We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Dreis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

There are a lot of stereotypes, when it comes to dancers. I often feel judged when I share my career as a professional dancer. Some people tend to think that it’s “not a real career”. I’ve heard society criticize dancers as only dumb and pretty. When the reality is, it takes a lot of knowledge to make it in this industry. Dancers must be versatile and have an understanding of numbers, patterns, movements, musical insight, memorization, muscles, anatomy, kinesiology, pedagogy, stagecraft, lighting, and more. Others categorize dance as a hobby. Yet, we as dancers have to work just as hard, if not harder, to succeed in this industry as anyone else in any other industry. It’s disheartening to hear others categorize or degrade dancers like me and this artform as a career. The percentage of jobs available in the professional ballet industry alone are harder to achieve than a spot in the NFL. That should give some perspective. The amount of time, investment, determination, education, motivation, and support it takes to pursue such a career are unquantifiable. Also just because someone is an artist doesn’t mean they can’t think or achieve accomplishments in other fields. There is this misconception that dancers are dancers and all they do is dance. When the reality is, dancers have many other disciplines and passions in additional fields.

Danielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Danielle Dreis. I first studied ballet at a small studio, non-profit, Imagine Ballet Theatre in Ogden, Utah as the youngest company member. The minimum age was 10, but there was an exception made to allow me to work with the company at age 6 due to my concentration, commitment, and maturity for my age. I also danced with Creative Arts Academy and attended several international summer intensives including Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Palucca University of Dance Dresden, American Ballet Theatre, Interlochen Arts Academy, Long Beach Ballet, Ballet West, U of U, and more. I love opportunities to travel and dance. I received many scholarships to these programs and was grateful for the training, mentors, friends, and experiences. After graduating from Ogden High School, I received a scholarship to study with The Joffrey Ballet located in New York City. I moved to the city for a few years and began my aviation degree online while studying ballet full time in New York. This was also where I gained traction in my modeling experiences and career exposure. Some awards and honors I have earned include “People’s Choice Award” Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival, YAGP top 12 senior division, American Ballet Competition 3rd place, PTA Reflections – Choreography Award of Excellence multiple years, So You Think You Can Dance, season 15 semi-finalist, and Dance Moms. After training with Joffrey, in New York City, I returned to Utah where I continued my online studies in aviation and attended The University of Utah on scholarship. I received my BFA in ballet in 2019 from the University of Utah. I double majored, and attended two universities at once. The most credits I took in one semester was 36 credit hours. It was a very busy, dedicated, and stressful few years, but all my work paid off and it was also very rewarding. Simultaneously, I received my BS in Aviation summa cum laude from Utah Valley University under the Sterling Scholar Dance Scholarship. Currently I perform with prestigious companies including Ballet Next in Park City, SALT Contemporary Dance, Body Logic, The Tabernacle Choir, Municipal Ballet, and more. I most recently completed a contract with Royal Carribean Cruise Lines.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience is my recent experience on board a cruise line during the COVID19 pandemic. This story immediately comes to mind because of its recent occurance and because the experiences and challenges I had during this time were some of the most difficult in my life. I will try to communicate my experiences but it is hard to capture the internal fight and feelings during these times. I received a contract offer to dance for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines after graduation. This success was a major dream come true. I was honored and anxious to start my career in the commercial dance industry. The potential this opportunity had was endless. To dance, get paid to perform, and travel all wrapped in one. Sadly the pandemic postponed my departure date not once, but several times. This back and forth action and constant delay was hard on me mentally but I persevered. There were times I had to get testing done in a timely manner so I had results for my travel documents but then just the day before or the morning or in some cases as I was traveling to the airport to depart, I would receive notification of another delay.
Once the 7th or 8th new flight finally went through for real, it didn’t even feel real anymore. The goodbyes had become much easier considering I had kept saying goodbye over and over but never leaving. Emotionally it was challenging. Once I arrived at my destination I was not allowed to board the ship yet. COVID and international travel regulations made things extremely difficult. We had to quarantine upon arrival for several days. Although it may have appeared like a paid vacation to some, we were trapped in our rooms and receiving half pay due to the quarantine measures. Twice we prepared to fly to our next destination but could not board due to another last minute cancellation. China was waiting to receive us but had very particular entry requirements. When we finally made it into the country we had to receive additional vaccines and endure another quarantine period where we could not leave our individual hotel rooms for 2-3 weeks. We did not even have balconies or windows for fresh air. Despite these circumstances I was resiliate. I stayed positive and made the best of each day, getting into routines, working out, making art, and enjoying lots of time for naps and self care.
Eventually we made it on board and into staterooms for what was supposed to be the final quarantine period. Sadly after being released and starting our shows with just 3 days rehearsal time, the ships operations were shut down again due the the strict rules about positive COVID cases on board.
I had worked so hard to get here. We put the show together in a matter of days and just a few performances later our work was abrupt yet again. We neutered many more quarantine periods based on the number of cases on board. We had to move ports eventually and ceased sailings many times. We were at sea with just the crew for months. It was not the vacation many on the outside perceived. It was difficult, the wifi didn’t work, I was on the opposite time zone as my home, and we were confined to our rooms many days without permission to leave until cases decreased. My room was on the side of the ship that received no sun and I began to realize how many small things like sunshine and fresh air we often take for granted. I was resilient hoping to continue the shows eventually and pursuing the opportunity I came to enjoy.
In addition to the quarantine and mask protocols, we were not allowed to get off the ship on land like usual. I hadn’t seen or touched land in over 175 days. When the restrictions were lifted and we were allowed to get off at ports, we were only allowed off for a few hours and we had to divide into groups because only a limited number of employees were allowed off each time we came into port to exchange passengers. I wish I could go into further detail to explain the amount of emotional and physical stress such unexpected circumstances had on all of us as crew, but it is hard to describe. Many china citizens were stuck on board even longer than the dancers or didn’t have quite as many benefits as we did due to our rank. I felt bad for those around me and the conditions we all had to endure. It was a very unique experience and I have taken all that I can from it. Although difficult, there were many connections made, characteristics defined, thankfulness increased, lessons learned, memories made, sights seen, and friendships/relationships formed. This entire experience proved my optimism, strength, determination, commitment, and resilience.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect as an artist is in the performance. It is hard to put into words. As a teacher I find rewards in seeing my students succeed, their understanding increase, and their hard work pays off. But as a professional dancer, I find the most reward in the present moments of performing for a live audience. The reason we dance is because there are many times we feel things we can’t put into words. Not only that, but dance is an international language so the aspect of performing is the most rewarding part for me because of those reasons. I am taken to a different place or I am creating a different character where I can tell a story. It feels like if I can make a difference, impact, or cause just one audience member to feel something different then when before they walked in then I have succeeded. And it is that moment that is most rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://breezingthrough.wixsite.com/dance
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danidancerdreis/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@danidancerdreis/featured
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danidancerdreis?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
Lauren Wattenburg Photo Mike Reid Ballet Next