Motivational Reads: Jennie Somogyi

Photo Credit: Henry Leutwyler

I wanted to share an interview of one of my biggest inspirations in the company. Jennie Somogyi is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and, in my opinion, one of the strongest and most natural dancers today. Not to say that she hasn't worked her butt off for her accomplishments, but her dancing just seems to flow out of her as if that is how she walks down the street.

This interview was published shortly after she returned to the stage after snapping her Achilles tendon, the second of two major injuries in her career. Her mindset of setting small goals to build confidence to then be able to achieve bigger goals is awesome and makes the scary goals seem possible: like how she has returned to dancing after not even being able to walk–twice!

It was interesting to learn about her approach to her dancing now and what she would have changed about her first years in the company. I'm still a newbie in the dance world and it is reassuring to hear her reiterate my same experiences of survival mode. She wishes she had enjoyed her dancing more in the beginning when she was dancing three and four ballets a night.

Sometimes it was about pacing: I’m in the middle of dancing something, thinking, These shoes are not going to make it through the next two ballets, what do I have in my dressing room? Do I need to sew during intermission? There was definitely a different mind-set that I was in. Kind of survival mode. So I look back, and I was dancing these amazing things, but not really enjoying them. I did, but not as I should have. Not like I would now.

I smiled when I read this because I can relate. I've been trying to settle down a little more since first reading this and truly enjoy performing because, after all, that's the best part! Why do we rehearse all day if only to stress when it comes to showtime? Where's the payoff? Jennie really lets it all go on stage and it comes through to the audience. You can tell how much fun she is having out there and that's something I hope to be able to portray as well as she does one day.

The way that Jennie talks about athleticism and artistry really resonates with me. She talks about the line between the two and how you need to figure out the movement from within yourself before being molded by a ballet master or another dancer's interpretation. This can be hard sometimes because you rehearse so quickly before the performance and there's little time to refine the movement and personalize it, not to mention have any confidence in your interpretation of the part! Jennie's experiences with this are so honest and true:

 As artists, whatever’s going on in our lives comes to the stage, and I was always so nervous for it. I felt very exposed. Because I felt so exposed, it would make me want to apologize and hide, and I just always felt very shy when I would go onstage, which is not the approach you want....And I started to figure out what I really wanted it to be instead of just getting through it and feeling like, I hope they liked that. I started to visualize what I thought that part should look like, and then I was able to bring that to it. It felt so much more comfortable, and I had a clearer idea in my head of what I wanted in the shapes....I changed my whole approach, and then it felt much more like myself and what I’m comfortable doing instead of trying to change myself into what I thought they wanted to see in it.

Somogyi in "Who Cares?"
Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik

Every dancer feels the pressure to please their ballet masters and the audience. I really enjoy learning that even a dancer I consider to be fearless struggled at first with finding her personality and confidence. In classical ballet it is easy to regurgitate steps exactly how they were shown to you, but that's not dancing! Jennie dances with such abandon and excitement now and it's inspirational to know that she too had to fight for it.

Jennie has really been through the ringer in terms of injuries in her career. Her motivation and determination to return to the stage after two serious injuries is so inspiring. Even though, thankfully, I have never been injured to her extent, sometimes I think, "If she can do this with those setbacks, so can I!" Her levelheaded approach to the dance world and navigating through all of its stressors and craziness is something everyone can learn from. I try to remember her clear and rational mindset when things get a little overwhelming. 

I hope you all do read this interview. Jennie is one of our greatest ballerinas today. Her dancing is so strong, lush and entirely unique, and she is so smart about everything she does. I feel really lucky to be able to watch her work and dance every day, and I think all dancers can take away something valuable and inspirational from her experiences.