We recently connected with Enrica Guana Tseng and have shared our conversation below.
Enrica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I took my first ballet class when I was very young, age 6, and from what my mom tells me fell in love with it immediately. I continued my study and training in my country of origin, Italy, and I knew that I wanted to become a professional dancer since a young age. Ballet performances always had a magical effect on me, left me mesmerized and wanted to do and see more.
Enrica, 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?
Let’s start first with my dancing career, because it has to do with what I am today. My first contracts were in Italy with a ballet company in Florence and later in Turin. But my career took fly when I joined Universal Ballet Company based in Seoul, South Korea. With this wonderful company I was engaged as a Corp member and by the time my husband and I decided to move to the States I had reached the rank of Principal Dancer.
We moved to the States where we both danced as Principal Dancer with Texas Ballet Theater in Fort Worth, Texas.
The love and respect that I have for this beautiful art and discipline has pushed me to share it with the younger artists. I started to teach as a freelance teacher when I was still fully in my professional career as a ballerina and I understood the important that passing on to the next generation has in the arts.
Teaching young children is very challenging, but it is also very fulfilling. To see how much dance as a discipline may help children to focus, to understand team work, and really to be more in touch with themselves is a gift that I receive every day and I do not take for granted.
This is at the very essence of the ballet studio, that my husband and I founded in 2005, Ballet Center of Fort Worth. We are very proud of the achievements of our students, not only for these that made it to become professional dancers, but also for the ones that are now in other fields, but dance shaped them for who they are today. Hard workers, never give up, and humble human being.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
As artists we prepare for the final goal, the performance! I wish that people would be more aware of the tremendous amount of work that goes in preparing for a stage performance, not only from the dancers but from the producers aspect.
I think some audience understood the important of live performance during the period of the pandemic, but I wish that people would remember all the time how important it is for us in the field of live performances and for the audience that attends. How many wonderful moments we can all create at the theatre!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As a human being you will never stop learning. When we open the ballet studio, coming from a professional dancing career of about 25 years, we knew exactly what to do in the studio, but learning how to run the business was certainly a very big learning curve.
As a professional dancer, and in our cases Principal Dancers, we had to learn how the spotlight was shifting….very humbling.
Our students and dancers are now the center of our lives and their wellbeing is extremely important to us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.balletcenterfortworth.com
- Instagram: balletcenteroffw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/balletcenterfortworth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3rENILETU3ucOARNM0tpxA
Image Credits
Todd Wakefield, Chung Lin Tseng