Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Giannone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Courtney, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Working as a dancer and Cyr Wheel artist is not easy. We all know a successful career in the performing arts is highly competitive and requires talent. This takes countless hours of training on a regular basis. I love this practice and regimen as much as I love to perform in front of an audience. I feel lucky that this is my job, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

However, there are many other skills that must be sustained in order to succeed in this competitive field. I am self-employed. My life sometimes feels like a juggling act of training, performing, creating and teaching. Maintaining my artistic crafts and preserving my overall wellbeing is of the utmost importance in order to “stay ready”. That’s a lot of unpaid hours of work each day. Someone with a “regular” career will be provided with routine work hours, lunch breaks, weekends off, vacation days and sick days. There is no “regular” schedule for me or “weekend”. It takes a certain amount of resilience and flexibility to switch between roles so many times each day and it can be challenging to find a moment to reflect, rest my mind or even check in with my immunity. Organization and time management are essential as an artist. There is ALWAYS something to do or work on.

My least favorite part of being an artist is self-marketing and social media based networking. Artists constantly have to make new connections as well as preserve former affiliations. This is extremely time consuming. I find it difficult to bounce back to my reality of rehearsal or training after sitting on instagram for an hour. It disturbs my artistic process and takes a toll on my body and mind. I was hit hard by the pandemic and have had to rebuild my income and work as an entertainer/ performer and even as an instructor. Marketing is more essential than ever. I have intended to hire a social media marketer, but at this time I would honestly need a sponsor to make this happen.

Courtney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Courtney Giannone CYR WHEEL,
DANCE & CHOREOGRAPHY
MOVEMENT INSTRUCTION

Companies/ Brands:
TALENT PLUG ENTERTAINMENT LLC
SPINNOVATION

BIO:
Courtney Giannone is a professional dancer, choreographer, Cyr wheel artist and movement
instructor based in San Diego. Originally from New York City, Courtney holds a BFA in dance from Fordham
University and The Ailey School, and has also trained at Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham,
Peridance, STEPS and Broadway Dance Center.

She has performed full – time for over a decade in shows/ companies including Queen of the
Night, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, Harry Connick Jr “Harry TV”, Company XIV, Quixotic Fusion, Buglisi Dance
Theater, Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater, Pascal Rioult, STREB Extreme Action, Diavolo,
Martha Graham, and Alvin Ailey. She has also performed the works of Robert Battle, Milton
Myers, Max Luna, Jane Comfort, Lara Wilson and Malashock Dance Company. Courtney is world champion in competitive wheel gymnastics for Team USA.

Courtney is a certified instructor of Horton Technique, GYROTONIC ®, Cyr Wheel and also instructs Modern and
Contemporary Dance. She currently teaches at Golden State Ballet Academy, San Diego Ballet and is a guest instructor at
SDSCPA. She travels internationally to perform, teach, and choreograph at conventions such
as Cyrs and Beers, and schools such as Circus Juventas and Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Her choreographic productions have been performed at Youth American Grand Prix, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, San
Diego Circus Center, Circus Juventas, Malashock, BEAT BROOKLYN, Galapagos Arts Space,
Dixon Place, STREB, California State University of Long Beach, Cornish College of the Arts, and The Ailey School.

Her nominations, awards and affiliations include Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, The Rolex
Mentor Protege Arts Initiative, Gold medal pianist of Carnegie Hall, scholarships to schools such
as American Ballet Theater, Kirov Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Studio Maestro, Joffrey Ballet, STREB
Extreme Action, Diavolo Dance Theater, Buglisi Dance Theater, Pascal Rioult Dance Theater,
contest winner of the Dance Magazine video competition, recipient of the STREB Emerging
Artist Commission, recipient of the Bindlestiff First of May Award 2013, resident artist at
Spaceworks NYC and Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, California.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Keep entertainment alive by seeing performances. For artists you know and care about, ask them how they can help. Perhaps there is one component you will realize you can back or help, or perhaps you have a useful connection to someone else: marketing, accounting, equipment maintenance, materials, space access, anything.
We all need support whether it be financial, company sponsorship, a space, or just a big hug. Our needs change often as our success fluctuates. Stay in touch. Ask questions: we want to help you understand how to help us. And we want to continue to be able to entertain you as our audience.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Space… we need space to pursue our work. Since the pandemic, space has become especially scarce for performing artists. There are so many unused massive spaces everywhere, including in San Diego (parts of the convention center are always empty, churches, recreation centers, airport hangars, etc). If you work somewhere with unused space, you can help us by communicating with your business team about what it would take to grant an artist with a temporary residency.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://courtneygiannone.godaddysites.com/
• Instagram: @courtneygiannone
• Facebook: facebook.com/courtneygiannone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe-9HhAYE-U
• Other: Talent Plug Entertainment LLC (new company, website under construction): https://talentplugentertainment.com/ Cyr Wheel/ Dance Demo: https://vimeo.com/382638198/e68bda60b7 Choreography: https://vimeo.com/670883501/998cac8dcb

Image Credits
Richard Calmes Photography Rob Riingen Photography Ryan Beck 1000 Words Photography / Malashock Dance Matt Fields-Johnson Eraj Asadi Photography Joshua Flannigan Photography – Company XIV Queen of the Night Top This Photography