Career Transition With Kias Burget

Kias Burget trained in his homeland of Brazil before completing higher dance education in the US and at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (formerly Conservatory of Vienna). Alongside a dance, singing, and musical theatre career, he worked as a respected fitness instructor and dance teacher for many years. In 2020, Kias opened his successful modern Brazilian restaurant, Kias Kitchen, in Vienna.

Your journey from dancer to restaurateur has involved diverse experiences in singing, musical theatre, fitness, and dance education. What have you gained from this diversity throughout your career?

Kias Burget: These experiences have helped me understand the importance of persistence and versatility, and taught me how to “start over”. Doing so many things in such a short period was challenging, but required me to become a very, very versatile person. I had to be persistent in my pursuits. One day, I would be teaching children in a dance studio, and the next, I would be auditioning for a show or teaching a dance fitness class.

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Did you always know you wanted to work in gastronomy eventually?

Kias: No, not exactly. When I was young, I always thought I would find myself working as a dance teacher or ballet master. However, at some point in my late twenties, I began to play with the idea of “what if?” and entertained the idea of working in gastronomy. I started reading a lot of gastronomy-related books and at some point had a go at cooking for a group of people who paid me for their dinner. I realised, “Okay, this could work!”

I wish others adopted the discipline I had as a dancer. Whenever I have the chance, I try to pass this on.

You've spoken openly about not being a formally trained chef. What are the advantages and disadvantages of breaking into a new profession with an unconventional background?

Kias: Unlike being a dancer, you can start a culinary career without formal training, but you still need to possess a certain knowledge that will back you up in the kitchen. The advantage here is that I don't adhere to old-fashioned methods and practices that some trained chefs might. Additionally, I prioritise respecting my cooking staff as a team and understanding the importance of everyone's work.

However, the disadvantage is that colleagues may look at you differently. They might think you’re not “properly” trained or say he's just "the dancer", as I've been referred to. Sometimes, you need to stand up for yourself and say, yes, I may not be formally trained, but that doesn't mean I lack knowledge. Or in a heated discussion, I would even add that it doesn't mean you're superior to me just because you attended culinary school.

What are the skill sets you've transferred from dance? Do you try to pass them on to your colleagues?

Kias: A lot of them. Being schedule-oriented is one of them. I always arrive at work early to kind of "warm up”, to ensure everything is done correctly and that my mise en place is ready for the evening service.

I carry with me a sense of discipline that I often wish others would have. It's often challenging because many chefs and gastronomy professionals consider themselves artists, and while they are artists in a way, they often lack this structure and respect for schedules and punctuality.

I wish others adopted the discipline I had as a dancer. Whenever I have the chance, I try to pass this on. I try to say how important it is to be on time, or even to arrive a bit early, to respect your schedule, do your warm-up, and maintain discipline in your tasks.

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You and your husband Alex opened your business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and you not only survived but thrived. Can you discuss the logistics of opening a restaurant in terms of finances and publicity?

Kias: This was a very complicated phase for our business. We knew we were launching the restaurant in a crisis. We tried to adapt our budget accordingly and to avoid big expenses. We opened during a lockdown in December 2020, just as Austria announced another lockdown.

Social media was an extremely important tool during this time. I posted daily, trying to make people aware of our existence. We started a countdown on Instagram, announcing the opening of a new business, Kias Kitchen. However, the lockdown we had anticipated for January arrived early, affecting Christmas and New Year's. So the money we thought we would make … wasn’t there. We needed to adapt to the situation, big time. Again, social media was a great tool because I could tell our customers about our Christmas box, which they could finish preparing at home; it really helped launch solid communication with clients. I was also very lucky that shortly after the opening, one of the biggest Austrian newspapers visited us and wrote a very positive article.

At that point, was it just you and Alex, or did you have some other staff as well?

Kias: No, I had one person assisting me in the kitchen. She was a very good cook with more experience than I had, so she was there for two reasons. Firstly, she was there to cook. But also, I saw it as an opportunity to learn from her experience, which was something I could not have had when opening my first restaurant at 32 years old.

You have also opened up about struggles with disordered eating in the past. We know that these habits can unfortunately be exacerbated by dance institutions and training. How has your current work informed your relationship with food and how do you think dancers can best learn about proper nutrition?

Kias: I come from a generation where everybody needed to be skinny. Many of us were so uninformed back then and were expected to adjust to the body shapes that our ballet teachers wanted. This wasn't during the 80s or 90s - I'm 35, so I'm talking about the 2000s. It's a shame that so many dancers were in the hands of dance institutions that pushed them toward eating disorders.

I unfortunately cannot say otherwise, because I truly believe that many teachers did this. However, I see a big change nowadays, largely thanks to the internet, which has helped people become more informed. I think one of the first steps dancers should take is to educate themselves on proper daily nutrition, as everyone's body is different and has unique needs.

For example, I eat meat, while many others are vegan. We all get our protein from different sources, whether it's from animals or plants. In such cases, professional assistance is needed to understand how much protein you need daily as a dancer. In my opinion, professional help from a nutritionist is essential for dancers.

As for my relationship with food, I've always enjoyed it. I always loved good food. During my time as a dancer, I faced a lot of restrictions: people said, “Eat less, don’t eat, skip a day, have two apples, water, and then some beans.” I’ve really heard it all. My work helped me regain the pleasure in food that I'd always had, even before owning the restaurant. Plus, I've always loved to cook.

Educate yourself before the transition, and once you feel you're set, you can make the move.

You gave an amazing TED talk on modern slavery in the food industry. Did your stage experience help improve your presentation skills?

Kias: Definitely. That was the showman in me! Yes, we had a coach for the TED talk who would review what we wrote and help us with delivery. He came to me and said, “Hold on, you pose well, you don’t over-gesticulate, you do just what is needed, you seem to have proper training.” I told him that I had an artistic background, so I understood what I was doing. 

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What do you think dance organisations could do to facilitate a better career transition for retiring dancers or those thinking about it?

Kias: I think as a dancer, you initially believe you’re going to do it forever, that you’ll always be a dancer. You imagine yourself like Maya Plisetskaya, still dancing at 90. However, what I think dance institutions need to do is to help dancers understand that their bodies will inevitably change and that they won't always be able to perform with the same quality as before. 

I think it's essential to have honest conversations with students while they're still in training. They need to be aware that there's a future after their dancing career, and they should consider that not everyone can become a teacher or a ballet master. Clear communication about a dancer's future is crucial. In my opinion, these discussions should start earlier, not just within ballet companies.

I was very lucky because my mother told me to get my dance degree, to pursue dance, but she also insisted on further study and building other skill sets. So I had that mindset with me, which is why the moment I stopped dancing professionally, I asked myself how I could adjust. I had other skills to fall back on. I could sing, act, and teach dance fitness classes.

To improve career transitions for dancers, I’ve been thinking about how organisations could provide some counselling. It would make sense to have someone discuss a "plan B" with a dancer who has sustained a serious injury, for example. This active engagement can help prepare dancers mentally for a possible career change. It could be as simple as sending a professional to the company to discuss potential career paths post-dance.

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Do you have any other advice for dancers who are considering a career transition or are about to embark on this journey?

Kias: My advice is to respect yourself in every decision you make. Trust comes along with respect, so you need to trust yourself if you are considering a career transition. It's best to write things down and create a timeline. For instance, if you are currently a dancer but want to become a mixologist and work in a bar making cocktails, you should start by learning about the business. Prepare and inform yourself as much as you can before making the change.

This preparation means you won’t be out there, uninformed, unprepared, and then suddenly frustrated. Educate yourself before the transition, and once you feel you're set, you can make the move. This is exactly what I did when I decided to open a restaurant and work with food. I bought tons of books and read them to educate myself, to inform myself as much as I possibly could. I wanted to know what the day-to-day life of a chef looks like, and tried to answer all my questions: How does the business work? What do I need to know about the place itself? How should I organise myself? How do I organise the groceries?

Then, I started opening up to people about my plans and continued to learn more. My husband suggested we start with some pop-up dinners. Doing those for a while allowed me to see the potential and I saw it working. My social media account, Kias Kitchen, started growing and getting results. That's when I took the step of opening our restaurant. 

^{Top image by Andre Apraskin}