Notions of Power and Success Metrics

Kennedy Ward: Welcome back, this is Ken, your resident dancer and dance administrator with See Chicago Dance. Let's start with some data.

Of all 144 participants surveyed in 2022, only 34% identified with experiencing fulfillment with the current state of their career. Fulfillment being defined as consistent employment as a teacher, being able to create and share work, build community, or still move their body. Now what's interesting is that of that 34%, 18% (just 9 people) identified with earning an income above $20,000+ from dance and dance related work. Meaning what?

Well, two things; first, contentment and fulfillment are not solely defined by salary or income; and let me be clear, this does not conclude that dancers don't need money to be happy. The security of having enough money to live and live comfortably, to be compensated for all the time, energy, and effort that is behind a performance would, in fact, make me and most any other dancer extremely happy. Instead this shows us that dancers are defining fulfillment and success outside of pay, which is controlled by inequity and racism.

Secondly, the traditional image of the Dancer: sustaining yourself with a full time contract from a single, major company, touring constantly and creating constantly is not one that the community is wholly committed to.

So what is the image? And who defines it? Let’s hear from Jonathan.

Jonathan Pacheco: What does it mean to be successful? Does it mean that I made a lot of money in my career? Does it mean that I have a lot of awards, right? I have received this award and that award, or I was listed on this list or this article about me or I was on the cover of this magazine? Is that what succes is?Success being in a company and having a full-time contract? Or is success touring and is it performing in theaters like the Auditorium Theater here in Chicago or touring to Europe or to other countries? So I do deal with what does success mean, particularly for me, as a Spanish dancer. And my opinion is that Spanish dance is not valued here in the United States or even in the Chicago dance community, like other art forms, like ballet, like contemporary dance. So I regularly am having the conversation with myself of what does it mean to be successful as Latino artist doing a culturally specific art form like Spanish dance?

There's classical Spanish dance, there's folklore Spanish dance, there's contemporary Spanish dance, and at the Ensemble Espanol, we do all of that. Unfortunately, there a lack of education, you could say, from an audience perspective. I do mean both from people that are dancers, people that are just dance watchers, people that are dance funders. There is a lack of education when it comes to what it is- what Spanish dance is. And because of the lack of education, I think oftentimes we are not critiqued correctly in writings. What we do is not valued correctly because it is not understood correctly. I read reviews from shows happening in New York and shows happening in LA and in other cities. And unfortunately, it is not always talked about correctly.

I read a review just recently of a show that happened in New York where basically the performer was dragged, you could say, by the critic, and even the review ended saying, New York audiences deserve better flamenco than this. I know the Spanish dancer and I know the type of work they do, and it's not flamenco, it's classical Spanish dance, but because the critic or dance audiences have a limited understanding of what Spanish dance is, unfortunately, that dancer got a review saying, that's not good flamenco.

Kennedy Ward: We can hear from Jonathan that the work of securing a full time contract, a magazine cover, or receiving awards is flattened without critical understanding.

The example here, but is often the case elsewhere, is that a journalist is speaking on behalf of your work and therefore your community. This dynamic, while seemingly inclusive, actually excludes the individual, Jonathan in this case, from being understood and appreciated appropriately. So the validity of having achieved all these things are undermined when your form (and your community) is fundamentally misunderstood.

We’ll be hearing from Lyn and Mad Dog next; Lyn speaking about starting her own dance studio after being disenfranchised within the corporate world and Mad Dog, speaking on his role as a community activist. They both share how their activation within the community counters structures that create powerlessness.

Lyn Cole: The place that I was at changed from something that was a cradle into a jail cell. And so I started going to work wearing what I termed as war paint. And what it was, it was glitter on my face, but it was in a specific location. It was across my cheeks. And that to me was war paint, and it was my way of getting through the day. I kept hearing people say, “I work at a corporation,” and I kept hearing people say, “This is my job.” I kept thinking, “Well, I didn't sign on for a corporation, I signed on for a community", and "I didn't sign on for a job, I signed on for a place that was supportive to me and everybody around.” And so if I stay, it will suck the life out of me. And I also got really sick and ended up in the hospital, and it was because of the stress that I was feeling and I was like, I'll be dead.

Just because I'm little doesn't make me less powerful than the big companies. It actually makes me more powerful than the big companies because I personally can touch and help change the world of people that come to me and that I teach because I don't just teach dance. I teach how to have respect for your body, how to have respect for other people. I teach body mechanics so that you know where your body is as opposed to flailing in the world. I teach whatever life lessons because I'm going to be 60 this year, so I can teach life lessons that I have to my teenagers and my young students and even my adults because I have different experiences than they. I also teach history and I impart that to my students because if we know the past, then we know the future. And those things are hard to get when you're at a corporation, a big studio, because their objectives are usually not the same.

Mad Dog: They're not going to do the research and connect it to the economical struggles for Chicago footwork/Juke community. But I can't do that if I'm not at the table. I knew a few things was going to happen. One, I'm going to be publicized as an activist or organizer, a person that uses footwork as a tool to address social economical issues, I'm also going to get strong mentorship. I knew people who I felt were very understanding and had to have their ears to the ground when it comes to Chicago dance movements. And I felt like they will be key folks who will help me navigate my scope of work to get it at where it's at today.

And so what makes me successful is the people in my community who gets the benefit of my success. Two years ago I started the Juke for Liberation Project, where I hired six Juke DJs, seven or eight dance groups, and I hired 255 footwork slash Juke dance youth. We went through intense six week popular education training because I always felt like I wasn't sharing what I was learning. And a lot of it is life, right? You got kids, you got girlfriend, my mom dies in 2018. So life is also happening. And so, I felt like I wasnt sharing with my community so I kind of went ghost in the footwork community a little bit. I was ghost for a while because I didn't feel like it was fair for me to be a part of something that I wasn't really given a righteous contribution to.

And what happened was that I created a show called Footwork Through the Trauma where I talk about, you know I kind of wrote down all the things that impact Chicago footwork. And one of 'em for me is everybody in my family for four generations, died from cancer, heart attack or asthma, something that has to do with respiratory issues. And that's because we grew up in the gardens, whereas they burned the trash and all that stuff. So I create Footwork through the Trauma like a video project. And that video project led to Juke for Liberation where I can get the stories from young people and bring them in. And then I also was hiring other young dancers who have masters in ballet, masters in contemporary, masters in Caribbean and South American dances, right? So I hired some of those youth too to allow access to these young folks who only have juke access and now you're going to exchange.

So you're going to get to learn some of this street stuff. And they get to learn some of this stuff, this downtown stuff. Which they're hungry to learn because they only get to see it from afar. They don't get to see it up close, so they don't think they can do it. And so now this is going on our second year of Juke for Liberation. So I feel like my artistic success is centered and based on who else can benefit and profit from that.

Kennedy Ward: From these two perspectives, I heard a sentiment that defies paralyzing structures. From the frustration and anguish inside these stories, we heard Lyn and Mad Dog feel the responsibility to carve space, to create community that is actively accepting and empowering.

This tells us that success can be one-one-one engagement, in fostering community, in being responsible to your community and not just your audience. From Devika, we’ll hear how institutional power can assert its own metrics of success and how its measures of accountability are felt in the community.

Devika Dhir: In Indian classical dance, there is this concept of you don't do things without your guru sign off, you know? When it comes to Kathak. My teacher, verbatim, told me, “You have my blessing to go out and perform anything that I've taught you because you're at that level.” And similarly with Bharatnatyam, there have been stories that my previous gurus have told me about where one that sticks out in particular was she was telling me about a student that she had who had performed a piece that she had been taught at some event. And then after the fact came to her, my guru, and was like, “Oh, I did this performance. Here's the video. What do you think?” And it was not up to par, according to my guru. And she was mad; she was really upset. She was like, “You didn't ask me if you could perform this. I would've said, ‘No. This is not done and I don't want you to be my student anymore.’” And that's not an uncommon thing. It's kind of understood that if you're going to go showcase something, especially if it's your guru's choreography and you're representing them, you really need to clear it with them first. So having that validation is definitely, it's important, but it also lets you know, yeah, you have reached this level. You're good to go, go out into the world and represent me.

Kennedy Ward: So, we’ve heard a lot. Before I let you go, I want us to focus on the heart that sits within each story. You, ya’ll, all’ya’ll. Teachers, studio owners, presenters, administrators, contracted dancers, my gig workers, and everything in between; power is yours.

Jonathan, Lyn, Mad Dog, Silvita, and Devika are redefining and challenging the images of success that no longer serve us. They are finding community and solidarity that transcends competition, wisdom without exclusion; they are leveraging their experiences (good and bad), resources, and prowess to create change.
These collections of voices, and their communities are challenging the metrics of success and power; our institutions should as well.

Because we can sell tickets all day, but do you have people/persons who you can rely on to offer you guidance and strength, do you have a community that KNOWs you and then pushes you to rise to your potential, will stand behind you when you face inequity, do you have a venue that is as invested in you as you are of it?

Success is guaranteed when the community is empowered. We will win when the community is empowered.

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Hear Chicago Dance: Stories and insights of the lived experience of dancers is brought to you by See Chicago Dance, in partnership with Polyrhythmic and Cove.

Research was conducted by Angelina Perino and Demetrio Maguigad for LimeRed Studio and in collaboration with Julia Mayer and Kennedy Ward at See Chicago Dance. Original music and production was provided by Polyrhythmic in partnership with Cove.

Thank you to all of the dancers and artists who participated and provided their time and insights to our study.

Learn more at SeeChicagoDance.com.