Dance Careering in the US with Artist-in-Residence Jamal Story

Part 3: Dance Careering Beyond 40 (And Why You Should Start Now)

Thursday, March 21
7 pm ET/6 pm CT/4 pm PT

Join the Entertainment Community Fund for the final part of our three-part webinar series with Artist-in-Residence Jamal Story. Each part of the series will include a Q&A session.

During Part 3: Dance Careering Beyond 40 (And Why You Should Start Now), Jamal will share his knowledge and experience in managing a varied career in dance with Career Counselor Supervisor Patch Schwadron.

Topics of discussion will include:

• Retirement—not stopping, just stopping dancing as a primary source of income
• Dancing on your own terms—where you work, who you want to work with and how to decide which gigs are right for you
• Dance adjacent careering considerations
• Injury management/prevention
• Portfolio gathering and leveraging relationships
• Demystifying the finances of retirement, e.g. social security (guaranteed) and multiple income streams
• Identifying other interests that can be monetized

About Jamal Story

A Los Angeles native, Jamal began serious training at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. He holds dual degrees in Dance Performance and TV/Radio Communications from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he performed with Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet, among others.

Jamal has danced with Donald Byrd/the Group, Madonna’s 2001 Drowned World Tour, Complexions and (as an aerialist and dancer) Cher’s Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. He has since performed in The Color Purple and Motown: The Musical on Broadway, serving as a dance captain on both.

An avid choreographer, Jamal has set works on several companies, taught as a full-time professor ad interim at the University of Missouri Kansas City and co-chairs the SAG-AFTRA National Dancers Committee. Jamal continues his advocacy for educating young artists about changing the landscape of dance and has written two books, 12:34 and Toss in the Ether. Both are available on his website, jamalstory.com.

Jamal also serves as one-third of the host panel for Beyond the Thread, an online forum dedicated to unpacking and deconstructing conversations that happen on social media threads in a more conversational way.