Barette Vance, a member of the Pennsylvania Ballet Corps de Ballet, interviews
Mary Beth Budd, president and owner of Trienawear & Extensions dancewear, for Discount Dance Supply.
Background
When and where were you born?
May 10, Parsons, Kansas
Where did you grow up and how many siblings do you have?
I lived in Parsons until I was 7 and then we moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
I have 4 brothers and 5 sisters and I’m #5 out of the 10.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a professional ballet dancer?
When I performed Clara in the Nutcracker. I was hooked.
How did your parents feel about you following your dreams?
Well, this is rather a long story. When I performed Clara I was training with a professional ballet academy. The academy feeling I had the talent and drive to become a professional wanted me to complete high school by correspondence courses. Nearly all the students were expected to pursue this means of education if they were in the professional program.
My family felt that the high school experience was very important so I actually quit dancing from the age of 13-18 and went on to high school graduating as the valedictorian. I missed dancing so I became a cheerleader for the full four years! I was accepted into the University of Notre Dame as a Notre Dame Scholar. I started taking ballet classes my very first semester with the Theatre Departments at Notre Dame and their sister school St. Mary’s but I did not major in Theatre or Dance but rather Chemistry. I danced nearly every semester in either dance or theatre performances. By my senior year, I was performing Swanhilda in the full-length Coppelia. I graduated from Notre Dame Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Chemistry and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
I auditioned for some ballet companies but was not successful and went on to graduate school at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL to earn my Ph.D. in analytical chemistry. Again, during my first semester I sought out the dance department which was mostly modern dance and began taking classes and performing with the university dance and theatre departments. One of the jazz and theatre dance instructors, Judy Skinner, was also the director of the Gainesville Civic Ballet and Dance Alive! She invited me to become part of the civic company. With any free time from my classes, research, and teaching assistant duties at U.of F., I began taking classes and performing with the Gainesville Civic Ballet. Two years later, Dance Alive! had an opening for a dancer to tour with them on their first Midwest tour and I was hired! My life as a professional ballet dancer had begun.
Did you face any challenges as you transitioned from a student to a professional?
Oh yes. First I had to decide whether I would continue school. I decided to write up my Ph.D. research early and receive a Master’s degree. I would come back to Gainesville from one of the many tours with Dance Alive! (we toured about 2 weeks out of every month during the season) and would work in the lab to finish my research and write up my thesis. Second, I always felt that I had to make up those very formative years of training I missed in high school. So I took as many classes as possible.
Training Information
When did you first start taking ballet?
At the ripe age of 3!
Where did you train?
· Mitzi Gray’s Dance Studio (my mother’s dance studio) in Chanute, Kansas
· The Atlantic Foundation for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
· Pofahl Studios in Gainesville, Florida
· Then with specific teachers in New York: Nancy Bielski, David Howard, Wilhem Burman, Fabrice Herrault, Michael Vernon, Alexander Filipov
Did you ever attend any summer programs and if so which ones?
No, but I did attend summer cheerleading camps!
Professional Career
At what age did you join your first professional company?
23
Did you dance for any other ballet companies outside the Metropolitan Opera Ballet?
Dance Alive!, Garden State Ballet, Connecticut Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Long Island, other small dance companies in the New York City area and as a freelance guest artist throughout the U.S.
Can you also tell us about your rise up through the ranks, from corps to soloist to principal?
I remained a corps or soloist with the companies that I performed with, however, I did perform principal roles during my contracts. I also performed principal roles (most all the major classical pas de deux) as a freelance guest artist.
What other dance opportunities did you pursue?
I performed some musical theatre. I performed and choreographed period dances for the revue Music Dance USA and performed in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Neil’s New Yorker Dinner Theatre.
Where you ever faced with any major injuries during your dance career?
No, I have been blessed & lucky. I did however sprain both my ankles 3 weeks apart during my jazz solo with Dance Alive! I was sidelined for about 6 weeks. As I became an older dancer, I trained in Zena Rommett’s floor barre technique with Marguerite Wesley. I am positive this technique not only lengthened my lines but helped me to avoid injuries and extended my career.
What was your favorite role and why?
This is a tough question because there are so many. With my background, I always felt that I was so lucky and blessed to be a professional dancer. I loved performing and tried to perform each role with total commitment. I’m an acting dancer so when I performed a role I became the role! I guess I would say my absolute favorites have always been the full-length classical ballets. I have been fortunate to perform hundreds of Sugar Plum Fairies and I have performed Giselle, Swanhilda, and the Firebird as full-length ballets. With a full-length, you have enough material to really make the character come to life for yourself and the audience. I also loved any piece that was ever choreographed for me.
What is your fondest memory of dancing?
Again, it is difficult to single out one since I have many…. Performing at the Met for the first time, performing on the same stage with the opera superstars, Pavarotti and Domingo, and with the Met Chorus and the orchestra under the direction of James Levine, receiving a standing ovation for Firebird, dancing at the Corn Palace in Iowa, performing the Romeo & Juliet balcony pas, Sleeping Beauty wedding pas, and the White Swan pas at an outdoor amphitheatre on beautiful summer evenings, Giselle, every Grand Pas as the Sugar Plum Fairy….
Who would you say had the most influence on you during your dancing career?
Every teacher I ever had and every director that ever hired me.
Manufacturing Information
What made you interested in designing leotards and other dancewear?
While I was dancing with the Garden State Ballet, one of my fellow dancers and I decided that there were no ballet skirts on the market that were flattering so we decided to make our own.
While you were a student did you make your own leotards?
No, not leotards but I made most of my own clothes and even my prom dress.
When did you officially start your business?
Part-time in 1987 but really full-time in 1991.
If you were running your business while you were also still dancing professionally or performing, did you find it difficult to do both?
Yes and no. Yes, in just having enough hours. I remember taking my laptop to the Met and doing work during breaks in the stage rehearsals or during the intermissions of performances and many nights staying up late to get it all done.
No, in that I've always liked to have many things going on at once. Performing helped me to focus on my work for the business and vice versa.
Do you have any suggestions for anyone else wanting to pursue a design career or own their own business?
To pursue a design career, I would definitely suggest getting an education first. Here in New York City, the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, and the Pratt Institute are incredible schools. I've taken or still take classes at the first two. To own your own business, I would suggest working for someone first in the field you are interested in and with an eye toward going out on your own some day. When you own your own business, you have to realize that you are responsible for everything and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will always get paid. You might think you don't have a boss but you really have many…all your customers. You will need to put in long hours but it can be very rewarding.
Read more about Barette Vance.
Purchase Trienawear & Extensions at Discount Dance Supply.
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