how to eat; or, bringing home the bacon
i’ve been thinking about jobs recently. the difficulty, that is, of finding a fulfilling one if you’re a creative person. man, think of the dancers in this town who make ends meet by teaching dance, or pilates, or yoga. or by doing arts administration work. sure, these things pay the bills, and they’re probably marginally interesting and are at least associated with something exciting.
but to move up even a step is tough, it seems. i know folks who are aspiring dance critics, and making any money doing it–and even establishing the slightest foothold–takes a lot of persistence, almost as much as getting anywhere as a dancer. we can all agree that actually making a living as a dancer is a ridiculous impossibility, at least in this country, but making money writing isn’t a whole lot easier.
i was talking with some friends recently about a couple of dancers–both guys, as it happens–who do seem to have found some success in cobbling together a mix of teaching, bodywork and dance production, and make a living doing it. the bodywork seems to have helped them find a niche, but they’ve managed to ensure that their unique perspective on movement–in a broader sense–is also included. my impression with these guys is that making this happen has required no small amount of persistence, as well as a pretty good business sense that has helped them market and promote their “product”.
i’m a person with a lot of interests, and it’s conveniently allowed me to make decent money doing one thing while my more creative side is freed from having to earn its keep. but i’ve realized that if i wanted to actually make money doing something a little more creative, i’d have a hell of a time figuring out how to make that work. in fact, finding a way to get paid to do more creative work requires creativity itself, an openness of mind to brainstorming and combining potentially incongruent concepts. i love the idea of gradually developing a plan that is totally unconventional and unique to one individual, but figuring it out is a hell of a task.
about those guys i mentioned earlier, what’s funny is that they probably don’t have a lot of security, but they do seem to have interesting work lives that are multi-faceted and mixed, which hugely appeals to me. i’m told that at least one of them has been angling to get a university teaching job for a long time, and that surprises me: even though it would give him a lot more security (and prestige), it somehow strikes me as a lot less varied and dynamic than what he’s doing now.
so yes, i do think it’s possible to create a life of creativity that also pays the bills, but i think it requires a lot of persistence–and probably more than a little brains, talent and confidence. and that’s a pretty tall order.
i’d love some feedback on this; it’s an idea i’m grappling with personally and i haven’t made any headway yet.
Postscript
I just saw this morning that the sunday ny times had a great article about 5 theatre actors in new york that examines how they make a living and how much money they’ve made in the past few years. it’s amazing how little money they all make (often around $25k/year)–and a couple of the actors are actually fairly old (50+)! and yet it’s obvious that they all love what they do and can’t imagine giving it up. one guy in particular said no to the opportunity to make a decent wage as an understudy b/c he actually would have been performing very little.
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Dear Lady,
These are demons I battle daily. Having a child makes it all the more risky to choose the “make it” as an artist in life. And, sadly, it’s a rough road often. At least for me, so far. I’ve had great security in one year, then “WHAM!” none… I love what I do and can’t not do it - that’s ultimately what has chosen my path. I’ve tried to have other jobs and just can’t stomach it. Often I wish I could, though.
I just lost a LARGE contract in my world and am in a mad-scramble to make up what I had planned to be my annual income… that’s what I mean, “WHAM!” This business has a way of turning around on itself, though. I’m confident I’ll make it up soon.
Even so, I typically wake up happy and dream well in the night. The people I meet and spend time with are gifts and I wouldn’t know them otherwise. It’s challenging, but I find the rewards are great.
What a life
Comment by Kelly Mayfield — August 28, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
As a guy who is making my living dancing, teaching, doing a type of bodywork and production work (hmmm, are there really more than two of us in this town??) I do find it incredibly challenging. The challenge is not being able to give as much time to any one thing as I’d like. For The PlayGround I should be spending more time writing grants, contacting presenting organizations, networking, building my non-profit, and, oh yea, rehearsing and researching. But, to continue to build my Feldenkrais practice I should be networking with doctors and physical therapists, doing more marketing, distributing more flyers, giving more demonstrations, creating relationships with massage therapists, and attending advanced trainings. And then there is my teaching and lighting design work… And, any of these things can stop tomorrow and I would loose a big chunk of salary - the summer months are especially a struggle to make ends meet (and they don’t always). But, years ago I decided that I would choose mobility over stability. Meaning, I don’t have a regular employer and no set number of weeks of vacation or daily schedule. I can take 6 weeks off (which I did a while ago) or decide that I want Thursday afternoons off (which I have this fall to hang with my daughter). I don’t have to ask anyone, I just make it so. Of course, I am always looking for the next job - part of my job it to look for jobs. This is exhausting and sometimes I do envy friends who have a full time college teaching gig - they make more money, have free rehearsal space, have the summers off…. It is a constant back and forth between these two opposites. I don’t know how this helps….
Comment by Daniel Burkholder — August 28, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
Can Dancers Make a Living from the Internet?…
Amanda Abrams wrote a post yesterday “How to Eat; or, Bringing Home the Bacon” that addresses a fundamental question about whether it’s possible for creative people to make a living doing what they love: We can all agree that actually……
Trackback by Great Dance Weblog — August 29, 2007 @ 6:15 am
I have been very lucky. I have never had to hobble together a bunch of jobs to do what I love and make a living at it. I am curious about the future as I begin to focus on danceaday as video art and Abandoned Revolution as theater, moving away from dance as the art to dance as a component of the art. Unless something really amazing happens, I will end up in a university because it is the only way I can see to have the time to pursue creative endeavors. At the moment I am working as a tour guide which is great for me because I feel like I am meeting lots of new people to tell about my website and who knows where that could lead.
I really love the spell check function in firefox.
Comment by Boris Willis — August 29, 2007 @ 7:09 am
Out of curiosity if I may ask - how does 1) and 2) handle health insurance needs.
Comment by Anonymous Director — August 29, 2007 @ 9:06 am
Yes, it is possible to create a life of creativity that pays the bills! I am not sure how, but I just keep that as my mantra. On a more practical note, I gave up trying to persuade part-time employers to cover health insurance and joined a direct pay plan on ehealthinsurance.com. It isn’t that expensive and pretty good and gets rid of that fight with the employers.
Another comment to the comments is that question of giving art the time that it deserves. The best work I have seen reflects the process – the attention that the choreographer was able to give to it – through the grantwriting process before setting foot in the studio, the building relationship process with the collaborators, and the actual creation process in the form of a residency or something – the presence and focus.
I am working as an artist, dance consultant and holding a pretty much full-time corporate company job and I go back and forth about what the best balance is. I think about holding on to the corporate job for a year or two and taking a break from “the cause.” “The cause” is emotionally draining – the arts education fundraising, the women’s rights, the environmental advocacy – whatever it is or yours is. I think this is a result of osmosis from this city!
I also think about, leaving the corporate job and solely working for myself, helping more independent artists and dance organizations be the best they can be at what they do. And, continue to dance.
Something has to give, because doing everything plus running to rehearsals all weekend is emotionally and physically draining – as we all know. I applaud all the artists out there for living a creative life. I am optimistic.. If you build it..
Comment by Ilana — August 29, 2007 @ 10:40 am
Hi Amanda,
I was hipped to this post from Doug at Great Dance. Fabulous topic, and one that I definitely identify with. I loved your bit about being creative about how to make money being creative. I think that is key for artists. Recently I’ve been finding inspiration from business books. Not that I want to be a money-grubbing capitalist, but because the entrepreneurial mind-set seems to be very creative and maverick. I recommend the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” books or Jim Collin’s “Good to Great.” If you read them through the lens of art-making it can be really eye opening.
On another tangent, I think that dancers are so poorly educated about how to deal with the real world. We get absolutely no business classes, or financial planning/strategizing, etc in our training and college careers. It’s really terrible. With just a little introduction to the basics of financial management and marketing, dancers would not be struggling so badly. This romantic notion of living in a garret and starving has got to end!
Thanks for sharing your search and good luck.
Comment by Anna Brady Nuse — August 29, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
I agree. The “starving artist” title is bs.
Comment by Ilana — August 29, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
Interesting coming to this article this day of all days. I had cobbled together a living for about 8 years as a freelancer, teaching, performing, and doing various tech work for dance companies under the umbrella company of “satorimedia LLC”. HOwever, eventually my lack of business knowledge caught up with me, and I finally threw in the towel, first taking a part time job teaching at a studio and then later as a video engineer at a local cable channel.
I’ve been there two years, and while the money has been nice (as has the benefits), I’m reaching the point very swiftly where I want that kind of freedom again. Yes, trying to find jobs constantly was a strain (and let’s not talk about the difficulty in having to track down the bills. Oy.)
Now, having had a two year vacation from that, I’m about ready to pick up the reins again. Unlike the body workers, I have skills in web design and video to make ends meet, but one of the biggest problems with the last attempt was that I never DID make my OWN work the focus - it kept being put aside in favor of making a living in other ways.
Not this time. I do actually believe that if you do what you love, the money will follow. You just have to keep remembering to do it…
Comment by Gray Miller — August 29, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
Ah, health insurance! What a crock. A necessary crock, I suppose. I have an individual plan for myself and my daughter. It’s expensive, but as Iliana stated, it’s much better than the fight w/ employers.
I started out w/ the National Association for the Self Employed (nase.org). Then, I went for it on my own.
As a side note, I have beef w/ health insurance & it’s treatment of pregnancy. In a nutshell, w/ most companies you must pay for a “pregnancy benefit” 10 months before you get pregnant. I was told by several doctors that I couldn’t have kids, and was on BC, so I didn’t see the need for shelling out an extra $100 per month. When I found out I was pregnant I was denied coverage. DAMN, that sucked financially!
That’s blue cross blue shield for you… I’m still in the bitter-barn about that one!
Comment by Kelly Mayfield — August 29, 2007 @ 10:56 pm
these comments are so, so great. i’d still like to hear and learn more. i do feel it’s possible to make things work, to put together a life full of jobs and activities that do feed you, but it’s also daunting. health insurance–to me it’s become a symbol, somehow, of stability, the regular paycheck, the security that comes w/ a “normal” job. i just can’t imagine giving it up–even though i go to the doctor almost never!
but it’s interesting…a number of the comments above mention an element of faith–and so did one of the women in the ny times article about actors. sort of that “if you build it, it will happen” idea. but along with that comes a need to stay in the present, go with what comes, b/c as kelly pointed out, things might be great for a while and then suddenly dry up. it’s certainly much more of a meditative way to view life, but is also a leap into the unknown.
i’m just thinking out loud here, but need i say that i’m trying to figure out my own life? trying to figure out what i want and what’s possible. ahh, it’s all a process!
Comment by Amanda Abrams — August 30, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
Health Insurance - for years I didn’t have any health insurance and, luckily, I got away with it. When I got married I got an individual plan and now we’re on a family plan (yea!). But, it isn’t cheap and you’re always fighting with them….though I think that is always true when it comes to insurance companies.
The “if you build it, it will happen” idea is a load of crap. If you want to be a creative artist (and I mean, specifically, a dancer/choreographer) you need to have great entrepreneurial skills - writing, networking, being able to position yourself, communication, marketing, etc. Look at Liz Lerman - whom I respect - but, she is AMAZING when she is working a crowd - they love her and she is really smart positioning herself with the subjects she picks, the projects she creates. I don’t think she’s being dishonest, but she knows how to make it work in ways that many of us find difficult. You have to be willing to ask again even after you’ve been told NO or turned down 100 times. And it doesn’t matter, really, how good you are. I mean, it matters some - you’ve got to be a good dancer, have good dancers working with you, have something original to present that is captivating on multiple levels. But, there are numerous artists who fit this bill and have a really hard time making. It is possible, but it is really hard…it REALLY helps if you like teaching…
Comment by Daniel Burkholder — September 1, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
I appreciated the comments on this one, and the original post.
I feel like the first rule of being and artist, and eating, is being willing to do whatever work comes your way. The second rule is: love teaching.
I don’t think you can really teach someone to be an artist. At all. You can provide enrichment experiences, which is great. But ‘arts education’ is a bit of a misnomer, I think. People who want/need to be ‘artists’ find a way, those who don’t - no amount of education will change that. People certainly enriched e.e. cummings, but it doesn’t look (thankfully) like their enrichment did too much damage.
I was recently talking with Helen Rea, who is writing a piece on education for the next issue of Bourgeon (the local dance journal I edit. Online at www.dayeight.org! - sorry for that.) We were talking about how many teachers teach for themselves, not the students. I spoke of the difficulty that as a teacher one must presume that one knows how to proceed better than the student. It’s a catch-22 there, a bit.
The ‘public’ is willing to pay us to provide enrichment experiences for them and their children much more than they are interested in providing ‘us’ with enriching experiences. I know that reads very bitter. I’m not so bitter about our capitalist system. I think it makes sense. But I do deeply agree with Daniel’s post regarding the skills other than ‘artist’ that one needs to eat as ONLY an artist. If you want to be an artist, it’s useful to develop one’s heartfelt desire to teach….
Comment by Rob Bettmann — September 4, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
This is kind of a side comment, but one that came up while reading Rob’s post…
I have given up teaching. I now try to create opportunities for people to learn - thankfully, most of time this includes myself.
Comment by Daniel Burkholder — September 5, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
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