by Samantha Galler
In life, I was taught to always prepare for the worst. So, you do what you can and hope that it is enough.
With injuries, if mobile, a dancer can travel from place to place knowing there is an outside world to interact with. As an established dancer well into a career, transiting from dance later on needs to surface in the back of the mind at some point or another. It is important to be properly prepared for a transition when the time eventually comes. It can also help the situation become less frightening.
Most artists, are aware that this change may be quick, due to injury or personal situations, so it is important to maintain a level head and understand that nothing in this life is guaranteed. Committing to this career comes with those risks and sacrifices. Right now, the situation is very different and we are facing challenges we could not have entirely prepared for.
Now, the country is well over a month into this so-called new life. New life, meaning sheltering in place and adapting to no work and no consistent schedule. As a dancer, I can say this is definitely one of the hardest situations I have ever faced. It has forced me to break from my mold in every way and brainstorm new routes for normal activity. Going to the theater or the studio are not options. The strangest thing about this situation is that everyone around the world is dealing with the same circumstances. In a way, we are all in this together. There are those who do not have jobs and/or money to survive and there are those who are working from home. Either way, it is not the same. Right now, I believe artists are facing a new battle based off of the worlds’ needs. The health of people is at the forefront and professionals are forced to sacrifice their familiarities to save lives.
Artists are working through an unknown territory. I guess the future is always unknown, but what we are experiencing now is unfamiliarity in every way. What has hurt me the most, is seeing ballet schools, performing arts schools, and dance colleges come to a screeching halt. As professionals, we are more likely to have the experience and a deeper understanding of the training we need to stay strong in a time like this. For a student, each month is crucial to the finalization of their training.
With this change in their schedule, it affects students who are growing and molding into their development as a professional. I have made every effort to create a ballet class teaching schedule for myself with students across different areas in the country in hopes of providing a continuation of their training. In addition, a major challenge that pre-professional and professional dancers face when returning to work is the act of standing. The weight of our body on our feet for 7 hours is part of our day to day training. An advantage to teaching, is that it keeps me focused on ballet and forces me to stay on my feet for long periods of time. Some days, up to five hours. I teach through Zoom for students from different schools including, The Ballet Academy Inc., Northeast School of Ballet, and Boston Ballet in Massachusetts where I trained when I was younger. It has made me so happy to see all smiling and eager faces.
The Ballet Academy Inc. has directed students to me ages 6-13 which has been enjoyable. I am extremely grateful for these opportunities and responsibilities. It brings me back to when I was an 8 year old training. In fact, my parents have started pulling out old videos of me being taught by my ballet teacher when I was 9. It has been humbling and rewarding even though the world is facing a major challenge at the same time. There is a glimmer of hope that there can continue to be some happiness and beauty even at a time like this.
The day we were told that we had to stay in our homes, I did not really understand the situation we faced. In fact, I was so motivated, and thought this would only last a couple weeks. I figured we would be back to work and performing again soon. About a week in, it was clear that it would be a much longer period of time before this would happen. During the first week, Ryan, my fiancé, and I had to decide to postpone our wedding which was devastating. Part of me thought that there might be a way to have the wedding, but it was clear we had made the right decision given how the circumstances were developing and we could not put our guests at risk to travel. That was the first challenge in quarantine and, believe me, that is not an easy process. We were able to officially get married at the end of April while social distancing, and with our parents on Zoom.
Secondly, it was hard to go from dancing all day in the studio to having to do ballet class at home in my living room. The difficulty to this, which I am sure a lot of in-season dancers can agree with, is that we were in shape and then it was a cold turkey halt. Our bodies were forced to stop and find a new way of working. This new schedule has taken time to adjust to for many reasons.
First, it is important to be working on the proper floor. My floor is tile, so I needed to be careful to take class on a rug and limit small jumps until I received a piece of floor from the ballet, which we are so fortunate for. Now with a good piece of Marley, it has made it easier to create a consistent working schedule.
The most incredible challenge is to motivate ourselves to keep cross training. Cross training requires cardio, ballet, stretching, meditating, and more. I try my best to take a ballet class 5 days a week. Also, since I cannot swim right now because the pools are closed, I am taking extended walks. These are typically an hour to an hour and a half or 4 miles. With this, I walk or do a light jog and then return to walking. I repeat this pattern so that my heart rate increases mimicking what it would feel like if I were dancing a ballet.
It is scary to see how fast the body loses stamina and how long it usually takes to build it back up. It is a steep mountain to climb. Other than working on my cross training and teaching, I am researching future dance education. It is a topic that has always interested me and I figured now was a good time. In addition, I have connected with friends through Zoom, some of which I have not spoken to in years. One friend I reconnected with, I last spoke to in 2007 before she moved from Boston back to her hometown in Australia. There has also been a lot of reconnecting with my family. Typically, I see family members during performance season or the holidays. Right now, since we are not traveling, Zoom dates with my parents and brother, aunt, and close friends are on my weekly schedule. I do not know why this was not a normal event before! Seeing my family and forming new connections has filled me with so much joy and it has opened my eyes to new perspectives on our present situation. I just hope to continue these dates after our “shelter in place” is lifted. It has been an unbelievable ride.
With this challenge, there is a silver lining. I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I would say the days are starting to blur together, but I am trying to find a comfort that what I am doing is enough to stay on track. As I self-reflect, I am so eager and inspired to be back in the studio. I will embrace each moment more than I already do and enjoy the freedom of being in an open space fueled with energy. For now, more than any injury I have dealt with in the past, I realize again how quickly life can change.
Contributor Samantha Hope Galler, a Bedford, Mass. native, spent 13 years training with The Ballet Academy, Inc., under the direction of Frances Kotelly in the Cecchetti Method. She performed six seasons with The Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued training, on scholarship, with Boston Ballet School and received the PAO Merit Trainee Scholarship. She received the NFAA Honorable Mention Award in Ballet. Galler spent summers training at Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Conservatory. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet in their 2008-2009 season under the direction of Victoria Morgan.
Samantha spent five seasons with Alabama Ballet under the direction of Tracey Alvey and Roger Van Fleteren. During her tenure there, she was promoted to principal dancer. She had the honor of performing some of her dream roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, The Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, The Sylph and Effie in La Sylphide, Myrtha and Moyna in Giselle, Dryad Queen and Mercedes in Don Quixote, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo. Her Balanchine roles included Dark Angel in Serenade; The Sugarplum Fairy, Arabian and Lead Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™; and the principal roles in Allegro Brillante and Tarantella. She has also performed in Jiří Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, and Van Fleteren’s Shostakovich and Romancing Rachmaninov, both world premieres.
Samantha joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014. Since joining Miami City Ballet, Samantha has performed in various roles including as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and as the Harp Soloist in Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations.
Galler joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014 and was promoted to Soloist in 2018. Galler was named a Capezio Athlete in August 2017.
Follow Samantha on her website and blog.
