-chain" JOB-imprisonment to really make the freelance lifestyle a reality. For a time, when I first moved to NYC, I had a very laid back job at a fitness gym, just to make sure that I would have rent money each month. However, I ended up spending more time there than I was in class, choreographing, etc. In addition, every time an opportunity for an industrial, reel gig, or whatever came up, instead of having the flexibility to jump on those chances, I always had to think about my JOB responsibilities at the gym first. BUT WAIT!! I am thinking to myself, "why am I devoting all my time and energy to the gym, when I am a dancer?!?!?" And that is when I decided that, for better or for worse, I just needed to bite the bullet and free up my time, my schedule, and my life so that I would be available to take advantage of the opportunities coming my way. It also gave me the independence and motivation to start pursuing and CREATING new opportunities for myself. One caveat, I don't recommend this course of action if you are planning to simply wait passively for things to start arriving on your front door. But if you have the drive, the determination, to really make things happen for yourself, you cannot limit yourself to the confines of a weekly schedule in the employee break-room.

Zen Master Mark(Part 2)

whoo hoo, back to my old bloggin' self...actually, I have been working on a couple new posts, but none of them are ready for the blogosphere. I intended for my last blog to be sort of a two parter, with the tax nitty gritty in the first half, and then the more philosophical stuff in the "sequel." So without further adieu, here's PART 2 in all its glory. Doing my taxes this year was a superlative experience, I got a lot more than I had expected. Not only did the refundo kick some serious A$$, but my tax guy turned out to be a really cool dude, a showbiz zen master, if you will. Aside from dolling out precious tax tips and points of interest, he had a few very wise words that I thought were exceptionally applicable to dancers in NYC. Some of what he said was very similar to points I've made here previously, but I really liked his fresh take on it. For one thing, he talked about your headshots and resumes being like seeds, and the more of them that you plant around the city, the more likely that one of them will find the perfect spot and grow into a successful gig. This analogy is so absolutely true, and that's why it pays to have a good quality headshot that is flattering and eye-catching. But that's only half the equation, you are the one who has to get out there and sow all those beautiful seeds. Another thing that the zen master talked about was the importance of maintaining a good reputation in the industry. I could tell you lots of stories about people burning bridges and screwing themselves out of work. I can also tell you lots of stories where I made a decision that seemed stupid at that moment, but turned out to be really fortunate in the long run. Many times, people will throw away a working relationship at a moments notice if they get more money offered somewhere else. Try to work it out so you can do both, if there is a conflict. Otherwise, don't leave anyone hanging, have the courage to make a decision and inform both parties as soon as possible...DON'T WAIT! Lastly, Mark was just really supportive and echoed my sentiments that dancers gotta stick together, it doesn't matter if you are Equity or not, fierce or still in training...doesn't really matter, cuz in the grand scheme of things, we are all in the same boat, working and creating. It is counterproductive TO YOU and YOUR DREAMS to hate on other artists, so avoid it at all costs. Anyway, enough blogging for today, don't worry though, more to come soon!

"What you are thinking, you are becoming."

My Man Mark's Zen Feng Shui and The Art Of Dancer Tax Filing...

Yup, that evil American holiday is upon us again...and I'm not referring to the first couple weeks of bad Idol auditions. Actually, my friends, it's time to file the tax returns and I want to alleviate some of the dread that typically accompanies all those torturous W-2, 1099, IT-2, Copy B, R2d2, and C3PO forms the IRS conjures up. For me, this past year probably won't rank on the Top Ten Years of My Life, (and then again, hindsight tends to reveal the hidden value in lessons learned in tough times) but it certainly wasn't horrible. In any case, I was a little worried that with all the freelance, 1099 work that I had done, I might actually end up in the negative red column and have to send a check in. Let's just say its a GOOD THING I didn't try to do my own taxes, because I simply was not AWARE and CONSCIOUS of what my situation was. First of all, thank god for VITA, which is the Equity Volunteer Income Tax Service, I know that some people knock these guys and swear by Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block...but I give those naysayers a big WHATEV, and say kudos to VITA. My man this year was named Mark, and I title him "my man" in the most street cred-respectable way possible because, my man Mark KNOWS what he's talkin' about. First of all, he clued me in on a cool little thing called the QPA...something EVERY NYC dancer needs to be aware of. Here's what he told me, basically QPA (or Qualified Performing Aritist) is a special designation, that if you meet the requirements(ie struggling your ass off) can save you a ton of money. Actually, the requirements that you need to meet are pretty specific, but I have a hunch that a lot of young, NYC dancers probably fall into this category. Most importantly is the magic number $16,000: you HAVE to be under this amount for your annual income. Secondly, you need to have had TWO, theatrical art related employers where you made more than $250. Those are the two requirements that you have to meet, and if you do, we'll talk about the prize you get in a second. But lets just break those two qualifications down. First, the $16,000 is pretty easy to figure out, either you made more than that or less than that. But the two employers thing is a little tricky, basically they MUST be W2 jobs(not 1099 freelance gigs), and you have to have made more than $250 at each of them. My man Mark told me that every year he gets actors and models who come in with a stack of theatrical related 1099s and NONE of them count towards your QPA status...which sucks, because here is the juicy part. Normally, people can either add up all their write-off itemized deductions for the year(dance classes, books, movies, etc) OR they can take the standard IRS deduction(this year it was $5353 or something like that), whichever is more. BUT if you are a QPA, you can deduct ALL your itemized performer-related deductions, ON TOP of the standard IRS deduction. So lets say you made $15000 for the year, which is not unheard of for a lot of struggling artists. But you had $6000 in itemized write-offs, PLUS the $5353 freebie from the good old GuvMent...add those together, and you "actually" made $3647(and your tax on this amount will be A LOT less than on $15,000, in other words you might end up getting all your money back). But you have to be sure that you have those two, art-related, over $250, W2 employers in your stack of forms. Anyway, hope this helps, whether you qualify for it this year or not, its still important to be aware of these types of things!

Eight Million People...and One Lonely, Depressed NYC Dancer

Yes...its true, NYC is a fun, amazing, energetic and vibrant city. In many ways, it is the cultural and artistic epicenter of the world. You would think that with all the opportunities that the city has to offer, dancers would always have something on their plates to keep them occupied and busy. But here's the reality...unless you are being pro-active, seeking out these opportunities and experiences, getting your face out there at auditions, going to class, "the city" doesn't care whether you leave your apartment, get out of bed, or quit and move back home. NYC isn't going to come to your door and ask you if everything is going OK, how it can help you acheive your dancer dreams, or how it can make things easier for you. Lets just say that when it comes to dancers, NYC doesn't have the best customer service reputation. But it's the biggest love-hate relationship you will ever face. I can't tell you how many times I have dragged my tired feet/body/mind home and felt like NYC just chewed me up and spit me out...and then you get up and do it all over again the next day. Under these circumstances, it is easy to see why lots of dancers would rather just curl up under the covers and stay in bed all day. Donald Trump said, "Going through tough times is a wonderful thing, and everyone should try it. Once." What's interesting about this, is that he doesn't specify how long these "tough times" may be. In other words, you may be struggling in NYC for a year and a half before you book something and things turn out OK. In the meantime, trust me when I say you will have learned such valuable lessons about yourself, others, and life in general. These are lessons that money CANNOT BUY. And as hard as it is to see the "value" in being broke and having nothing but hope and dreams keeping you afloat, in the end, all the deposits you have made into the investment of your life will pay off. And don't worry, these are the rules of life, which apply to everyone, no one is exempt. The most you can do, is try to minimize the amount of hardship that you subject yourself to by preparing, making smart decisions before you get to the city, hit the ground running, having realistic expectations as far as the possible timeframe, being very objective about your skill level, staying positive in the thick of it, and refusing to ever throw in the towel and give up. The things I just mentioned are the only areas you have any control over. Anything outside of that is beyond your realm of influence and it makes no sense to stress about it. Keep your head up, cuz no one else is gonna do it for you!!

"This is the blessing of humankind, what separates us from the animals: to dream."
Hugh Hefner

The Low Down On Prod. Cos...

In addition, to helping with the psychological side of the NYC dance scene(keeping yourself positive and optimistic), in this blog, I also want to highlight other avenues that utilize your unique talents as a dancer...preferably ones that involve getting paid!! Unlike other touristy spots(eg Orlando, LA, Las Vegas), there are relatively fewer...how shall I phrase this..."gigs" that look for and employ dancers in NYC. In LA and Orlando, even if you aren't in a Broadway Touring Cast, even Equity members are eligible to work at Theme Parks, Dinner Shows, and atmosphere entertainment. Las Vegas also has many entertainment venues that offer jobs for dancers, even though they aren't considered "high profile." In NYC though, there exists very well paid jobs on Broadway, even fewer off-Bway paying gigs, and more non-paying revues, showcases, dance companies than you could ever dream of. So if your life-long ambition has been to dance purely for the love of it...NYC is the place for you!!!! However, if you actually want to get paid for what you do, well then, you gotta get creative, be persistent, and be willing to think outside the box. So what I'm I saying? I am suggesting that until you get a break and lock your big Broadway star contract, you might consider being the dancing star of...drumroll please...some 13 year old kid's bar mitzvah. OH WAIT, that's not glamorous enough for you...sorry, get used to it. I can count on one hand the number of non-Bway gigs that employ trained dancers, and let me put it this way...while it isn't stripping, good technique isn't their top priority. See, in Vegas or Orlando, there is TONS of work, that mom and dad can actually come and watch you do. So you can be working AS A DANCER in a Disney show, Universal show, shows at Treasure Island hotel, etc. But in NYC, the fluff touristy shows don't really cut it when they are up against Broadway caliber performers and producers. OK, so back to the mitzvah!! What NYC DOES have ample supply of, is events...corporate events, fundraising events, bar mitzvah events, opening gala events, every night there is something going on and frequently the event planners for these events want DANCERS to entertain their guests. Thats where you come in!! It is not an ongoing gig where you show up day after day, until you get bored and audition for something else, but its the way that NYC works. In order to get these gigs, you must hook up with a production company or event planning company. In many cases, the event planner will just sub-contract the production company to provide all the entertainment. One of the biggest production companies in NYC is Chezzam Entertainment, however, there are probably many others. Although, Chezzam is unique in that they provide far more than just entertainment(costumes, decor, music, etc). This is just another option for money if you don't see waiting tables in your future...or want to suppliment your day job. Typically, an event will pay around $150 to $300, depending on the length of the performance, and the amount of rehearsal required. So its not the lotto jackpot, but it definitely makes a difference in the dancer's pocket!