What It's REALLY Like Being Thrown On as an Understudy | Ballet Emergency Stories

Comments · 115

• NI

  @nikkisweezea2388 · 4 years ago

  At the tender age of 10 I was the &quot;swing&quot; for Polichinelle. The plan was for me and my partner to perform each spot once, and for the 4 first cast couples to perform all together once. Well, about halfway through the weekend, someone got injured. And then, I was performing not only all the spots, but with a different partner some of the time because none of the other girls could figure out how to do any of the spots that weren&apos;t theirs. It was an eye opening experience. From then on, I made sure I could perform any role, any spot, in any dance, cold, just from watching either rehearsals or the tape. And yes, can confirm, learning to learn pieces from the tape and internalize which foot you are <b>actually</b> on at any given point, is a skill that all dancers should master. You do become very valuable, which is both a blessing and a curse!

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• PL

  @PlantBasedBride · 4 years ago

  I was a swing on the Disney Wonder (cruise ship) a few years back and it was such a challenge to keep 30 tracks in my head and to be ready to hop in with 5 minutes&apos; notice! Understudies and swings are the glue that holds live performance together, truly! It&apos;s a special brand of terror going on stage for a paying audience when you&apos;re not exactly sure what you&apos;re doing 😂

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• FL

  @flowmovementtherapy2096 · 10 months ago

  When I was a kid in my first Nutcracker I was Clara. The rehearsals were so long and boring I learned every part in the entire production. I went home and put on the record of the ballet and rehearsed every part. I was too young to be thrown into any other role. But damn it I knew the ENTIRE ballet. And the directors knew it. That served me well when I moved up in the ranks.

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• AM

  @ambz418 · 9 months ago

  God bless Tiler Peck!! she is an iconic ballerina but how she helped you out in that first show just shows she has good character as well! &lt;3 i looove hearing these behind the scenes ballet talks!

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• CL

  @claireschweizer4765 · 4 years ago

  THE DREADED MIRROR IMAGE THE STRUGGLE IS SOOOO REAL OMFG😭😭😭😭😭😭

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• TH

  @thesofianotes · 4 years ago

  <i>The panic in Kathryn&apos;s eyes in the thumbnail says everything</i>😂

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• DI

  @diegotejera1741 · 4 years ago

  If would be really cool if Sean could share his experiences too. Or maybe invite other dancers 🧡 love u Katie

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• CA

  @catherinecarterartstudio · 4 years ago

  Thanks, Katie - I love hearing about your experiences! For future Once Upon A Pointes: Could you talk about the difference between dancing a Balanchine, Robbins, Wheeldon, and Martins ballet? About the different costumes that you wore in various roles and what it was like to wear them? What your life was like outside of NYCB - what you did on your days off? More specifics about your experiences working alongside various famous stars like Jennifer Ringer and Darci Kistler? How you adjusted to life in New York City after growing up in Mobile? What it was like dancing with the partners you had - how were they different? Mentors? How you first learned to do hair and makeup (this is one of the funniest parts of Allegra Kent&apos;s autobiography) ...

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• TO

  @TomažGolub · 3 years ago

  To anyone who is learning a piece from video... One thing that helped me a lot is to not think left or right... But think stage manager&apos;s side, not stage managers side...<br>Helped me a lot...

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• PE

  @petrahutzen9412 · 4 years ago

  Love the talking stories. You are always funny, natural and authentic. What would be interesting also: how did you came from dancing to teaching? When did you start to love it?

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• PS

  @psychohist · 3 months ago

  NYCB was my favorite company to watch. &nbsp;Now I’m learning why.

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• CH

  @chanelabela3543 · 4 years ago (edited)

  Hi Katie,<br><br>In one of your ballet mishap videos you mentioned having stories around what it’s like being on tour (it sounds like you toured internationally, very cool). Also would be great to hear about “ballets you might not have heard of” that you loved since NYCB rep was so large.<br><br>Did you perform in any other roles in Sleeping Beauty besides Aurora that you enjoyed?<br><br>XO

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