"Bowl Games?" you may ask.
Yes. Specifically, Kansas State vs. whoever they were playing. I don't remember. I was so impressed with Bill Snyder I didn't really notice (so apologies to the fans of the other team). He reminded me of a certain other mentor I know, who shares the age factor, but has his career time beat by 10 years. Marcia Weary embodies Bill's 16 goals for success. And like Bill with his football program, Marcia has quietly put good ballet dancers into professional companies every year. She is known by the masters of the industry, for the work ethic, the precision, and the unwavering commitment of her dancers.
No competitions, no flash and dazzle, just an old barn and total commitment to professionalism and hard work.
Here are Mr. Snyder's 16 goals for success. Commitment is obviously first, and I love that the next two are unselfishness and unity. The only things missing from his list - are the differences between sport and art.
Artists must feel and express themselves openly through their art. The word passion is overused in our culture, but an artist must be passionate about what they do, and they need to be able to express the love they have for dancing in their face, and movements. This, in turn, brings them and their audience into a state of joy, sadness, laughter, enlightenment according to the story they are telling.
Artists love their audiences, and appreciate the opportunities they receive to practice their art for their audiences.
So if we add Passion and Love to Bill's list, we have Ballet. My editing preference would be to change the wording of numbers 11 and 13 to Failure and Success. There should be no such thing as losing and winning in art. Every failure holds the seeds of success within it, and every Success, the possibility of failure. However, every moment onstage, connecting with an audience, is a success.
Dance beautifully into the new year!!
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