The Washington Post: For the past 18 months, Daniel Harder has been keeping fit in his Harlem apartment with Zoom workouts, using an ironing board as a ballet barre and trying not to kick over the furniture. He has also performed with a modern-dance troupe that streamed shows online. But none of that matches what he has put himself through for The Big Moment: his return to Broadway, dancing and singing in “The Lion King.” (The show reopens Tuesday.)
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It really shows a dedication to their craft that dancers continued to practice just to keep themselves in shape, and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to go from isolation and staying inside to doing long, rigorous rehearsals nearly every day. Allysa Shorte’s experience in particular interested me, as her ability to fully heal her sprained ankle highlighted a positive element to everything shutting down. Many dancers continue to work through injuries or go back to work early, which can permanently damage the body part or cause it to heal improperly. I also admired her positivity in acknowledging the time she was able to have with her father before his passing. To not only not be present for that but to also have to work while processing it would be extremely difficult, and it’s good to hear that she, along with probably many more dancers, is going back to work in a new mindset of taking care of herself.
As a stage manager who has no performance background, I have so much respect for the humans that devote their bodies in such an intense manner to a job. Not only are performers put through the physical ringer, but they also must go through the mental process of going on stage. This article touches on the fact that when setting the entertainment industry aside during covid, many people in the industry started to remember their true worth, and now that they are back in action, they won’t give up their needs again. I can relate to this because as a stage manager in high school, there wasn’t a lot of movement in my role. This was something I wish I realized sooner – my peers who were performers were dancing for the entirety of these 2 hour rehearsals while I was sitting in front of them writing down blocking (among other administrative things). During quarantine, I noticed that although my position exercised my brain, it didn’t exercise my body where my peers were doing both – memorizing lines and dancing in this and that number. Once I started getting back into rehearsals, I made it a priority that outside of rehearsal I move my body, which helped me physically, but also helped me maintain a healthier and more present mindset in rehearsal.
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