Our Story — Being a Dancer

*Being A Dancer* was born out of my need for support in dealing with the more brutal aspects of the dance industry. Every dancer I know has a team of trusted bodyworkers - Yoga instructors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, physical therapists - who will “put them back together.” But when it comes to all of the other strains of the industry, we’re left hanging. It’s taboo to discuss emotional struggles and career-related concerns. We’re afraid to admit to injury or even exhaustion for fear of being perceived as weak, let alone facing retaliation through casting. We’re hesitant to voice our needs to avoid being labeled as “difficult to work with.” We’re so used to fitting into pre-existing molds that we limit our own artistic growth.
I founded Being A Dancer as a place for dancers to be supported. A place to feel safe voicing struggles and celebrations, and to learn necessary skills to manage the stress of this profession.

Being A Dancer’s mission is to shift the culture of the dance world so that EVERY dancer feels fully supported and encouraged, and is given the tools and skills they need - beyond technique - in order to THRIVE.

Wendy Reinert, Founder

**Certified Professional Coach, workshop creator, facilitator, dancer**

Photo : Chris Comfort

I arrived in NYC bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in 2000 to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After completing the 3-year program, I was politely kicked out the door with a BFA in Dance, and—as I was soon to discover—very few other tangible life skills. Thanks to my “over-developed sense of responsibility” (as one professor put it) I managed to “make it” as a freelance dancer in NYC for the last two decades. What does that mean, you ask? During nearly 20 years as a professional dancer in NYC, I’ve worked with dozens of choreographers and companies, small (Peridance Ensemble, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers), and large (Mark Morris Dance Group, Metropolitan Opera Ballet), and have held a myriad of day jobs from catering to babysitting to managing a photography studio.

In 2006, while catering and auditioning my face off, I was diagnosed with my first two injuries in the same day: a labral tear in my hip and a stress fracture in my tibia. Devastated, frustrated, and with no resources to turn to, I kept dancing while looking for a day job that was easier on my body. I eventually landed an opportunity as a personal trainer at Equinox, which would turn into my next great passion. Since 2006, I have built a private business working primarily with non-dancers. I am a NASM-Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, with extensive experience working with people with major injuries and surgeries (knee and hip replacements, shoulder and wrist, hip and ankle), orthopedic issues (scoliosis, osteoporosis), and autoimmune disorders (Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, EDS). But somewhere in between training clients, dancing professionally, discovering aerial arts, and several more injuries (read more here), I realized I wanted to work even more closely with dancers.

Photo: Andrew T. Foster

My ever-evolving freelance career had surreptitiously taught me how to navigate so many (unanticipated) aspects of the dance world (and more importantly of life), and I wanted to share these lessons with younger dancers. I’d experienced so much of my own emotional turmoil — hundreds of rejections, endless spirals of self-doubt, unnecessary, self-imposed competition with my peers, injury after injury, multiple surgeries, crippling perfectionism, looming retirement — and somehow managed to stay on my feet through it all. I started to imagine how I could provide the kind of support I’d craved during my training and professional career. In 2017, I went back to school to become a Certified Professional Coach through the International Coach Federation and Leadership That Works and founded Being A Dancer. I lead workshops online which teach skills to help dancers build their confidence and find greater success both on and off stage. I also work with dance schools (Juilliard, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Steps, etc.) to provide their students with customized group coaching workshops and curriculums which support and enhance their technical training. I am the coach on staff for the Steps On Broadway Conservatory Program and the Peridance Center Independent Study Program.

Now, I consider myself a “retired” professional dancer and aerialist, personal trainer, life coach, world traveler, and amateur rock climber whose mission is to help dancers get stronger, mentally and physically.

After having a kid in 2020, I have been once again re-writing my story and am focusing on working with dancers one-on-one. I divide my time between coaching and training dancers on the UWS and on Zoom, and enjoying my life with my toddler and husband.