Daring to ask Sydney Skybetter–curator, consultant, and choreographer–what gets him over the hump, I received this cure-all, catchall response:
I love my work. I do. But still, there are times when I feel like hulksmashing through my desk with my forehead. Whenever that happens, I select from one of the five options below, and then happily get back to the task at hand! In no particular order…
1. NSYNC dance break. Don’t over think it. Preferably of a later vintage, like ‘Gone’ or ‘Pop’ from their 2001 album Celebrity. Earlier albums are acceptable, but don’t waste your time with the Backstreet Boys. I mean, come on. Pull yourself together.
2. Read a book. I’m a fan of Dostoevsky personally, but only in the original Swedish. It’s just oöversättbara, you know?
3. Go for a cruise in your private jet. One of the perks of my dance company (skybetter and associates) being so ridiculously successful is that my board of directors gave me a badass Raytheon Premier I for my birthday. Sometimes Twyla Tharp and I try to do that move from Top Gun where Tom Cruise flips 180 degrees over that Russian pilot to give them the finger. Twy Twy (my nickname for Twyla) does a great Tom Cruise impression, for what it’s worth.
4. Play some super queer volleyball. While I’m on the subject of Top Gun, I have this great skins-versus-skins volleyball foursome with Billy Forsythe, Marky Morris and SARA du Jour. We always let SARA win, and then s/he does this great victory dance consisting of Loie Fuller’s Serpentine Dance re-set to the music of Ghostface Killah, which plays from a boom box tastefully concealed in SARA’s gym shorts.
5. Have a kiki. Ok. So yeah, 2012 called and want’s it’s one liner back. Shut up. Fine. But if Anne Hathaway called you every fracking week and asked for a kiki, what would you say? So anyway. I have kikis with Anne Hathaway, is pretty much the point there.
Need more inspiration from Sydney Skybetter? Follow him on twitter @sydneyskybetter.
What gets you over the hump? Tell us in an email to hello@diydancer.com or tweet us @diydancer #getoverthehump.
