David Palmer’s Advice On Pursuing a Professional Dance Career
Last summer, Boca Ballet Theatre was thrilled to welcome the co-founder of Maximum Dance Company, David Palmer, to stage his work “3 Two 5” for our mixed-repertory concert Resurgence, which served as the capstone for BBT’s Advanced Summer Performance Workshop. In this profile, we highlight David’s incredible contributions to the professional dance world and the advice that he offers to pre-professional dancers like those who participate in our exceptional summer program.
David’s career in professional dance includes directorships at Maximum Dance Company, The Washington Ballet, and The Rochester City Ballet. After co-founding MDC with Yanis Pikeris in 1997, David oversaw a decade of success as director of the company, attracting dancers from American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, amongst many others. David’s international professional relationships with dancers, choreographers, musicians, and directors across the globe were invaluable to MDC and to David’s directorships since then.
It was during his time with MDC in Miami that David first connected with Dan Guin and Jane Tyree, dancing as a guest artist in BBT’s productions of The Nutcracker. Since then, David, Dan, and Jane have maintained their connection in the close-knit dance community. In the summer of 2020, David returned to BBT’s studios to offer his expertise to the pre-professional dancers participating in our Advanced Summer Performance Workshop. During his time teaching and staging his work, David was able to observe our summer program and recently highlighted in an interview the program’s value in helping aspiring dancers navigate their way into the professional dance world.
“With exposure to four different directors, dancers [at BBT’s Advanced Summer Performance Workshop] can get a broad understanding of the professional dance world,” David said. “The different styles, eclectic repertory, and perspectives that companies have.” In addition to this exposure, David mentioned how BBT’s summer program helps young dancers learn how to professionalize themselves by listening to the advice of directors who have gone through the experience before. “The program helps students navigate that process,” David said. Often, a lot of research goes into the process of pursuing a professional dance career, but BBT’s summer program provides aspiring dancers with the tools they need to pursue this path.
When asked what advice he’d offer pre-professional dancers, David said, “There’s more to this career than what you learn in the studio.” He recommended utilizing the many resources that are available online to engage with the field of dance, including reading about its history and the many influential dancers and choreographers who have shaped that history. With so many companies sharing their repertories online, David encourages young dancers to study the work that’s out there—classical, neoclassical, and contemporary—so that they have a sense of how ballet has evolved.
David concluded our interview by saying, “A successful dancer’s best friend is motivation. Learn what tools can help you cultivate that motivation.” Doing research on how to pursue a career in professional dance is one tool that David emphasized. Boca Ballet Theatre also recognizes the value of resources when trying to navigate the pursuit of a professional dance career. It’s for this reason that we created the Advanced Summer Performance Workshop. With the kind of exposure and resources that we provide in this program, we hope to cultivate and direct the kind of motivation that David described. We hope you’ll mark your calendars for this spring, when BBT opens its auditions for the Advanced Summer Performance Workshop! Learn more in the link below!
