Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Vishmid.
Hi Susan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began my early training in ballet at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, CA. Through scholarships I continued training at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and The Rock School. I danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Santa Fe Opera, San Diego Opera, Chicago Festival Ballet, Napoles Ballet Theater, California Contemporary Ballet, City of Angels Ballet, California Riverside Ballet, Key West Ballet, Coast City Ballet and San Gorgonio Ballet. I had the privilege of working with some of today’s most esteemed choreographers including the late Kenneth von Heidecke, Nicola Bowie, Jodi Melnick and Kitty McNamee in Samson & Delilah, Aida, A Masked Ball, Romeo & Juliette, Capriccio and La Traviata respectively.
I started teaching ballet in 2012 and have been teaching ever since in addition to performing as a freelance artist. I started my own contemporary ballet company: Freaks With Lines (FWL), which is based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2019, FWL continues to successfully bring a community of professional ballet dancers together with like minded artists working in and with other media to preserve the art form of ballet while pushing its boundaries and subverting traditional norms often associated with the art.
From what I have seen opportunities for classically trained dancers to do substantial work in Los Angeles are far and few between. Many of the “golden opportunities” that actually do come through underutilize, undervalue and belittle artists. Some of the dancers I work with come from toxic work environments where they were told they were “too skinny,” “too fat,” “too tall,” etc, and yet despite layers of adversity they somehow manage to tap into an unrelenting hunger deep down with the aspiration of finding the right opportunity that enables them to continue doing their beloved craft.
Above all else these artists are extremely talented and desire nothing more than the opportunity to work and to live the process. FWL celebrates dancers on the fringes of the ballet world.
I employ an approach of irreverence, intrigue, intelligence and integrity as a dancer myself and as a choreographer. Movement is the most fundamental way through which we experience our own humanity. As dance artists we look at the possibility of shapes and consider the way the shapes move and relate to one another before considering or judging other physical qualities.
FWL currently has 12 pieces in its repertoire, one of which received much critical acclaim. Nilus Cogus was born from a grueling desire to create during the pandemic. Nilus Cogus is a contemporary ballet film featuring six dancers and a “machine” referred to as Nilus Cogus. The film is a commentary on the age of surveillance and how ubiquitous voyeurism has become. The interplay between humanity and technology renders us as cogs inside of an unstoppable machine that is itself being manipulated by some greater and unknowable phenomenon. I am a USC alumna (cum laude) with a BA in Communication and Philosophy and thus, my background and deep passion for philosophy is the impetus behind the conceptual nature of much of the work I create for the company.
Additionally, I am a certified yoga and Pilates instructor. I teach ballet and Pilates. I offer both open classes and private coaching. Most recently I started my own training program as an offshoot of Freaks With Lines naming it Freaks In Training (F.I.T.) Students tell me they appreciate the attention to detail and passion for good technique and the clear yet witty manner of my delivery. A sense of humor is essential in the dance studio whether you are working with professional dancers or total beginners because of the art form’s inherent mental and physical demands.
Exciting developments relating to Freaks With Lines is coming soon! The estimated revelation is slated for late July or early August 2025. Follow us on instagram to stay in the loop: @freakswithlines
STAY TUNED!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anyone who says it’s a smooth road to success is painfully naive and sorely mistaken.
Navigating through injuries, politics, egos and the pure grit associated with the ballet has certainly complicated things. However, there is nothing I would not do for my beloved art. Tenacity is the road to success and it is a bumpy one. The genesis of Freaks With Lines stems from seeing a lack of substantial opportunities for talented and classically trained dancers in Los Angeles. Freaks With Lines more than just a dance company; it is a laboratory where professional dancers can create on each other and begin to really take agency over the entire creative process from the production to the choreography to the dissemination and distribution of our beloved art. We are indeed consumers of our own craft. Freaks In Training (F.I.T.), the training component spinoff Freaks With Lines is gaining recognition and is well on its way to making its mark among the tightly knit dance community here in Los Angeles as an effective ballet program focusing on adult ballet dancers, many of whom are total beginners. F.I.T. offers personalized and constructive feedback, which is based on a strong understanding of biomechanics, Instruction is delivered in a in a friendly, witty yet concise manner. An environment that emphasizes placement and clean technique is perfect for any dancer to thrive from the recreational dancer to professional dancer.
The progress I observed firsthand in my F.I.T. dancers over the last several years is extraordinary. F.I.T. dancers have a real hunger for work and improvement. F.I.T. dancers understand the focus and grit it requires to get to that next level in your dance journey. It takes a Freak to train a Freak! Do You Have It In You? Let us know on instagram! 🙂
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Obviously I specialize in ballet and dance, moreover I specialize in movement. As I mentioned earlier my Pilates and Yoga certifications only fortified my already astute understanding of body and movement mechanics. I incorporate many concepts and exercises from the Pilates repertoire when I teach ballet. Everything I did, do or will do in the future is for the sake of ballet. It sounds silly but I truly believe that this is my mission in life. I did not “choose” to be a ballet dancer, the art of ballet “chose” me and I must honor that.
What sets me apart as a ballet dancer are my physical attributes, a native physical intelligence and solid technical placement. Certain physical attributes cannot be taught or attained through training. The ballet Gods blessed me with arched feet, innate flexibility, a small head with a long neck and long limbs. It sounds silly yet these are very real and coveted qualifications in the ballet world. For many years I would grind at the studio putting in hours and hours of rehearsals and to this day I still continue to work on perfecting my technique. The self inflicted need to work never ends despite reaching a professional level.
I was fortunate enough to have an incredible mentor who brought out the technical dancer in me. My obsessive nature coupled with the help of my mentor, Mario Nugara propelled me into a new level of technical execution I never could have imagined in my early years of training and performing. I was already a young professional dancer in my 20s when Mario got a hold of me and we worked tirelessly for over 15 years together. Having such an incredible mentor was the catalyst that truly launched my career: a career I never would have had despite my natural physical gifts. Over the years Mario became so much more than a mentor, he is a role model and friend. Our relationship is so special, Mario is my “Ballet Father.”
Lastly, what sets me apart as a teacher, choreographer and artistic director is my keen attention to detail and my ability to articulate and provide constructive and individualized feedback for students. Corrections are meticulously catered to each student to the extent that “Each group class feels like a one-on-one session,” says Tessa Flores, one of my F.I.T. dancers whose progress has been remarkable. As I continue to observe students over time I commit to memory their bad habits and inconsistencies to continue fixing, reshaping and reinforcing correct placement. I am extremely passionate about proper technique because I know firsthand you cannot excel in your dance journey without it and because this is what my students appreciate so much. I absorbed most of these nuanced teaching traits by carefully observing my mentor, Mario Nugara over our many years working together. The progress my students made over the last several years is immense and when I watch them I see how technically proficient they have become and I often get chills!
Ballet is simply the vehicle we choose to express the transformation from being someone who struggles to someone who is confident in their new skillset. No one becomes an artist without first mastering proper technique and my students are well on their way to becoming true artists.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I had a sheltered life full of art, music and dance. My parents and brother immigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union where my mother was an opera singer with a major theatre in Moscow and where my father was a professional volleyball player. Perhaps I was destined to become a dancer as dancers are not only artists but we are highly trained athletes also.
I had a small group of friends during my school years but was mostly quiet and shy. I always did well in school and thought school was just another obstacle before I could get to my ballet classes. Like many dancers growing up I was a people pleaser who wanted to make her teachers at school happy and my ballet teachers really happy! I had an element of innate pride, which I think comes from both my parents. They endured harsh times in their journey from the Soviet Union to the U.S.A. As a first generation Millennial born in the U.S.A. I can’t begin to fathom the magnitude of leaving your home country of 30+ years to come to a new country in search of a better life. I grew up with the understanding that if you work hard and achieve your goals then you must allow yourself to experience a degree of pride. “Be proud of who you are be proud of what you did” is the mentality deeply rooted in my psyche and I think helped me through some difficult moments in my dance career.
As a ballet student I was a focused and stubborn, never wanting to stop until I was happy with my execution or performance on any given day. To a large extent all ballet dancers are stubborn and relentless! There is no other way it can be if you desire to reach a professional level where you can be taken seriously. I am obsessed with being obsessed about ballet technique and I don’t think that will ever change.
Pricing:
- F.I.T. Open Classes: Single Class: $30
- F.I.T. Open Classes: 5 Class Pack: $140
- F.I.T. Open Classes: 10 Class Pack: $250
- Private Ballet Coaching: $130/Session, 5 Sessions: $600, 10 Sessions: $1100
- Private Pilates: $110/Session, 5 Sessions: $495, 10 Sessions: $495
Contact Info:
- Website: freakswithlines.com; freaksintraining.com
- Instagram: @freakswithlines
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FREAKSWITHLINES/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freakswithlines-susanvishmid/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NhyudmYewvexIHePunKaQ
Image Credits
Pete Black Photography (Main Image that appears at beginning and end of article)
Eric Friedlander
Ken Howard
Sky Schmit
Anonymous
Meryl Coker
Anne Slattery
Ginger Sole Photography
Todd Lechtick
Chris Hughes
Pete Black Photography (Main Image)
