We were lucky to catch up with Susan Vishmid recently and have shared our conversation below.
Susan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Choosing to be in a creative field is a risk in and of itself. The passion and drive one has for their craft often exceeds the drive for pursuing financial gains. My entire career I never understood why these two passions have to be mutually exclusive. I took many risks throughout my career – every time i step out on stage is a risk! – but there are two that stand out for me. The first big risk was my decision at age 24 to return to the ballet world. At the time I was working as a marketing coordinator for a large commercial bank and doing quite well. Then when the subprime mortgage crisis hit in 2008 our entire marketing department was essentially dissolved. At the time I was also going through a very rough time in my personal life and decided “Screw it! I want to have fun and enjoy my profession and thereby my life!” So I decided to return to the world of ballet, a world I thought I had retired from at the ripe old age of 19. The rest is history.
The second riskiest thing I ever did was to start my own dance company, Freaks With Lines. I began choreographing for myself and my partner with whom I was working a lot with at the time. I created several pieces for us, which we performed at festivals. I was generating momentum with the company and then the pandemic happened. Contrary to what I believed then, the pandemic was really a blessing in disguise for Freaks With Lines. The deep passion for my art I referred to earlier kicked into full gear and we produced several works during the pandemic, one of which received critical acclaim. Thanks to this unrelenting desire to dance and to create and produce, Freaks With Lines continued generating momentum during the pandemic resulting in what I now can proudly say is a full repertoire of work. We now have 12 pieces in our repertoire and are also in the process of becoming our own non-profit organization.
It takes balls to go off on your own and do your own thing. It is not easy by any means, regardless of industry. However, the rewards are oh so sweet. Seeing the fruits of your labor come to fruition and the unity this generates among artists is priceless. My father always says, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” and he is absolutely right! Being relentless in your quest to achieve what you want out of life is the only way and if you don’t believe you can achieve your goals then, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, you prove yourself to be right and be left wondering, “What if…?”
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I began my early training in ballet at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, CA. Through scholarships I continued training at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and The Rock School. I danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Santa Fe Opera, San Diego Opera, Chicago Festival Ballet, Napoles Ballet Theater, California Contemporary Ballet, City of Angels Ballet, California Riverside Ballet, Key West Ballet, Coast City Ballet and San Gorgonio Ballet. I had the privilege of working with some of today’s most esteemed choreographers including the late Kenneth von Heidecke, Nicola Bowie, Jodi Melnick and Kitty McNamee in Samson & Delilah, Aida, A Masked Ball, Romeo & Juliette, Capriccio and La Traviata respectively.
I started teaching ballet in 2012 and have been teaching ever since in addition to performing as a freelance artist. I started my own contemporary ballet company: Freaks With Lines (FWL), which is based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2019, FWL continues to successfully bring a community of professional ballet dancers together with like minded artists working in and with other media to preserve the art form of ballet while pushing its boundaries and subverting traditional norms often associated with the art.
There are not many opportunities for classically trained dancers to do substantial work in Los Angeles and many of these “golden opportunities’ ‘ that pass through often underutilize, undervalue and belittle artists. Many of the dancers I work with come from toxic work environments where they were told they were “too skinny,” “too fat,” “too tall,” etc, yet despite all of this adversity they somehow manage to tap into an unrelenting hunger with the aspiration of finding the right opportunity to continue doing their beloved craft. Above all else these artists are extremely talented and desire nothing more than to work, which is why FWL celebrates dancers on the fringes of the ballet world.
I employ an approach of irreverence, intrigue, intelligence and integrity as a dancer myself and especially as a choreographer. As dance artists we look at the possibility of shapes and the way those shapes move and relate to one another before we look at any other physical quality. Movement is the most fundamental way through which we experience our own humanity.
FWL now has 12 pieces in its repertoire, one of which received much critical acclaim. Nilus Cogus was born from a grueling desire to create during the pandemic. Nilus Cogus is a contemporary ballet film featuring six dancers and a “machine” referred to as Nilus Cogus. The film is a commentary on the age of surveillance and how ubiquitous voyeurism has become. The interplay between humanity and technology renders us as cogs inside of an unstoppable machine that is itself being manipulated by some greater and unknowable phenomenon. My background and deep passion for philosophy is the impetus behind the conceptual nature of much of the work I create for the company.
Additionally, I am a certified yoga and Pilates instructor. I teach ballet and Pilates from my home studio in Playa del Rey, CA. I also teach ballet at Align Ballet Method, a studio program dedicated to providing a safe and encouraging environment for adult ballet dancers, many of whom are total beginners. Students tell me they appreciate my attention to detail and technique and the clear yet witty and lighthearted manner of my delivery. A sense of humor is essential in the dance studio whether you are working with professional dancers or total beginners because the art form is so mentally and physically demanding.
I am a USC alumna (cum laude) with a BA in Communication and Philosophy. Class of 2005.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
First and foremost society needs to change its views on artists and artistic fields and this begins at school. Starting as early as middle school and continuing through college, art classes, performing arts classes, photography classes, etc are all considered “electives.” They are not thought of as “real classes” because the subject matter is not conceived of as “real work.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The discipline one must have as an artist is unparalleled. More often than not discipline is the one trait characterizing any successful artist. Artists, especially performing artists like dancers, actors and musicians are among the most dedicated, if not the most dedicated and diligent people in the world. They have to be. The competition among artists is fierce. Validation from fellow peers and from audiences carries great satisfaction that frequently outweighs being properly compensated. Perhaps this is the fatal artistic flaw no artist can truly escape. No one else except YOU, the artist will benefit (or suffer) if that unwavering dedication is missingnbm. With this comes great agency on behalf of an artist; the outcome is directly related to the amount of work and dedication delivered by an artist. This is quite liberating!
Academia must really take a look at how they structure curriculums and start integrating “elective” classes into the regular curriculum. Perhaps change the language and eliminate referring to arts classes as “electives.” Give the classes merit by calling them by their proper art form. The elective classes are often seen as a joke, rendering any aspiring artists as nothing more than an anecdote. The arts uplift and elevate societies and unless educators illuminate how essential this is to our mental, spiritual and emotional well-being, the arts will continue to be ridiculed and seen as silly and in no way a legitimate career path.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
It takes a team of people to nurture and develop one’s creativity into a career. No artist can do it alone. The support of friends and especially family is what I believe to set creatives apart from non creatives. I was extremely fortunate to have the support of my family from the very beginning of my journey into the ballet world and their support continues today. My family are my biggest fans! Those who are closest to you take the time to educate themselves to understand what a creative career path involves.
Unlike Europe, our society in the United States is not set up to cultivate and nurture creative interests in the youth. Society tells our youth to pursue something “worthwhile” and “lucrative,” which is usually the opposite of a creative path yet it need not be. Some give in to the societal and familial pressures and abandon their dreams of a career in the arts in exchange to make more money. Why does being financially solvent and being an artist have to be mutually exclusive? The misconception that artists will inevitably become destitute as a result of their chosen career path is incredibly damaging to society as a whole. Who says that art cannot be commercialized?! Look at Andy Warhol! He is someone who started out as a commercial artist doing Pop Art for department stores in New York! Artists are the ones who uplift and elevate their communities because art heals. Art can heal the mind, body and spirit, which is something many non creatives fail to appreciate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.freakswithlines.org
- Instagram: @freakswithlines
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FREAKSWITHLINES/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-vishmid-88226933
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NhyudmYewvexIHePunKaQ
Image Credits
Image #3 Oliver Endani (@BalletZaida) Image #5 Ginger Sole Photography Image #6 Skye Shmidt Photography (The Dancing Photog)