Retirement Q&A with JAIME LYNN WITTS
As Ballet Austin closes our 2020/21 season, we are taking some time to celebrate two of our beloved Company dancers who are retiring this month, Jaime Lynn Witts and Brittany Strickland. These two dancers have lent their artistry to audiences in Austin and around the world through Ballet Austin for 20 and 14 years, respectively. As the season comes to a close, we wanted to hear their own thoughts on their careers, how dancing shaped them, and what’s next. Check out the conversation with Jaime below.
Jaime Lynn Witts started at Ballet Austin in the Trainee program in 2001. After a year in Ballet Austin II in 2003, she became a full Company member in 2004, dancing 17 seasons with Ballet Austin. Some of her career highlights include LIGHT/THE HOLOCAUST & HUMANITY PROJECT, HAMLET, BELLE REDUX/A TALE OF BEAUTY & THE BEAST, DVOŘÁK SERENADE, ALLEGRO BRILLANTE, and ONE/THE BODY’S GRACE to name a few.
When you reflect on your career, what are some of the ballets / roles you most enjoyed?
Dancing the role of the Survivor [in LIGHT/THE HOLOCAUST & HUMANITY PROJECT] in Israel will always be the highlight of my career. The education, the travel, the work in the studio and especially meeting Naomi [Warren] and hearing her story are things that forever changed me and that I will always be grateful for.
As a trainee, seeing HAMLET performed for the first time with the original cast made me want to stay here and dance here and be Ophelia someday. Researching and developing that character led to of the most vulnerable and intense moments I’ve had on stage. I loved getting to put myself and my perspective into her. Plus that barefoot solo with the music and water ❤.
ALICE (IN WONDERLAND) was so physically and technically challenging, plus I’m pretty afraid of heights so the flying was the biggest adrenaline rush, but getting to play that character at a time when my daughter was all about that story was amazing! I really enjoyed working with Septime [Webre] on some of that acting especially the small door crying! And all my guys were so great!!
BELLE REDUX / A TALE OF BEAUTY & THE BEAST was more challenging to make my own, but I loved where Ed and I landed especially in the tango duet.
Kate [in THE TAMING OF THE SHREW] was not too far from my actual personality, except for the whole tamed at the end part...but comedy is not easy! There’s so much work on timing. I have two funny memories from that, in one rehearsal of the first scene where Kate is throwing a fit I actually ripped Ian's shirt. The other was dress rehearsal. Kate enters from stage left and cracks a sugar bottle over one of the commedia, I think it was Ian, and it's silent for a second before the music picks up. In that silence I heard Ev in their box on stage right shout, Mama!
Swanhilda [in COPPELIA] was my first lead in a ballet and the first time I felt that magnetism and energy from the audience really being in the moment with me during the second act in the shop. I remember how the more they laughed the further I went and Tony stayed right there with me.
The princess in THE FROG KING (GRIMM TALES) is one of the only characters I've originated. It was so great to work with Oliver in fleshing out our characters and finding the arc in the story. Having Natalie Frank's artwork as a place to start made researching easy.
Juliet [in ROMEO & JULIET] was truly a surprise and a role I never thought I'd get the chance to dance.
Dvořák quartet [from DVOŘÁK SERENADE] might be the most physically exhausting piece I’ve ever danced and I loved every second of it. The music and swirls of movement and perfectly timed eye contact with my other quartet members made it one of my favorites to dance.
What are you going to miss?
I'll definitely miss the time in the studio workshopping and creating new things. The problem solving and risk in trying something new and all the bloopers and friendships that come from that too. But I think I'll miss being on stage the most. The unique feeling of losing myself in a character on stage, when the audience no longer exists, and it's just you and your breath and your feet on the stage and your heartbeat and the music. There's nothing else like it.
What are you looking forward to?
Hmmm, a few things. Not standing in front of a mirror all day every day! Being able to shift my focus away from myself and onto Evaline and my other interests in life. I guess really to not have all aspects of my life consumed by this work. It's an amazing thing that I got to live out my childhood dream as a member of the company for 17 seasons, but it also requires so much of all of you. I think every working parent can appreciate the struggle to find balance in life and career but this career has its own unique challenges.
How did being a dancer shape who you are as a person?
I feel like this worked both ways. Dance shaped my life, especially when I was younger - all of my free time, what classes I took in school, what friends and activities I could participate in, what I ate, literally everything was framed around dance. As I got older and more established in the company and lived life, all of it - travel, love, marriage, motherhood, divorce, loss, my life experience shaped the dance and the dancer I was on stage. My experience informed my characters and my choices and my connections and in the end I think I was a better artist because I had a life shaped by things other than dance.
What's next?
I’m working at a women owned small business, Luna Data Solutions as their Office Administrator. Once again someone is taking a chance on me and giving me this wonderful opportunity to start a new journey!
I'm also continuing to work on a new doula certification and am hopefully going to be the President of the PTA at Ev's school next year (the slate will be voted on May 11th). I still plan to go to midwifery school one day, but need to wait until Ev is old enough to be on their own if I need to leave in the middle of the night for a birth! I also would like to get involved in causes I support and volunteer in the community. Plus Ev is 10 which I can't believe and also is such an awesome age to be able to travel, when it's safe, and go to museums and see shows and art exhibits and spend time exploring the world!
Is there anyone you'd like to thank?
Everyone who took a chance on me especially in the beginning of my career. Truman [Finney], Stephen [Mills] and Michelle [Martin], Thaddeus [Davis], all of the New American Talent choreographers I got to work with and just in general all the choreographers and stagers that gave me the opportunity to learn and grow as an artist and as a person.
I couldn't have made it to Ballet Austin without the support of my family and the training I got in Pennsylvania. My sister Lauren and childhood friend DJ have been amazing! My chosen family and all of Ev's Texas Aunts and Uncles have lifted me up, talked me off the ledge, and been there every step of the way, some of them literally, and have jumped in to help whenever I need it and especially when I am way too stubborn to ask for it!
I am especially grateful for the close circle of amazing women I have found during my time here, you know who you are ;)
And last but definitely not least, Pod 4! They made my last season wonderful. From our political discussions, to the hours we spent making work with each other in the studio to our snowpocalypse survival shenanigans, there was never a dull moment and I'm really thankful for them!
It has been a pleasure watching both of these extraordinarily talented dancers throughout the years. We have watched them morph into many characters and give us their unique take on such fantastic roles. They each shared their shine with our audience, and we wish them both well and thank them for their grace and beauty on and off stage. Brava Jaime!
Make sure you also check out Brittany’s Q&A!
