We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Bartnik recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kelly with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I believe I get it from my Dad – he instilled in us at an early age that when you work for something you can achieve it. He had us all delivering papers every morning from a very young age. I can’t say I enjoyed having to get up that early at the time, but in retrospect I appreciate the experience because it forced us to engage with neighbors as well as offered the opportunity to earn our own money. I think that empowered me later in life to be proactive when it came to pursuing an artistic career, which was not something that was common in my family. I worked twice as hard to do the thing I was passionate about but that I was also told would not be worth doing and wouldn’t support me in the long run.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I come from a primarily movement- based background but that has expanded in the last few years to include Immersive Theater productions, music videos, dance films as well as continuing to create staged works and performances. While mostly based in New York, I have been able to travel quite a bit in the last couple of years, directing a show in Amsterdamn, crafting new immersive experiences in Atlanta, completing a choreographic residency in Mexico and directing a music video in Washington DC. I love traveling and getting to expand my circle of talented and brilliant artists with whom I can collaborate and learn from. Coming up I am preparing a new show for production in the Netherlands in 2025, I am in pre-production for an immersive show in NY and I am in very early stages of development for a new evening-length work that I hope to premier in NY in the next year.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that were most impactful are the ability to change, the importance of curiosity and the openness to collaboration. In terms of the first two, I operate in constant pursuit of growth. What else can I learn? What other perspectives have I not considered? How can I be curious and flexible rather than operate from a place of rigidity in what I think I know. This ties directly in to the notion of collaboration and working with others. I spent a long time doing it all myself because I was a bit of control freak but there is inherent judgment in that mentality – that nobody can do it better than me. And it also places you in a bubble that constricts your viewpoint, so as I’ve continued to grow, I understand better the importance of working in community with others.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I have incorporated meditation into my practice over the last several years so this has drastically reduced my ability to be overwhelmed at all so I highly recommend in investing in a practice that calls for stillness, breath and the clearing of ones mind. That said, there are always moments that are more heightened than others so when that happens, I do draw on that practice to slow down. I pause, I notice the sensation in my body that may be bubbling up and I try to rename it in a positive light – perhaps as excitement rather than anxiety. I also make a lot of lists – that helps me keep my process feeling manageable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kellybartnik.com
- Instagram: kelly.d.bartnik
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-bartnik-60323484/
Image Credits
Shannon Giles, Maria Barnova, Deena Nieto
