Check Out Peter Sparling’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Sparling.

Hi Peter, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born in boomtown Detroit in 1951 to parents who were told they’d never be able to have children, I was one of four boys born within 5 ½ years. Mom & Dad were musicians, and we boys performed our own vaudeville dance routine by emerging from under the baby grand piano in the living room and dancing to a medley of Dad’s tunes. I loved to play with my dolls and the little girls down the block while my brothers played cowboys and Indians. Looking back, I’m amazed and grateful that my family always allowed me to pursue anything I wanted and to be whoever I wanted! I soon took up the violin and became immersed in classical music, with reading, drawing, and pop music occupying the remainder of my waking hours. A Kiwanis Club scholarship to Interlochen’s National Music Camp in 7th grade (Thank you, Ara Zerounian, my violin teacher!) changed my life for the better, and I ended up attending Interlochen Arts Academy, my great escape from the soul-killing life in Plymouth, MI., where we’d moved in 1964 due to my dad’s business being demolished to make room for the downtown expressway system.

My first year at the Academy, I took an introduction to dance class to get out of physical education, and by my senior year, I had changed my major to dance. With a year of serious training and English honors under my belt by graduation, I spent the summer working the night shift at a Ford assembly plant to make enough money to move to New York City and attend the Juilliard School. By my third year at Juilliard, I was dancing professionally with the great dancer/choreographer José Limon, and upon graduation, I was invited to join the Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest in the U.S. Working under Martha was an apprenticeship to THE Master of Modern Dance, and I saw the world touring, performing alongside Rudolf Nureyev, Liza Minnelli and so manty talented dancers, musicians, and visual artists. Sadly, most of my male dancer buddies succumbed to AIDS in the 80s-90s; I am alive today because I hesitated to come out of the closet until I’d moved back to Michigan to accept a tenure-track professorship at U-M. My cowardice, confusion, and fear saved me, and I am lucky to still be here, happily married to another artist, a printmaker and jack-of-all-trades, John Gutoskey. (www.johngutoskeystudio.com) But there were many battles to wage to test my mettle: demanding partner benefits at U-M, equal respect and pay for artists in academia, interdisciplinary creative projects that defied the typical academic “silos,” and running a non-profit dance company and school, all while chairing the Dance program and continuing to dance and choreograph. I became obsessed with filming and editing “screendances” 20 years ago then discovered painting 8 years ago. By the time I retired from U-M after 34 years as a distinguished university professor and with the Michigan Governor’s Arts Award, I was painting most of the day.

Eventually, I combined my dancing, painting, and video skills to make videos and live performance works that wove them all together. I now spend hours in my backyard studio, becoming a kid again and doing whatever I want! I still take occasional gigs working with dancers of all ages. I also swim, take long walks and do my daily stretch and ballet barre. My husband is teaching me how to cook and be a better homemaker. In April, I will preside over my niece’s wedding as a minister! Call me a Zen existentialist phenomenologist heathen/sensualist with a deep love of Jesus’ true teachings, not the twisted distortions of those who call themselves Christians and elect someone like Trump.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I enjoy my smooth patches and dance over the rough ones as best I can. Coming out at 37 was a biggie: deciding what was best for me and not some idea of who the world thought I should be. Dancing is not an easy pursuit and aging only challenges me further to be smart, efficient, and realistic about my aging body. My big challenge is also not to bear grudges against people I see as idiots or who I feel have abandoned or betrayed me in the past.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My short bio above covers it. I am proud of maintaining a very high standard of artistic production and mentorship, and I have a substantial network of former students, dancers and creative collaborators who I adore to prove it. I still pursue gigs as a guest artist/scholar and submit paintings and videos to galleries and festivals. The monetary rewards are minimal, but my 34-year plan to accumulate a pension by working at a public university has paid off, allowing me and my husband to live comfortably as two gay working artists. We feel enormously grateful for that.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I urge all of my students to ask questions, to be fiercely independent and curious, to seek mentorship and knowledge, and to learn to express themselves verbally and in writing, but to always rely upon the power, rigor, and integrity of their art form to communicate their essential being. Beware of fakes and phonies who talk the talk from a narrow perspective driven by their own egos but do not know how to open their hearts and give from a place of generosity. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.petersparling.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.sparling.10
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user9438703