APT METAPHOR

“Dancing Along the Fault Line,” the headline for Judith Coburn’s feature last Sunday on Margaret Jenkins, was well chosen, as it refers to Jenkins’ newest choreography, “Fault,” San Francisco’s history of major earthquakes and the shaky status of modern dance in America today.

Reading that Jenkins has been forced to hire dancers on a freelance basis sent a shudder through me. As a freelance modern dancer struggling to eke out a living in San Francisco during the ‘80s, I could find solace in the fact that there were two companies (Jenkins’ and ODC/S.F.) that actually offered their employees the security of a steady salary. If the established and well-respected Margaret Jenkins Company can’t offer dancers a secure living wage (to say nothing of health insurance and other benefits), what chance do less-known choreographers have in paying dancers at a level commensurate with their skills and training?

Dance in America has always relied on the fact that dancers are addicted to their art and, like junkies, will suffer almost any degradation for a “fix.” Dance will survive through this period of anti-NEA economics but, in spite of occasional artistic successes created with unsalaried collaborators, it will not be on solid ground.

PAUL ZMOLEK

Rancho Mirage