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What they wish they knew: great artists look back at those early years.

Article Excerpt
During the 1950s, "60s, and '70s, Dance Magazine had a monthly series called "Brief Biography: Dancers You Should Know," which introduced our readers to dancers we predicted were rising stars. It turns out we were right on the money with many of our picks. We'd featured a young, wide-eyed Gelsey Kirkland, a focused Paul Taylor, and a long and lean Judith Jamison. We've asked a few of these dancers what they wish they had known at that early point in their careers when they were first profiled in our pages.

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Martine van Hamel Faculty, the JKO School at American Ballet Theatre Brief Biography: February 1969

I had gotten a lot of attention because of winning the gold medal in Varna in '66, and was dancing principal roles with National Ballet of Canada. I expected to be riding on this attention when I came to New York. I thought I would join ABT as a soloist, but there was no job at ABT that matched my expectations. It was the beginning of a difficult time--to assimilate success with the reality of the business. It was a time of learning and adjusting and figuring out how to live up to the potential of that quick burst of fame and recognition. You have to stay in touch with yourself and reality-that's the hardest thing to do. I was struggling. I got fat. I was depressed. But I did a lot of classes. Eventually I joined...

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