We caught up with dancer Sarah Farnsley to see what she’s been up to after her time at Chicago Repertory Ballet. This is what she had to say!
CRB: When did you dance with the company?
Sarah: “I danced for CRB in the Spring 2014 season.”
CRB: What was a favorite CRB work to dance?
Sarah: “I really enjoyed The Four Seasons, particularly the Summer Duet Wade created for Tony Suhadolnik and me.”
CRB: What are you up to now?
Sarah: I’m currently living in London as a freelance artist, and I’m also a part time training coordinator and instructor for an axe throwing company!
CRB: Any items of interest you’d like to share?
Sarah: “Well I’ve definitely kept busy! After my time with CRB I moved to Europe where I performed in English National Ballet’s Swan Lake in the round at Royal Albert Hall. I also danced a season with New English Ballet Theatre where I had the opportunity to be coached by Darcey Bussell! I spent Spring 2019 in Paris with choreographer Edouard Lock as his rehearsal assistant, helping him restage his work in Iolanta/The Nutcracker at the Paris Opera Ballet. I also completed a Master’s degree in Dance Politics and Sociology in 2019, basing my thesis research on systemic hierarchy, misogyny, sexism, and infantilisation in classical ballet. I’ve been expanding my horizons as a choreographer as well, and in 2016 I created an original commission for Ballet Theatre of Indiana which we then developed into the dance film Absolution. The film premiered at Dances With Films Festival 2018 in LA and has gone on to appear in film festivals around the world and win awards for Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Experimental Short. More recently, just as the pandemic started to ramp up, I had a baby! My son, Emery, was born in the spring and has certainly been a high point in an otherwise difficult year.”
CRB: You’ve been busy indeed! Thanks for sharing these updates with us!