©2024 Kim Kokich
Seventeen year old Simon Tischler began his dance journey at CityDance Conservatory when he was 12 years old, and in those five years his dedication to dance, and in particular, ballet, has never waivered. “There’s no way to explain my love for dance…I can be in the studio just improvising for hours and not want to leave.”
Tischler’s devotion to his art has earned him an invitation to continue his dance training in Stuttgart, Germany, at the prestigious John Cranko Ballet School (the official school of The Stuttgart Ballet) where he will not only take dance classes but will also begin his college studies for the next two years.
Tischler’s decision to move from his home in Virginia to an entirely new community in Stuttgart was no surprise to CityDance Conservatory Ballet Master, Stanislav Issaev, also known as “Stas”, who says, “We knew this year that he was ready.” He adds, “Simon is very mature for his age. Nothing bothers him. He always wants to learn. To get better.”
To know Simon Tischler is to know someone who is very kind, very thoughtful, and very humble. To watch him in ballet class is to be impressed by his composure and focus, qualities that were apparent when he began dancing class as a child, although it wasn’t ballet at first. “I was very young, and my older sister would be doing her dance classes and my mom would send me into Hip Hop and Breakdance, and Jazz and Tap classes and I just fell in love with dance. I loved Pop and Lock, which is a style of Hip Hop. When I was younger that was like my thing. Then when I was five I was standing outside of one of my sister’s ballet classes and I would just follow along. It was an open door studio and I would just stand in the door frame and try to do what they were doing at the barre. And the teacher would come out and tell my mom, ‘Throw him in ballet classes. He’s got the turnout. He’s got the legs. He’s got the feet.’ So yeah, that’s what she did!”
Tischler continued to take all the other styles of dance classes in one studio and then take ballet at another, “I would just be racing back and forth, trying to do it all, until I got here at CityDance.” It was becoming exhausting but Tischler’s mother had heard about CityDance Conservatory, where many genres of dance are taught in one place. “My mom had heard of it before. She considered sending my sister there. And then I ended up needing a place to go too and we were trying all these places. I was friends with Corbin Holloway who went there. We did a Nutcracker together. One day I slept over at his house, and we went to their Day Program in the morning and took class with Stas. And I was just there for a day just having fun with Corbin, and the Artistic Director was there and that was it.”
So Tischler enrolled in the CityDance Koresh Summer Intensive, where he was taught by Koresh artists, including Micah Geyer who is also on the CityDance faculty. Tischler says he was learning professional repertory and loving it, “I was doing rep with Micah and he was really cool and great with kids.” Summer turned into fall and Tischler stayed at CityDance.
Throughout the years there Simon Tischler made steady progress, appearing in various productions and entering dance competitions as well. Having taken dance in studios that didn’t encourage competitions, he explains that he understands the pros and cons of participating in them. “My first studio did no competitions. Then at another studio, they did. The thing about competitions is it’s a mindset. You have to go in, you know, you’re working for something. That’s your goal. It’s like being in a company. You’re working for that performance. So a ‘pro’ of it is it’s a really good way to improve. Me, as a dancer, I improve a lot by having something to work towards, a performance…and then also just the exposure…You get seen by so many people. You’re dancing in front of famous judges. I mean, the Directors of Youth America Grand Prix themselves, Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev, who have amazing reputations as dancers. It builds your confidence as a dancer. So it really helps with feeling comfortable with the stage.”
He cautions that there is, however, a downside to the process. “A ‘con’ is when a lot of people get so caught up in the, ‘Oh I have to win’ [mentality] And then if they win, you know, ‘Oh, I’m on top of the world. I made it.’ And you have to remember that there’s always something you have to work towards. After a competition you still have your whole career to go. The competitions can help you get into top schools, top companies, but they aren’t going to guarantee you a spot in the Bolshoi. I mean the ballet world just doesn’t work like that. So it’s just more of a pathway to a career.”
Tischler’s pragmatic perspective extends to how he manages the occasional jealousies that can taint an otherwise favorable experience, “There are always people who have won and have these major egos. They’ll say something to you, or give you a dirty look. You kind of have to just go in feeling confident, feeling good, and knowing people are going to say stuff doesn’t change anything as long as you’re dancing well. In my experience I’ve only had that a couple of times, but really the guys in dance, we all are just best friends. We’ve grown up together. I’m in a group chat with these really nice boys who are now at Ballet West and also at Cranko and JKO and they make it a really nice environment.”
This Spring, Tischler’s performance at Youth America Grand Prix resulted in 14 offers from ballet school directors around the country and internationally. He chose The John Cranko School because, “Four or five years ago, right before I came to CityDance, it was my absolute dream to go to Cranko. I saw one of my friends go there who’s now in the Stuttgart Ballet company. I saw her post videos with the school, with the company, and I just loved their dancers, all of them–beautiful lines, beautiful feet, beautiful everything. And then when I was offered I knew immediately that’s the one I want to take. It’s exciting for me because I’ve never had the opportunity to dance any Cranko works, so I am really looking forward to learning more about him as a choreographer.”
Simon Tischler leaves for Germany at the end of August and we will be sorry to see him go, but are thrilled that his talent is being recognized. And what is the first thing he is going to do when he arrives in Stuttgart? “I’m going to buy a nice European winter coat.” Stay warm, Simon, we will be here watching proudly as you embark on your next chapter and can’t wait to see you when you come home.
Watch Tischler’s performance at 2024 Youth America Grand Prix Finals: