Officially, I met Kimberly at a New York dance audition, but, before that, this jack-of-all-trades was a LOLA-liasion and I remember editing photos of her in Candice’s asymmetrical sass leo. Once we were acquainted beyond the virtual world, I learned quickly that Kim was capable of great things. Not only is she one of New York’s wonderful freelance artists, but she also works in the marketing departments at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and New York City Ballet and, now, is producing and dancing in Some Dance Company’s upcoming benefit. Is there anything Kim can’t do?
I’m impressed by how she juggles her full plate, managing to still give 150% to everything. How the heck does she do it? Well, I decided to get the 411 from the source herself. Kim graciously gave some of her spare time to tell Dd readers how she gets it done.
Photo by Jason Berger
SW: Tell me a little bit about your dance background? Where did you train? What is your professional experience?
KM: My dance background is a bit unconventional compared to the way most stories go. I began training in ballet at a relatively late age– nearing 17, with Christian Claessens and Diana White at the Scarsdale Ballet Studio in Scarsdale New York. My mom put me in tap dance when i was 3 and I kept at it until one negative experience alongside Bebe Neuworth my sophmore year of high school. I decided i wanted to do ballet instead and that tap dancing didnt make me happy anymore. Christian (dancer with Dutch National Ballet and guest artist with NYCB) really took me under his wing…He pushed me very hard, but was also so warm and caring…If it weren’t for him I think I might still be the girl in the back of the class too scared to try anything.
I work today as a freelance performer. Not only do I dance with Some Dance Company, but have danced for Marilyn Klaus’s Tribeca based ballet company Ballets With A Twist, for three seasons now. Other companies include Ballet Deviare, Brice Mousset Dance, Eidolon Ballet, Classics Dance Theater, and Exit 12 Dance.
SW: Can you tell me more about your experience in arts management?
KG: To be honest, my experience in Arts Managements begins here! I have worked in Arts Administration for both Lincoln Center and the New York City Ballet for many years in ticketing and marketing which has proven so helpful in this venture…I have been so fortunate to have had so many resources and supporters at my fingertips. With a pretty clear institutional understanding of how things work and need to work to make a production happen, I have called upon some of my colleagues for brainstorming and guidance. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them and all of the things I have observed there over the years.
As I anticipate grad school and contemplate London, I am doing what I can to self-educate myself on writing and journalism. Am I losing sleep over this? Yes! But I can’t stop myself. I’m an addict; up late at night or early in the morning researching AP style, yahoo style, when I can use the Oxford comma (Call me a nerd, but I LOVE a good Oxford comma!), and what ever relevant information I can get my hands on. I’ve been reading articles in the Huffington Post, New York Times, even Wetpaint. A big part of it is research for a piece I’m working on for a UK publication called Emerging Students, but it’s also my attempt to better understand the journalism world and make myself a better writer.
So once again, I’m borrowing a few more items from the blog BrainPickings. The site’s founder and curator Maria Popova compiled a list of quotes from some of literature’s most notable writers – sharing their thoughts on what is fiction and what is truth. While my primary interest is journalism, I often daydream about writing a piece of fiction. I’m just waiting for my inspiration. In the meantime, here’s a little something to get the creative juices flowing on a Sunday!
“Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.” ~ Stephen King in On Writing
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” ~ Mark Twain in Following the Equator
“The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That’s not true with non-fiction.” ~ Tom Wolfe in Advice to Writers
“Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” ~ Tennessee Williams in The Glass Menagerie
“You should never read just for ‘enjoyment.’ Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick ‘hard books.’ Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god’s sake, don’t let me ever hear you say, ‘I can’t read fiction. I only have time for the truth.’ Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever hear of ‘literature’? That means fiction, too, stupid.” ~ John Walters in Role Models
“We have our Arts so we won’t die of Truth.” ~ Ray Bradbury in Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
For more, click here.
So excited about this trailer for the new documentary Strength and Beauty by Chelsea Wayant. But even more excited she will be joining Dd as a contributor–our first dancer turned documentary filmmaker contributor!
Strength and Beauty Trailer from Chelsea Wayant on Vimeo.
Lately, I’ve been restless in New York City. I know I have everything I could possibly want or need at my fingertips, but 
something is missing. Grad school is within my reach, but I’m not there yet. Despite pushing to graduate by the end of summer, it just wasn’t doable. So, now, I am looking at a graduation date of May 2013. So what do I do until then?
My dancing days are quickly coming to an end and my passion for writing grows more everyday. Initially, this news devastated me. But I’m refocused now and making the most of my undergrad college career.
A few weeks ago, I learned that my LEAP affiliated school St. Mary’s College of California offers LEAP students the opportunity to study abroad. Not only do they offer these programs, but they have some of the best study abroad programs in the country. This got my brain whirling … I’ve always wanted to spend an extended amount of time in Europe – 2 weeks just never feels like enough. So I began to research the programs offered by SMC and found one in London with the Queen Mary University of London.
The topic of London seems to be a recurring theme in my life lately. My mother and I have been contemplating a mother/daughter trip there and think sooner rather than later is ideal. Serendipitously, several London travel articles have come across my path, making the prospect more real. Then, I received an e-mail from a UK publication that might be interested in publishing some of my work. They are based in London. I feel like The Clash is singing the soundtrack of my life for the moment.
I have no aspirations of moving there for good, but maybe this is my last chance to do something completely outside of my comfort zone and, of course, make me a prime candidate for the grad schools I’m applying for : ) Can’t you picture me, sitting at a London cafe, sipping on espresso, and being studious?
I can’t help but wonder … Is London calling? And should I answer the call?
Before the holidays, I spent a great day assisting on a shoot for Beauty Bender, a new website started by two awesome ladies, Kathryn Romeyn and Alexis Johnson. I took my camera along with me for the day and captured some cool behind the scenes shots! I totally fell in love with all of the clothing used for the shoot from stylehaus. In fact, I still have my eye on the grey tank top and amazing white sheer button down with the back cut outs. Oh, if only both could be mine!
Click here to see the beautiful finished shots and check out Beauty Bender’s 12 resolutions for 2012.
Also, don’t forget to follow Beauty Bender on Twitter and like them on Facebook!
I’d like to share an event that is being presented by two New York shakers and movers. On Monday February 27th, David Fernandez and Kimberly Giannelli will present an evening of great NYC dance at the El Museo Del Barrio’s El Teatro. The performance will feature some of the city’s best freelance dancers, as well as dancers from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, and New Jersey Ballet. All proceeds will go to benefit Career Transitions for Dancers.
The event will showcase the choreography and artistic vision of David Fernandez. Kimberly, a New York dancer and arts manager, is producing the one-night performance as well as dancing in it. Tickets range from $30 to $100 and can be purchased online. I heard they are selling fast, so be sure to get a move on it and gets yours today.
For more information and the latest news on Some Dance Company check out their Facebook page.
Heard this on NPR (yes, I say it again) this afternoon and it was great inspiration for all of the writing I am doing now and hope to do in 2012. It was also an even greater distraction from my strategic thoughts on how best to unpack after moving this past weekend. I see more listening in my future as I sift through all the stuff jamming up my new diggs!
The Leonard Lopate Show: Word maven Patricia T. O’Conner on beautiful words.
My chosen words today are ineffable (thanks to Deb Lohse), incandescent (thanks to Virginia Woolf), and effervescent (don’t you just want to be like what it sounds and means?). What words do you love to say?
I didn’t even have to look for this article. It was literally delivered to me … in my e-mail inbox, via Linkedin. After reading it I felt inclined to share with my fellow Dders.
The article is from INC.; Titled “What’s an Entrepreneur? The Best Answer Ever,” the short read breaks down the profession that is truly the “American Dream” – entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled. – Howard Stevenson, professor at Harvard Business School
Once again, I’ve been a bit neglectful to my Dd postings. We’re already mid way through January and I have yet to post 2012 content. So here I am, on a post-Nutcracker Sunday morning … enjoying a cup of tea and reading the New York Times. Sigh, it feels great to NOT have to wake up at 8am, rush off to Penn Station to catch the LIRR train to Huntington, and spend my Sundays Nutcracker-ing.
But a new year means new endeavors, new commitments, and new schedules – at least for the life of the freelancer. I contemplated New Year’s Resolutions, but decided that this year I would try a different approach and forego setting any definitive goals for myself. Considering my A-Type personality traits and perfectionism, this may come as a shock to many of you. But, like I said, new year new endeavors.
In the spirit of being open to all things in 2012, I decided to curate a New Year’s Resolution from someone else. A colleague of 
mine recommended a blog called Brain Pickings. The site is moderated and mostly written by Maria Popova, a “cultural curator and curious mind at large.” Additionally, she is a writer and contributes to publications such as Wired UK, The Atlantic, and others. Her site is quirky and informative – full of interesting tid bits about culture, art, writing, literature, and most of all creative inspiration. I feel as if her mission compliments that of Dd’s. read more…
I was born with a mother who has an insatiable curiosity for anything that could potentially make the world a better place, especially health (given we live in America, and, let’s face it, are in a serious health crisis). When I was younger, I saw this as a curse. Sometimes I just wanted to eat Oreos and talk about boys instead of broccoli. But, now, I feel so blessed to have gained so much knowledge from my mother and her years upon years of trials and research.
These days, there is a lot of information on health, making it is hard to know what is right and what is wrong. But here is the kicker – most of the information that is widely available is funded by major corporations. It is the information that is not on the yahoo home page and in Weight Watchers ads that is truly valuable.
It is quite simple; don’t eat anything processed and limit sugar intake, which causes yeast production (candida) within the body (yes, even fruit sugar). Avoid chemical products and drugs (there are so many natural alternatives, just google it!) at all costs (unless you are dying of malaria… then please make an exception!). The food we eat, the chemicals we clean with, and the drugs we take to ‘make us better’ are causing killer diseases. Biologically, anything that enters our system gets absorbed into our blood stream through our skin and our gut and all the chemicals that enter are literally changing molecular structures within our cells and brain stems. Hello cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers… you name it! Not to mention, all of these chemicals cause drastic fluctuations of hormones and emotions. Your energy level and behavior literally reflects what you eat!
Eating organic, clean foods and keeping a chemical free home are more than just about a skinny waist line- its about avoiding diseases that could take your life in the future, far earlier than is necessary. And while it’s scary to think about, NOT having the information is even worse. So ‘munch’ on that next time you think about biting into an Oreo….
My Dad and Mom at 57 and 54 respectively- super healthy and loving life!!! Notice the wine glasses are empty- so much sugar! (“sugar is the devil,” as my dad would say)… something to think about
P.S. vodka has virtually no sugar…. just saying 
Resources for more in depth information:
Candida- http://www.ecandida.com/
Leaky Gut Syndrome- http://www.leakygutcure.com/blog/leaky-gut-syndrome/
Chemicals- http://www.chem-tox.com/