Close
August 24, 2010
Broadway Connection's exclusive interview with choreographer Marc Kimelman:
YOU MOVED TO NYC AND WITHIN FIVE MONTHS YOU WERE WORKING AS A PERFORMER AND CHOREOGRAPHER! HOW DO YOU DO IT?
I have always been the type of person to make things happen. I do not sit around and wait for that phone call. Instead, when I am not teaching, in meetings, or in rehearsal, I am emailing new contacts and taking class. Sure it takes time to establish a brand new network of people. Coming from Toronto where I was more established as a choreographer, and moving to a place where no one knew me was scary and exciting. I knew I could be an asset to the artistic world in New York; I just had to get my work out there.
Every Thursday I bought BackStage newspaper and spent hours emailing companies. I set up a website and created press kits that I mailed out. I went to Choreography showcases and applied to ones I thought suited my aesthetic. I met dancers, put together a new piece, and invited agents and managers to see an example of what I had to offer. The feedback was amazing. I landed an agent that I had sought after, and got teaching jobs out of it as well. In my first five months in NYC, I was teaching at two studios, I had choreographed a workshop for a new play and a Broadway investors showcase for a new musical based on the music of Styx! I was making great contacts and taking lots of class in styles that I had never taken before.
Five months in, I felt like being a working choreographer in NYC was a doable thing! Just then, I was thrown a curveball and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a treatable and curable type of cancer. I am now undergoing chemo treatments in Toronto, where I can be with my family and health care during this time. In the grand scheme of things, it is good news because it is curable. I started taking Tai Chi to keep my body moving and my mind focused. I just have to stay strong and positive to get through the aggressive treatment and then I will be up and at em again soon!
