For the love of the ballet

Dancers take second jobs to help pay bills when not performing

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It's one of the few professions where you're assured of being laid off after a spectacular job performance.

The place is the Nevada Ballet Theatre, 1651 Inner Circle Drive. The profession is that of ballet dancer, which is done on a contract-by-contract basis. Dancers might work only 31 weeks a year.

Between that and pay that's not exactly stellar -- after all, performers are known to sacrifice for their art -- it's not uncommon for ballet dancers to take second jobs.

Cathy Long-Colbert, 27, was a dancer in "Jubilee!" before joining the ballet. The 5-foot-10-inch performer worked both jobs for a while.

"I found myself reserving my energy so I could get through two shows a night and still have energy to dance with the ballet the next day," she said.

When she broke her left foot last year, she was sidelined for six weeks. She now works as a "bevetainer," a cocktail waitress who also dances, at the Rio. It also means working until 2 or 3 a.m., so she relies on Diet Coke to perk her up for ballet class the next day.

"Her dream was to dance ballet and she took a huge pay cut from the Strip show in order to dance with us," said Cindy Fox, director of marketing and public relations. "What these starving artists will do for their craft is really admirable and inspirational."

Long-Colbert said after she retires from ballet, she'll get to try the hobbies she's been longing to experience -- rock climbing and sky diving.

She's not the only ballet dancer who enjoys risk.

"I'm always afraid someone will wind up injured," said Bruce Stievel, artistic director. "They'll go speedboat racing or skiing and break a leg. Sometimes they come back and tell me, 'We went bungee jumping.' A lot of the dancers are very adventurous."

As for second jobs, Stievel said a lot of dancers work behind the scenes as lighting technicians or production assistants when not under contract for an upcoming production.

Zeb Nole, principal dancer, is one of them. He works as a stagehand part of the year. He joined the stagehands' union in December 2004.

"We get three months off in the summer and you (need an income)," he said. "And my dad was a stagehand, so between him and seeing (stagehands work) on our sets, I already knew what to do."

David Ligon, 19, trades in his ballet suit to wear a waiter's jacket. He works for Affairs Catering and is usually assigned to private parties.

He said in today's world, a second job is a must for dancers. He jokingly called it the starving artist syndrome.

"I wish dancing paid a little more so we could dedicate all our time to the ballet," he said. "But I always find a way to afford the dollar menu at McDonald's."

Perhaps the most glamorous positions are held by Shay Lucey and Kylie Kalember. The two work as greeters/hostesses/promoters for the Hard Rock Hotel's nightclub, Body English. Their faces often appear in magazines and publicity shots.

"I'm looking through this magazine and there I see this picture of Paris Hilton, then right next to her is one of Shay and Kylie," said Jennifer Kratochwill, marketing coordinator for the ballet.

The two dancers also get to rub elbows with pop icons Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Las Vegas rock band The Killers. Of course, any band that's on the marquee, they get to meet.

There is a less glamorous side to the job. They spend a couple days a week in the office. But when the weekend comes, they're at the club.

"We work until midnight. At that point in time, we can go home, but we usually don't," Kalember said.

Kalember said she has to be especially careful working as she had surgery on her right ankle at age 16 and she needs to exercise it daily to keep it strong. The 23-year-old plans to keep dancing in ballets for at least eight more years.

In December, the Hard Rock let the girls have the entire month off as they performed 20 shows of "The Nutcracker."

"We're on our feet all the time," Lucey said. "We dance ballet in the daytime and then we go to the club in heels at night. I'm only 5-foot-3, so I like really tall heels -- 4-inch ones. The arches of my feet have some serious knots going on, but that's what golf balls are for."

Kalember and Lucey said other dancers have jobs as hostesses at restaurants or do baby-sitting.

"Some of them get a little jealous of us," Kalember said. "My job is basically more fun and the pay is a lot better."

Besides having a second job that pays well and rubbing elbows with beautiful people, the two girls often get freebies -- hats, T-shirts and designer shirts. They said they get a kick out of being in magazine photos "with the beautiful people."

The Hard Rock's summertime pool parties, known as Rehab Sundays, are the most fun, they said.

"These are our celebrities, but nobody knows them," Fox said. "They go to eat at the Sultan's Grill or Pickup Stix here in Summerlin and nobody knows who they are. I see these normal people sitting right next to them and I think, 'Don't these people know they're sitting next to a local celebrity?' "

Nevada Ballet Theatre's last performance of the season is "Scheherazade," slated for May 12-14 at the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV. For more information, call 243-2623 or visit www.nevadaballet.com.