| Questions for... Sydnie Mosley, Intern for the Brooklyn Ballet
 Sydnie Mosley, a junior from Baltimore, Maryland, interned this past semester at the Brooklyn Ballet. A dual major in Dance and Africana Studies, she shadowed the artistic director, Lynn Parkerson, and was supported in part by the Esther and Morton Rose Memorial Arts Internship Fund, a grant she received through Barnard's Office of Career Development.
Q: Brooklyn Ballet is not as large as some of the other dance companies in New York. What was the biggest advantage of interning for a smaller company?
By the nature of the company's size, I was able to work directly with the Artistic Director and General Manager carrying out whatever tasks needed to be completed. My input was valued and necessary and I felt like I was an integral part to the organization.
Q: Shadowing Artistic Director Lynn Parkerson must have been interesting. Could you see yourself doing similar work to hers?
Yes. Brooklyn Ballet's first priority is its community outreach programs, teaching elementary and middle school students ballet and doing free public performances in Brooklyn parks. Similarly, the organization that I grew up dancing with in Baltimore had a strong community commitment. In the future I plan to found and direct my own dance company and it will also have a strong community component.
Brooklyn Ballet is only three years old and working with Lynn Parkerson helped me to visualize the reality of issues that I will surely face starting a new company, such as funding, having office and rehearsal space, keeping dancers employed, compiling a board committed to and willing to support a common goal, simultaneously having choreography and the opportunity to present it, how to sustain myself, etcetera.
Q: What was the most interesting project you worked on?
The most interesting project that I worked on was the preparation and production of their debut season and opening night gala. This was exciting for me because I was able to help organize and observe both the planning of a fundraising gala and the production of a professional dance performance.
Q: Did you work at or attend the Opening Night Gala?
Yes I worked at and attended the Opening Night Gala and it was amazing. The turnout was great and included people such as the Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz. It was a great experience to be a part of the planning for the event and see all the pieces fall into place.
Q: How did your dance studies at Barnard help you in the internship?
Here at Barnard, my participation in dance related activities is well-rounded. Not only am I a major taking both academic and technique courses, but I am also a work study student in the dance department which has provided me with the opportunity to gain administrative, event planning and technical crew skills. I also recently performed in the Barnard Project at Dance Theater Workshop. Moreover, I am a former board member and choreographer of the student dance group Orchesis. With all of these experiences at Barnard, I was fully prepared to take on any task that Lynn Parkerson asked of me.
Q: What do you hope to do in the future? How did this internship help you imagine yourself ten years from now?
My main goal is to establish my own repertory dance company where the dances and dancers will represent a middle ground between the technical ability of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancers and the strength and spirituality of their dances, and the diversity of the dancers of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the post-modern creativity of Jones' choreography. Like Brooklyn Ballet, it will be a non-profit arts organization with a commitment to providing community programming such as dance classes and both stage and community performances.
Through this internship I have realized the importance of the business end of my artistic goals, and I hope that I will continue to gain experience in the administrative and business management areas of dance companies so that I will be able to run my own in a successful manner.
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