Welcome to our new series featuring the dancers of the 2014/2015 Ballet BC season. Over the next few months we will get to know all the company dancers. First up is Gilbert Small, who has been dancing with Vancouver’s contemporary ballet company for six seasons.
Meet Gilbert Small
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gilbert Small started his professional ballet training at the age of ten at the Baltimore School for the Arts. He has studied at various summer programs, including Dance Theater of Harlem, Nutmeg Conservatory, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theater and Springboard Danse Montreal. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, he continued his studies at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. While at Purchase, Gilbert was given the opportunity to study abroad at the Hogeschool voor Muziek en Dans in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He has also performed with Toronto based ProArte Danza. Prior to joining Ballet BC, Gilbert performed for New York-based Sidra Bell Dance New York.
Visit https://balletbc.com for more information on the Ballet BC 2014/2015 season.
20 Questions with Gilbert Small
1. Your first job.
National Aquarium in Baltimore.
2. The job you always wanted as a child.
3. Your pet peeve.
When people use other people for their own selfish needs.
4. Your hero.
5. Your biggest indulgence.
Shoes.
6. One thing no one knows about you (and you’re willing to share).
I’m very resourceful.
7. Three things you would want with you on a deserted island.
Timmy (my dog), a good movie and a pregnant goat.
8. The one word your best friend would use to describe you.
Honest.
9. If you were not a performer what would you be doing right now?
Fashion.
10. Hero or villain.
Hero.
11. Your life’s motto/mantra.
Stay true, honest and kind.
12. Your favourite kind of dance (classical or contemporary).
Contemporary.
13. The last movie you watched.
Pretty in Pink.
14. If you were a breakfast cereal what breakfast cereal would you be?
Resse’s Puffs.
15. What will it say on your grave marker?
Good things, hopefully.
16. Who would you most like to have dinner with?
Amber, my best friend.
17. Your idea of happiness.
Peace of mind and heart.
18. If you could go back in time, what would you tell your twenty year old self?
Always live life to its fullest.
19. The one thing in your life that makes you most proud.
My degree.
20. Pirouette or fouette?
Pirouette, fouette, pirouette.