CTFD Coverage in the Times

This weekend the NY Times came out with an article about CTFD, its mission, its clients– Tentative Steps Into A Life After Dance.  The article lands on the concept that for former dancers there is little chance of finding a future in anything as fulfilling as dance.  I think that for many dancers this is true; but, I’m finding that for as many others, it’s not quite the case. 

My impression after talking with the counselors and administrators at CTFD was that transition is an unequivocal crisis in any dancer’s life.  It is inevitable and nonetheless dreaded, and invariably difficult.  But my meetings with transitioned dancers– both of recent and not-so-recent transitions– has uncovered another school of thought about the transition process.

I spoke today, for example, with Karin Baker, a former tap dancer who performed in several Broadway shows and national tours.  Baker’s transition out of performance wasn’t prompted by age or injury in any concrete way; at a certain point in her career, and at age 30, she simply decided she was ready– even eager– to try something else.  In Baker’s case the something else was assisting choreographers, then teaching, then directing, then producing, and, eventually, writing her own musical (titled “Melody Lingers On,” about the life of Irving Berlin).  According to Baker, having her musical published was “the most exciting thing that’s ever happened in my life,” best Broadway performances included. 

There’s also Gregory Nubin, who decided that after he turned 30 he would leave the Mark Morris Dance Company after dancing there for 9 years.  Nubin now teaches at Mark Morris and also at the 92nd St. Y, and says he gets enough of the elements of performance in teaching.  He’ll never not be involved in dance, he says, but he’s relieved, at the moment, to be off-stage. 

These dancers can’t be prodded toward emotional breakdown or revelation; they miss the thrill of performance, but they take in stride the aging process and the fact that it limits their performance capability.  They find joy in other things.  Granted, both of the above examples remain in the dance community; Baker goes as far as to suggest that all dancers should.  Nonetheless they provide an example; as Baker says, transition is just another element of the so-called Dancer’s Life, just another difficulty that dancers are trained to take in stride.

Addendum 11/16: Check out these responses to the NY Times piece, as posted by dancers and dance enthusiasts at massive blogsite Ballet Talk.  More surprising demonstrations of moderation od emotion re. transitions out of dance and into advanced education and other careers.