Cosmopolitan‘s Heather Wood Rudulph recently presented an interview with Lisa Mara about the path that led to Mara starting a dance company.
“Mara, 29, founded DanceWorks Boston as a creative outlet for people just like her: skilled dancers who also have full-time jobs and never pursued dance as a career. A handful of friends dancing together turned into hundreds of dancers, a second DanceWorks location in New York, and a new career that marries her love of business and her passion for the art form.
Mara: “Since I could walk, I was really active — I played soccer, tennis, I swam, I skied. I kind of went kicking and screaming to my first dance class. I didn’t like to join things when I was younger unless a friend was doing it. But I was dancing around the house 24/7 in my older sisters’ dance costumes. …
“In seventh grade, I was hugely influenced by Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and *NSYNC. I learned all the dances and sent in an audition tape to MTV’s TRL. I was asked to dance on this Britney Spears show. I think in a dream world I thought I wanted to be her backup dancer, but it was also my first taste of what these glamorous Hollywood red-carpet events are like. It’s like hurry up and wait. You never see the celebrities. And everyone hates it. I was like, This is kinda not fun.
“I went to the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and studied PR. … I fell into PR because I thought that’s what I would be the best at.
“Syracuse has several options for trained dancers. I chose the student-run organization, DanceWorks. After a fairly competitive, strenuous audition, I joined the company my freshman year. By sophomore year, I was on the executive board, and by junior year, I was the co-director. Everything was run like a business. I choreographed dances, organized workshops for up to 300 dancers, led auditions, ordered costumes, managed budgets. I wanted a hand in everything.”
After several years in PR, Mara moved back to Boston and thought about what she wanted to do next.
“I had a network of about five Syracuse alumni in Boston. I said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of starting a DanceWorks Boston. Would you join if I did?’ They said, ‘Yeah, where do I sign?’ …
“The target audience I was reaching was high-caliber dancers who wanted to continue dancing and choreographing into their adult lives. Many of our dancers have full-time jobs. Many of our dancers are dance teachers, but this is their opportunity to dance for themselves.”
Read more at Cosmopolitan, here.
Funny thing: I myself went to the Newhouse School, not in PR but television and radio. One assignment was to interview a classmate in the TV studio. I asked a classmate who had always been a ballet dancer but had stopped dancing to come to grad school. I interviewed her about dance.
After we were finished and were walking away she said to me, “Wow, this interview really makes me want to find a dance company in Syracuse and keep dancing.”
Photo: Joyelle West
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