Today we’d like to introduce you to Marion Helfenstein.
Hi Marion, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
From a young age, I was attracted to dance as a form of expression. The way I could connect with myself, the way it made me feel, and the way I could make others feel. I started to train mostly in ballet (with an outstanding teacher that gave me her deep and unquenchable passion for dance!) and took some quite formalized contemporary dance classes. After doing it all (pointe shoes, repertoire, competition), I started to feel like I was stagnating in a world that had become too narrow to remain fulfilling. I could not help but listen to that gut feeling that I was missing out and that there was much more out there for me to experience! I decided to move to Paris and joined a very eclectic professional dance training where I discovered many styles that I had never experienced before – like jazz, African dance, graham, horton destructured and exploratory contemporary dance, … It was at first quite difficult to face my own limitations but also incredibly thrilling to see all the potential for growth! Constantly pushing myself arguably too hard, I had a terrible hip injury, and the doctors told me it was the end of my career. But after discovering the world of somatic practices, incorporating them in my routine and engaging in a healing process over the course of a year and half, I was able to successfully complete my program and sign contracts with professional dance companies. I was doing it!
However… after a few years, something was still amiss… I thought to myself, “Is it that you lost the ‘fire,’ the passion for dance that has been fueling you all these years? Or is it that perhaps there is something else, somewhere else for you to reach and go further? While questioning myself, the opportunity to take a Winter Intensive at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance arose and I took it! And 6 months later, I moved to NYC and enrolled in their professional program under scholarship! This incredible life experience provided me with a lot of learning opportunities – a mix of good and bad – definitely forging my personality and learning to recognize what I needed to further my dancing skills and what I wanted for myself. Then, my career unfolded from itself as I developed my network and started to refine more and more towards which kind of style and working environment/people I wanted to gravitate towards. This might sound like an easy path but know that it is not! I believe embracing a dance career -being an artist in general- is quite courageous. It is filled with doubts, uncertainty, and challenges; you have to constantly check in with yourself and make decisions accordingly without fear of reshaping your vision and letting go of what is unnecessary. The key for me has always been to trust the process, stay curious, and open to whatever comes my way!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe the biggest struggle is the one I mentioned above related to injuries. Especially the way it is handled in the dance field. Most often, people make you understand that if you can’t perform you are of no use to them and therefore lose your worth. This feeling too often can spread in all aspects of your life – feeling that you lost your value as a dancer but also as a human being – slowing down your overall recovery, not to mention the impact on your mental health and emotional state. It took me a while to figure that one out so that I would not let career related events chipped me away and negatively impact my perception of self and relationship to others. I think it is important very early on (in one’s career) to be aware of this potential risk and create healthy boundaries by ensuring you have a strong network of support and find a good work/life balance. The artistic path is a road filled with obstacles and wonders that are constant reminders that we are living beings! If you take the time to listen and remain in this state of awakened presence you will discover that there is always something happening. It is by definition the essence of being alive!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I think what has set me apart through my performing career has been to use authentic emotions as first impulse and means to an end. It is how it all begins and ends. It does not need to be too cerebral or philosophical (although sometimes can); it can just be ignited by a passing thought, an impression, a sensation ever so fleeting might it be… It is in these moments that I found a unique connection to others and myself – grazing the stars, touching something higher and greater than us all while rooting deeper down into the earth fueled by its raw energy. No one can really describe what it feels like; you have to experience it or witness it to begin to apprehend it. While technique proficiency is one necessary skill in this field, I believe the ability to convey something true and authentic is a gift – as Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I would say I learned two important things from this pandemic experience. One is that art does not need witness – or more specifically, I (personally) don’t need witness to make art. It has been a central question as I would see some of my fellow dancer friends giving up on their dance training and creative expression because of the absence of the witness, left with the feeling of being unable to fulfill their needs to be seen, validated, recognized, etc…, which in terms outweigh all the sacrifices and efforts of maintaining their training and staying fit to the tasks at hand. The decision of changing career path was also of course influenced in the long run by financial hardship and difficulty to find economic stability. It sent me back to check in with myself and pushed me to redefine my own needs/motivations/expectations in relation to my artistic framework. And well here I am, still waving my bones round 🙂
The other enlightening element directly emerging from this introspective time, was that I would no longer accept to be treated without human dignity. I would no longer work for free, being taken advantage of, disrespected, bullied, or let myself be surrounded by people’s toxicity. From now on, I would choose not only the projects I partake in but the kind of people I decide to work with. People that are not only professional, talented and organized but also respectful, compassionate, supportive, carrying, loving human beings who create a positive and healthy work environment. People that carry those values with them regardless of how hard and demanding (and sometimes stressful) the task to accomplish might be, because that is who they are and how they choose to do it. It all comes down to being intentional and making choices.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marion.helf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marion.helfenstein/
Image Credits
Josef Pinlac
Cathryn Lynne
