Interviewing Sophie and celebrating

Interviewing Sophie and celebrating

I hope back-to-school and back-to-work and Labor Day weekend have gone well for you.

September 20 is THREE MUSES’s one year anniversary. I hope you’ll celebrate with me this month. If you haven’t bought a book, it’s not too late! I’d be honored if you would do so here. And I would LOVE to come to your bookgroup. Please get in touch if that works for you by zoom or in person.

I have had an amazing year. There are so many friends and family and generous strangers to thank. A special thanks to you, readers, for your love and support.

Huge shout out to Jaynie Royal and Pam Van Dyk at Regal House Publishing for taking my baby and shepherding it through. These women are a terrific team, and I am so grateful.

In today’s newsletter, I am delighted to feature Sophie Bress, who has carved out an impressive career as a dance writer. The day Sophie crossed my path was a lucky one for me. She gave THREE MUSES a lot of love here, and here, and here. I interviewed her below so you can learn more about her—

Sophie with a big smile.

1. How did you get from dancer to dance writer?

   I was a dance major in college, but halfway through my sophomore year I realized I was enjoying watching and writing about performances more than performing. I decided to add a journalism minor and began to approach my dance classes with my new career goal in mind. Instead of worrying about having the best technique or picking up choreography quickly, I tried to absorb all the knowledge I could, because I knew it would be helpful in my writing someday.

2. How did you build your dance writer career?

   After graduating with my Bachelors, I got a Master’s degree in arts journalism. A few months before graduation, COVID hit and I moved back in with my parents. While I was finishing my classes online, I started to do a few freelance jobs. Initially, I hoped to find a full-time journalism position and was only freelancing out of necessity, but I found that I really enjoyed the cadence and excitement of freelance work. Over the next few years, I gradually built my list of bylines and began to write more often and for larger and larger publications. During that time, I also worked a few other jobs (as a plant and floral designer at a plant nursery and as a general assignment reporter at a local TV station), but I always returned to my love of dance.

3. How are you sustaining your writing?

   At this point, I have several publications where I regularly contribute, which helps with consistency. Creatively, I read a lot (both about dance and not) to keep my ideas flowing.

4. What’s next?

   I’m really passionate about highlighting mental health in the dance field and have been lucky enough to contribute a series of articles to Dance Magazine on this topic. I plan to continue my research into dance and mental health, and I want to continue to develop my voice as a critic. Someday, I’d also love to write a book.

[edited for inclusion in this newsletter]

Some fond memories:

Michelle Brafman, inspired teacher and author, at launch at Politics & Prose, DC.

Jai Chakrabarti, novelist and short story writer, at our Center for Fiction gig in Brooklyn.

Novelist and poet Moriel Rothman-Zecher at Main Point Books in Wayne, PA.

Signing books with author Barbara Quick and ballerina author Gavin Larsen at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC.

Pianist and friend Gwendolyn Mok at Books Inc. in Berkeley.

Ericka Taylor—friend, colleague, fellow writer—before our gig at Cleveland Park Public Library in DC.

I would be thrilled if you could join me virtually tomorrow, Thursday September 7 at 4 PM Eastern, for a talk at Valley Beit Midrash in Arizona: Debut Fiction and the Holocaust: When Fiction Steps in for History. Here’s the link to register.

If you’re in the DMV, please come to a joint event with Michele Brafman (above) at Beth El Synagogue in Bethesda at 4 PM Eastern on Sunday September 10: Approaching the High Holidays through New Fiction .

Love to you and yours,

Martha