When he was about 3 months old, I started taking Yoga and then Ballet. I joined a gym eventually and got back into shape and was feeling pretty good. Choreography was another story though. It took quite some time before I felt ready to expend the energy necessary to take on a project that would use my artistic vision.
After my son reached his first birthday, I started to look around for projects. I was lucky that one fell directly into my lap -- choreographing the show "Dracula" last Fall. This was a unique project as this was not a musical, rather a cleverly penned script that called for a chorus of modern dancers (the Nosferatu) to help move along the action of the play. So as my son turned 18 months old, my first post-parent project opened.
During this time, my husband was almost always available to be with our son when I was at rehearsals, and that made my transition back into the workplace much easier. Most rehearsals were at night and those that were not were on weekends. It was still hard for me to be away from my son at times; perhaps harder for me than it was for him! Doing the show gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment and identity -- something that one can really lose during the first years of being a parent, especially a stay-at-home parent.
This past Spring, I assisted a choreographer on another show. This was a very easy rehearsal schedule and although assisting is not as artistically satisfying as being the main choreographer, it was a good experience and I met many actors and dancers who I am sure I will work with again in the future.
I am currently working on my first musical, "Cinderella," at the same theater where I did "Dracula" last Fall. I have a system down where a close friend babysits my son until my husband comes home from work and that is going very smoothly for us. My son is used to me going to 'work' now and no longer cries when I leave, so I think this has been a good thing for him as well. I am working with a great director who schedules rehearsals very intelligently -- I am only called to rehearse when I'm needed so I am always productive when I'm there. This is especially important to me both for planning time away from my son (which is still hard for me!) and also due to the fact that I am currently pregnant with my second child. It has been fantastic to be able to be so creative during this pregnancy.
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