Before the pandemic, Daniel Ojeda was used to supplementing his income with unemployment benefits. A 29-year-old ballet dancer and choreographer, Ojeda works about half the year as a freelancer, when he s not on contract with Ballet Idaho during the fall and winter.
Last summer, those freelance gigs about half Ojeda s annual income disappeared, as the curtain dropped and lights went out in theaters and studios.
Working in an arts industry decimated by the novel coronavirus, Ojeda, along with his colleagues at Ballet Idaho, have adapted and survived. Although, nearly one year into the pandemic, stages remain closed, and audiences are not permitted or, at the very least, ill-advised.