REMOTE is a new interview series with a focus on how local and international performing artists are navigating the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These are accounts of the opportunities that the current situation presents, and the manifold ways their creative drive is finding new expressions and platforms to reach audiences in isolation.
First up, Toronto-based dancer and choreographer Jennifer Nichols brings a unique perspective as a local artist who feels the effects of the pandemic both as a performer and as a small business owner. Pre-pandemic, her dance and fitness studio in downtown Toronto — The Extension Room — delivered her trademarked ‘Extension Method’ workout to ballet dancers and the general public alike. The emergency lockdown on non-essential business shuttered the doors to her studio and left her with the rental costs without support from government initiatives.
A rent-freeze is the solution she suggests will save many small businesses like hers, but there’s much more we can all do in the meantime.
How are you doing during this pandemic?
At this point I feel incredibly fortunate to still be healthy and safe, and that my family and friends are as well. This is the most important thing. I also recognize that I’m lucky to be living in a country with excellent medicare and a compassionately structured social system. I have food in my fridge and a comfortable home.
At the same time, I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that I have been severely negatively affected by the pandemic from a professional and financial perspective. Absolutely ALL of my income, my contracts, projects and creative work has been cut off and cancelled. I’m also facing the ramifications of a huge gap in the government’s assistance programs as a small business owner. Although having to shutter my dance/fitness studio completely and cut off all revenue, I am still obliged to cover enormous rental obligations. Without a rent freeze, most small businesses like mine will shut down permanently. Wage subsidies (which don’t apply to many businesses with contract workers, like mine) and ‘loans’ are not helpful. No small business will be able to sink months’ worth into rental debt and hope to be able to climb out of this hole when we come out the other side. I feel that this is fundamentally wrong on a systemic level and really needs to be addressed.
As a professional dance artist, I have also lost performance contracts, which is not only financially devastating, it is a huge creative loss. For artists, in particular performance artists, this pandemic has meant, in a very real sense, a loss of identity. The ultimate recovery of our industry is also precarious. We have no sense of when audiences will not simply be ‘safe’ to gather, but feel confident doing so.
I would suggest that the predominant feeling amongst the majority of artists is a sense of loss. Not simply ‘experiencing’ loss, but being ‘at a loss’. It’s a helpless feeling.
Now that you have some free time, what are the ways are you keeping busy?
To be honest I don’t think I have any more free time now than I did before this crisis! I’ve filled my days from morning to night with writing letters to politicians (city councillors, MPPs, MPs, community BIA presidents), contacting the media to tell my story, on top of managing damage control with respect to my leasing situation, which involves reaching out to commercial lease professionals and lawyers. When I’m not doing this, I’m communicating with my staff at my dance studio and the artists I contract for performance work in the commercial dance company I co-own and co-direct. I am working 16 hours a day to ensure that my students, who heavily rely on our daily classes for physical and mental well-being, are offered some form of activity, which has meant offering free livestream classes for them to participate in their home. This is a huge job, with respect to planning the classes, adjusting exercises for at-home requirements, spreading the word online, setting up streaming platforms and cameras, etc. It’s almost a full time job (albeit unpaid) in itself!
I will say, however, that it is incredibly satisfying to be able to offer the online classes. They have meant so much to so many people. I receive dozens of emails of gratitude daily. There is nothing as effective as an exercise endorphin rush for boosting your mood.
I suppose in a sense it has also been beneficial for me in terms of growth as a dancer/teacher/business owner, as it has forced me to explore a new way to shape my program, and to be creative with its expression and foundation. I’ve also found a great place to film, from my roof! It’s refreshing to be able to offer class outside in the sunshine and warm breeze.
I am also starting to spend time researching and applying for emergency funding and performance grants. Besides this, I’m spending quality time with my husband (who is also helping me by filming my classes), and my cats. They’ve never been happier, because we’re home all of the time! It’s also nice to be able to pick up a book and spend time reading. 🙂
What are you missing the most right now?
I think I’m currently missing human contact the most. Screens are fine, and we are so lucky to be living in an age where technology is so advanced we can virtually place ourselves in someone else’s living room, but it’s not the same as a hug. It’s not the same as being able to see the smiles on my students faces while I’m teaching and hear their breathing. It’s not the same as being in a rehearsal room with other artists, collaborating and feeling each other’s energy.
Any specific books, films, or TV on the go?
Ironically, I started reading the most incredibly pertinent book just before the crisis hit, titled Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. I picked it up before boarding a plane to South America for my honeymoon at the end of February. Reading about the history of humankind from the evolution of archaic human species up to the 21st century is fascinating and I believe important, particularly in the context of our global situation. That purchase couldn’t have been more prescient! We arrived back from South America on March 12, the day before everything started to ramp up to an emergency state. We were very fortunate to return when we did.
I just finished watching the most current season of an INCREDIBLE Netflix series, Babylon Berlin. A German series, masterfully crafted, with brilliant writing and cinematography, it takes place in Berlin during the two decades leading up to the second world war, painting an eerie picture of rising Anti-Semitism and police corruption. Despite its dark political undertones, it also features stunning cabaret scenes with gorgeous avant-garde choreography, and a storyline based on the shooting of an art film with big dance scenes. So much there to love!
What do you think is one of the obstacles to adjusting to this new reality, for dancers in particular?
One of the obstacles dancers face is a basic practical obstacle, that of forced lack of proximity. We can move as solo artists, solo performers, yes, but we cannot engage in any work in groups or partnering, involving physical contact. Our art form is based so much on physical contact! Another is lack of space. Dancing is about movement, and the limitations of space in our homes poses another problem. If you are fortunate enough to have a yard or outdoor space, it helps, but it is not quite the same thing as a dance studio with dimensions and flooring to support professional dance. And of course, the most obvious obstacle is the restriction on public performance. Gathering in groups as an audience (or as performers) is impossible.
Any words of wisdom to get through this?
I feel that the most important thing to remind ourselves to keep doing, regardless of whether you’re a professional mover such as a dancer, or you have a desk job, is to KEEP MOVING! Fear, anxiety and depression are ever present in situations like this, and can build to a dangerous point if we don’t find ways to combat them. Exercise and movement of any kind is a natural healer, for our physical, mental and emotional state.
Also, we have to remember that we WILL get through this, there WILL be an end in sight if we have the courage to battle tirelessly together. It’s comforting to know that however you are feeling, you are not alone, we are all collectively united with the same challenges. There is a global irony starting to present itself, which is that in a state of isolation we are somehow more connected than ever. That’s perhaps a positive, no?
#LUDWIGVAN
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