Missing your favorite shops, restaurants and performance venues? Us too! In this stay-at-home series, we ask local entrepreneurs and creatives about the Star City spots they can’t wait to rediscover once they’re out and about. Here, we talk to Will Smith, dancer and choreographer for Roanoke Ballet Theatre’s professional dance company.
Will Smith never envisioned his spring season going quite like this.
In an ordinary year at Roanoke Ballet’s professional company, the dancer and choreographer would be weight training, rehearsing at the studio, attending costume fittings, designing new routines for black box shows and charity events … and finally, performing under the lights in RBT’s crowning show at the Jefferson Center.
This year, that show would have been Sleeping Beauty, originally slated for June 6.
But Spring 2020 is different. These days, Will is at home with his wife Caitlin – also a dancer and instructor with Roanoke Ballet Theatre – who is expecting a child in late-May. Caitlin teaches ballet classes on Zoom, while Will tries to keep his creative side limber – posting videos about technique on Instagram, learning two new languages (Spanish and Welsh), and dreaming up ballets to try out once he’s back in his favorite studio space.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that this whole dilemma has given the ballet the time it’s needed to write grants, catch its breath. It’s given me time to create that I haven’t had before,” says Will, a native of Camden, New York. “I’ve choreographed several ballets. I’ve spent time with my wife. Usually we work 60, 70 hours a week, and we only see each other a few hours a week. … So I’m upset that ballet isn’t happening – that’s a huge hole – but I’m trying to see the positives.”
Meanwhile, RBT has kicked online classes into high gear, allowing younger students to practice steps at home and prepare for a delayed performance of Sleeping Beauty – hopefully in late summer.
“’Sleeping Beauty’ is a big show, and they’ve put a ton of time and effort toward it, not just for the public in general but for the kids involved. They desperately want to keep it,” says Will, who says he’s been impressed by Artistic and Executive Director Sandra Meythaler’s determination to protect the nonprofit organization and keep students and supporters involved. “Sandra has been super proactive … I’m very grateful to see how much she’s done to keep RBT afloat.”
While Will waits and creates, we chatted with him about the Star City spaces he dreams about revisiting … and the people keeping him sane.
Right about now, we’re all fantasizing about returning to our favorite restaurants, coffee shops and watering holes. What’s one or two you’ll visit first?
WS: My wife and I can’t wait to return to Alejandro’s and take a walk on the greenway to Blue Cow … Honorable mention to Ramulose Ridge Vineyard … I can’t wait to enjoy wine on their peaceful property.
How about events and arts spaces?
WS: I can’t wait to get back in the ballet studio and create for the next black box [performance]. Black boxes are … a way to bring a person who’s never been to a ballet to a ballet, and it’s super casual. What I enjoy is I get to choreograph for all of them. I have so many ideas that I really want to do, and it’s nice because I feel like I can really experiment, try different things, push in a different direction.
Are there any local shops or take-out spots you’re actively supporting while you’re at home?
WS: Farmburguesa! Almost every week we’ve ordered from them, and we’re so thankful they’re in Grandin now.
What’s one thing happening in the community that encourages you right now?
WS: My wife is seven months pregnant. It would have been hard in the best of times, but this has made it vastly more difficult…. [But] people have supported us through phone calls, texts and letters, and have made Caitlin feel like she is not alone… Amazing.
Any new hobbies or routines you’ve developed during your time at home?
WS: Writing has been a new one. A friend of mine who writes books but never finishes them – well, I made a bet with him that he’s going to finish his [book], and I’m going to finish mine … whatever it ends up being!
Do you have a local Quarantine Hero — someone who’s made you smile or kept you sane?
WS: My wife and unborn baby girl. They make me smile every day.
Want to learn more about Roanoke Ballet Theatre? Visit the nonprofit’s website here, and keep up with Will on Facebook.
About the Writer:
Ashley Wilson Fellers is a writer, educator, self-taught painter and contemplative photographer in Roanoke, Virginia. When she isn’t teaching writing at Virginia Western, she snaps photos of sidewalk cracks, rescues wet leaves from windshield wipers and leaves poems hidden under park benches. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Tech.
