Sueann Townsend takes helm at Amherst Ballet
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There's one thing Sueann Townsend has learned over the years: It's good to be flexible.
Townsend, who has been on the faculty of Amherst Ballet since 2008, recently got a bit of a surprise when the school's executive director, Catherine Fair, announced that she would be leaving her post and moving out of state - immediately. Fair had taught at the school for 15 years, and served as its executive director since 2004. Her resignation was effective Jan. 3.
The school's board of directors asked Townsend to step in as acting executive director. She said she readily agreed, even though she knew her world was about to be turned topsy-turvy.
Townsend already taught the upper-level classes at the school, but now she would be responsible for overseeing lower-level classes as well as a host of administrative duties, including publicity and fundraising. Perhaps the most daunting task: producing the school's 40th-anniversary show, which still needed a concept. Townsend would have to oversee choreography, staging, casting, rehearsals and costumes - all in time for a May 26 performance.
"This was dropped so out of the blue," she said in a phone interview late last week. "We were not prepared."
But Townsend, 51, a self-proclaimed workaholic who has years of performing and teaching experience, said it never occurred to her to say no.
As Townsend neared the end of her first month as acting executive director, she spoke with the Gazette about her new role, her love of dance, her teaching philosophy and the benefits of being "a no-drama person." Below are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Q: You joined Amherst Ballet in 2008. In what capacity?
A: They brought me on during "Emily of Amherst." I was the chief cook and bottle washer. I was the rehearsal coach and I choreographed the finale. I also designed the costumes.
Then I stayed on as a teacher to take charge of the bulk of the classes in the upper school. We had a group of really serious aspiring preprofessionals who needed more push from somebody who had a professional career.
Q: Where were you living and working before you moved to Amherst?
A: I came here from Las Vegas. I had worked for 10 years there, dancing. I worked with the Nevada Ballet Theater, one of the smaller companies in the area. I also worked as a stagehand. I wanted to get a grip before transitioning out of performing, dealing with the technical aspects of things. I also taught. I finished my performing career with the Ballet Theater Internationale - a pickup international ballet company. We tossed a bunch of people in a studio for a couple of weeks then we'd go out to tour.
Q: How did you end up in Amherst?
A: The [Amherst Ballet] job brought me to this area. I had seen an ad in Dance magazine. I was really tired of being in Las Vegas and I wanted to be on the East Coast - or anywhere but Las Vegas. I went on an interview ... I was incredibly charmed by this area.
Q: What about it attracted you?
A: I love the fact that there are the Five Colleges, the intellectual and multicultural opportunities. I love the cross-pollination of ideas and the collegiality. There's great brain power here.
Q: What was your early dance/ballet training like?
A: I grew up in Illinois where I started at a little hole-in-the-wall ballet school. My parents had ideas that you should experience different things then find your way out of the investigative process rather than being forced into something. Ballet was something I was expected to try as a child. Later, I went to the Interlochen Center for the Arts [in Michigan], first for the summer, then I ended up with a scholarship for the year.
Q: Tell me about your teaching philosophy.
A: For those who want a career in dance, it's really important that we make sure they understand the rigor it takes to have a performance career. But if you train in a negative way, in a sadistic way like some of the old-school teachers used to do, you can turn people off. They move on and when they're 35 years old they say, "No way in hell I'll buy a ticket to the ballet." That's not successful for the art form.
But not everybody's going to go on the stage. It is vitally important that we educate not only the dancers of tomorrow but also the audiences of tomorrow. I want an educated audience sitting out there. A discerning audience. The more they know, they are way more demanding but they are also more open to a wide range of dance experiences. I want my students to walk away with a love for the art form. When they're an attorney, a doctor, an engineer ... they will want to go to the ballet because they remember how wonderful they felt dancing.
Q: What will your new position entail?
A: I will continue to teach almost all upper school classes. And I'm also producing the upper school performance - our big end-of-year repertory event. It's our 40th anniversary year. That's remarkable. We're trying to do something that is tailor-made to recognize that. In addition, I have to produce the lower school performance. I'm handling the publicity, a fundraiser and student choreographic showcases. I'm now part of that, making sure the kids get their act together.
Then, we have summer camps we have to plan, not to mention that teenagers - they've got problems and I have to deal with that. Everybody's got their concerns, their needs, and they deserve a fair hearing. Drama can feed on itself. You've got to put the fire out soon so it doesn't get out of hand.
Q: How much time did you have to prepare before taking on the new tasks?
A: Very little. It was a shock to the system - boom, all of a sudden, overnight. I'm a no-drama kind of person. You deal with what life puts in front of you. Don't panic. My goal now is to minimize the chaos and make things go as smoothly as possible. There's a rather large hole in the working of the system.
Q: What are the strengths of Amherst Ballet that you will tap into?
A: The kids. This lot of kids is a special bunch. They've got a lot of brains. The more well-rounded and intelligent they are the more you can do with them. These kids are really smart and they are delightful to work with.
Q: For the 40th anniversary show, the upper school dancers will perform a piece from each of the school's four decades. There's a modern dance from the 1970s, a large classical ballet from the 1980s, a contemporary piece, en pointe, from the 1990s and a piece by Catherine Fair from the early 2000s. How did you find these pieces and prepare your students to perform them?
A: I have spent way more time than a sane human being should watching videos of ancient Amherst Ballet history. It was my idea, so I have only myself to blame. The upper school performance - make it or break it - rests on my shoulders right now.
Q: You have been named acting executive director. Are you interested in the position on a permanent basis?
A: My future [with Amherst Ballet] is something to be discussed. I have certain ideas about what would further that discussion. In the meantime, the season ends in June. I am in it until then. No way I'm going to bail on them now.
Kathleen Mellen can be reached at kmellen@gazettenet.com.
