So you’re a dancer with meager funds; does that mean you have to live like a hermit? Hardly. Whether you are a student in summer school, a fledgling dancer auditioning for a first job, or an emerging Broadway star, these practical tips to living a bohemian life can help you enjoy the big city on a dancer’s budget.
Jason Shipley-Holmes, a dancer at La La La Human Steps in Montreal, for instance, says it’s entirely possible to furnish a spacious two-bedroom apartment with objects that are found for free on garbage day. He did just that when he was a student in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s professional division. "It wasn’t easy to find that last piece for my living room," Shipley-Holmes recalls. "A leg was bent when I found it, and it smelled like the subway, but it was nothing that a hammer and a bottle of Clorox couldn’t fix." Suddenly, he had a totally retro, rolling, stainless steel TV unit that was the envy of the whole ballet school.
Garage sales, estate sales, and going-out-of-business sales are great places to look for furniture and fixtures. Check newspaper classified ads on Friday night or local internet bulletin boards, and show up early Saturday morning before the good stuff is gone. Don’t be afraid to mention that you’re a fiscally challenged dancer before asking the seller for the price–and remember to haggle. In many places around the country, you’ll find a monthly antique flea market; sometimes, at the end of the day, sellers actually leave things behind because they don’t want to schlepp them home…
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