"Great dancers are great not because of their technique, they are great because of their passion". Does it sound like an old and well-known quote of Martha Graham? I am quoting it again because dancing and surviving as a dancer is not just as fancy as we write beautiful quotes on our wall and go back and have pop corn. It takes passion to show up every day in the empty studios for practice.. It takes perseverance to not to quit when nothing seems working.. It takes determination to push yourself when nobody does it ! It takes lot of courage to choose sweat and sore feet over partying and being lazy ! It takes immense love towards dance to rehearse the same movement again and again to make it look effortless and beautiful.. To be a dancer is to be your own friend, philosopher, guide, motivator. This interview series is my humble attempt to interview all such wonderful dancers, teachers and choreographers who inspired me in this journey. In that way, I can show my gratitude to all such great people and also show you what it takes to be a professional dancer and survive as one!
Leigh Schanfein.. I see this name in Barnard studio booking schedule every time I feel like skipping my practice. When I am lazy, this very name, embarrasses me but at the same time pushes me to go to practice. If I have to tell one thing that I have learnt from the teachers at Barnard is their incredible sincerity to show up in the studio and practice despite their busy schedules and despite them being professionals. I took Leigh's Bio-mechanics course in the fall semester and was part of her pilot study which gave me a chance to look closer of how sincere and professional she was. She has always been a positive, understanding and a vibrant soul. This was a small informal conversation with Leigh over a cup of coffee on a warm day in New York City..
Note: This conversation is largely paraphrased and unedited from a longer conversation.
Me: Thank you Leigh. When did you start dancing? How did you develop interest in dance? Tell me about your journey!
Leigh: My pleasure! ok ! Interest was sparked by my mother as she was a dancer when she was young. That's why she wanted me to take dance. I started gymnastics when I was very little. My parents put me in ballet and I don't know if you have this in India, there is ballet tap jazz, all in one class ! So I took that class. I didn't do modern until I was in high school. I didn't start ballet until I was nine and my ballet school was very small. In my freshman year of my high school, I went to my first summer intensive. Basically, I was watching videos and went to summer programs and I learnt what ballet should look like and how beautiful it was and how incredible it could be, and how hard you should work ! I was inspired every summer and learnt some new styles. I also love science because of who my parents are ! My dad is a scientist, he started as a material scientist and mechanical engineer, eventually got into nuclear safe guards. Even though my parents wanted me to be happy, my mom never wanted me to be a dancer as it is hard to make money. Anyway, I wanted to go to college and didn't know what to do. Also, in my high school, I was having problems with my ankle. I realized that just by changing my posture I could fix my ankle problem. I was so fascinated that just by changing your posture, you can fix your injuries. I also understood that it has something to do with your angles, joints, knees etc. So, I wanted to study something which will make me understand this. So, in my undergrad I applied for Physics in San Diego, CA. But when I was there, I understood that I really hate Math! So, I studied Physiology and Neuroscience and I loved that. In grad school, I ended up in Kinesiology department. I learnt a lot about doing research there. I was at Purdue for grad school. In my first year, I won this grant, came to New York city for summer and did internship here and the following summer, I did a study independently in the bio-mechanics lab which was great as I had to do everything all by myself. I have been dancing, researching and working ever since then.
Me: I know that you perform and practice a lot. How difficult do you think it is to manage academics and performance? Do you find it easy or complementing each other or tough?
Leigh: It is tough although I don't know that it is any tougher than anybody else. I don't know if working in a lab and dancing is easier or harder than working in a restaurant and dancing. And most dancers have to have another career. I was lucky to have this job. But scheduling is very tough. Having an office job and scheduling your practice and performance is tough. I can't go to certain auditions because I am going to be at work. I can't rehearse with such and such companies knowing that my schedule wouldn't work with theirs. But if I know ahead, for at least like a three month period, I can manage and I am fortunate with my current job. It is just a matter of finding things that work.
Me: How do you get motivation to get things done. Be it practice or be it research. Dance as a profession is not understood by many others.
Leigh: It is not well-appreciated as a career.
Me: Yes. So how do you get motivated?
Leigh: I am motivated just because I love dancing and I want to continually try to be a better dancer. But as a freelancer, it is very rough because you don't have that steady work, you go in and out of shape, that may be the hardest part of all !!! (smiling). As a freelancer, you have these extra layers of physical and emotional difficulties. But the motivation is to keep trying to do something better and also try to find better work. That's very important. You can be employed but two things with that. Are you actually going to get paid? Do you feel like you are employed more than full time but never be paid as a dancer? Are you actually doing the work that you like? You can feel like you are more than employed but never do a fulfilling choreography. That's actually the hardest. You should be able to find paid work in what you like! That's the constant struggle. I have been here for Eight and half years in New York. I saw lot of people, I don't say they give up but they move on. So, I am pretty lucky, as I have been here for long enough, I can choose of what to do.
Me: Do you have a routine to eat healthy and stay fit?
Leigh: Noooooo. I don't have any. I love food. It is much easier to gain weight than lose weight (laughing). I am lucky that I love salads. I make them everyday.
Me: You can afford to love food as long as you love salads. (laughing)
Leigh: I love healthy foods. But if you don't have time to cook or make food, you have to eat out and that sucks. Too much planning is necessary. That's the reason why I want my mom to visit me and cook for me :)
Me: True. So what are your future goals?
Leigh: I have a couple of things going on with my research and with my performance too. I might go back to school to get a PhD but I am not sure when.
Me: What's your favourite quote or what is your life philosophy.
Leigh: I don't have one. (smiling) I remember mine from sixth grade but that's the last one. It is:
"Fly High ! Fly Free ! Fly Swift"
Me: Who is your motivator in your life for dance?
Leigh: One of my teachers when I was growing up. She only taught me for a couple of years and moved away when I was 13 but stayed in touch. She motivated me to go to summer programs. When I graduated, she brought me up to her school and made me teach there in summer. Ever since then , I go every summer to her school and teach. That's a great experience. I learnt a lot from her as a dancer, as a person and as a professional. She is one of the only people in my life where I can say as a true mentor and I almost think of her as a god mother.
Me: Thank you so much for your time.
Leigh: My pleasure.
About Leigh Schanfein
Leigh Schanfein is a freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher as well as an independent researcher in the fields of kinesiology and biomechanics.
Leigh is a regular guest instructor and choreographer for dance schools in Indiana, Montana, California, Idaho, and New York. She has trained and performed across the USA and abroad in modern, ballet, and contemporary dance, and currently performs professionally as a freelance artist in NYC. She has performed with companies such as City Ballet of San Diego, Collective Body|Dancelab, Indelible Dance, Christopher Caines Dance Company, Yoo and Dancers, and the Park Avenue Armory, and has guested with Benjamin Briones Ballet, New American Youth Ballet, Lafayette Ballet, and CONNetic Dance. She has performed in commercial productions including on stage with comedian Hannibal Buress as part of the Oddball Comedy Tour, the Davines NYC hair show, and during Fashion Week NYC for designer Cristina Ruales. Leigh is a former Director of Dance for Periapsis Music and Dance,where her choreography was described as "gorgeous and lush." She is also a contributing journalist for Dance Informa Magazine.
Leigh received her M.S. degree in kinesiology with a specialization in biomechanics from Purdue University, and her B.S. degree in animal physiology and neuroscience with a minor in dance from the University of California San Diego. As a graduate student, she received multiple awards for her research with dancers including two awards through the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science. Her research has focused on the mechanisms by which humans control balance and how sensory feedback is integrated for the control of posture. From 2012-2018, Leigh worked as a research associate at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, part of NYU Langone Health. Her research there covered a wide range of topics concerning injury prevention among dancers. Leigh has taught courses in health, motor development, biomechanics lab, and stress at Purdue University, and anatomy at Peridance Capezio Center. In 2015, she joined the faculty at Barnard University as adjunct lecturer of biomechanics in the department of dance.
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