Thank you, @elleusa . Thank you, @rainesford_stauffer (a journalist for the people), thank you to my friends @ingridsilva@gracewhit@xin_ying_dance@dancersandmotherhood , and thank you @adamsklute and @balletwest1 . Most importantly, thank you to my husband, @rexlajos , Love you.
Navigating parenting is difficult. Giving birth to a child and returning to a discipline as hard as professional dance is extremely difficult. It’s not easy to see your future when you are a young dancer, but if I can give any advice to young artist and their families. LEARN EVERYTHING about the company you’re dreaming to join. There is so much more to it than rep and stage time. Job security and your health matters. Read the contracts, support the companies that align with taking care of their dancers. Ballet West has jumped leaps and bounds in the 18 years to support dancing families and in particular their pre and post-natal mothers. It’s unique. It’s special. THANK YOU.
#dancersandmotherhood #balletwest #dance #ballet #artemotionusa #motherhood
Photos by @beaupearsonphotography & @joshuawhitehe11
Adult recreational programs are surging in the dance community, creating a space for this demographic to train seriously—and be taken seriously. A growing number of summer programs, specifically, offer a chance for adult dancers to practice with intensity. And while they may differ from pre-professional summer programs, these intensives are strengthening dance’s future.
Read more (and find a list of intensives to consider) at the link in our bio. 🧡
📸 (1, 2): Class at Hubbard Street’s 2024 DANCE ON! intensive. Photos by David Schultz, Courtesy @hubbardstreet .
📸 (3,4): artÉmotion summer intensive students. Photos by @joshuawhitehe11 , Courtesy @artemotionusa .
📝: @kirouette@lindadenisefisherharrell@allidebona@stepsonbroadway@ananyadancetheatre@northeast.arts@kat_wildishballetworldwide@theladyhoofers #adultballet #adultdance #adultdanceintensive
Descriptions:
1) Dancers taking a dance class in a studio. One dancer scoops her arms across while executing an attitude derrière in plié. Text: How Adult Summer Intensives Give Non-Professional-Track Dancers a Chance to Hone Their Craft
2) Adult dancers taking a contemporary class in a studio. They swing their right leg devant with a flexed foot and their opposite arm forward. Text: “Adult dancers, continuing practitioners, and returning movers all deserve access to rigorous training, inspiration, and community.”
—Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, artistic director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
3) Adult dance students performing on stage. They are placed in a vertical line while executing a pique arabesque. Text: “These are adults who know their bodies and schedules. They don’t need to explain absences or why they aren’t jumping.” —Allison DeBona, founder of adult ballet intensive artÉmotion
4) Adult ballet dancers taking class in a studio. They stand in sous-sus with their arms in 5th position.
5) “What’s valuable about the adult summer intensive is giving dancers permission to reconnect with their artistry and invest in themselves. When we honor that community, they gain the power to define what the experience looks like and how they want to show up within it.” —Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell
11 years ago Rex and I launched our business—and took on two crazy ideas within a week of each other.
1. Producing our first show. #IAmYourFriend
2. Running our very first summer intensive!
I ALWAYS have an “Anything.Is.Possible” attitude. But, what I think people believe is that I’m lofty. What they don’t realize is what I’ve seen come from the ashes—or from nothing.
The #IAmYourFriend was a benefit performance in partnership with Fahodie for Friends and we raised money to fight human trafficking. Lillian Bradley, the founder and SURVIVER herself, showing us what the true meaning of perseverance is. Over the course of every Sunday for 8 months we brought together 50 performers from 13 Salt Lake City professional companies and schools. Presenting works from Classical Ballet to Whacking & Breaking. We saw the power of community and shared passion. We witnessed the possibilities of finding common ground. POWER. We created the venue and made it what we needed it to be. Unique. I could even hold a roll of marley over my shoulder!!! Goals to get back to before we load in 20 tons of sprung floor into St. George this summer! (Yes, we REALLY do, do it all.)
One week later we moved into PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland, OH, our nation’s second largest theater district, and produced our first summer intensive. Relying heavily on the new frontier of social media and the public eye we had caught filming Breaking Pointe, we didn’t have a dime up front to start the process—but rather believed in our mission. Since 2015, our two summer intensive models, now in partnership with Ballet West Academy are two of the most sought after programs in the country. Our Adult Ballet Summer Intensive is world renowned.
I am not writing for anything but to remind ANYONE out there, that if YOU believe something is possible, it will be. Support is always welcome but it’s not always needed—even when you feel alone. If you believe in the mission, your product, you are ethical, honest, things will come together. Trust yourself, TODAY. ❤️
Our families have been the absolute staple—THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
Feeling grateful and ready to take on the world.
CARPE DIEM.
Xoxo- Allison
