Darius Barnes has a lot of free time. This is a stark contrast to his former life, one governed by extreme discipline, precision, and standards of excellence as a New York City Ballet corps dancer. But that life is over for Barnes.

Now he wakes up late, practices sporadically, and professes that his physique is not what it used to be, although the 21-year-old Baltimore native still glides with a lanky, muscular body. Barnes was one of 11 dancers laid off in February from the New York City Ballet, according to Caitlin Gillette, a spokesperson for the company. The Ballet experienced significant recessional effects, including an operating deficit, declining ticket sales and donations.

Barnes said he had no idea the dance company was in trouble.

“We can’t tell from the stage," he said. "We just see the lights."

It's hardly news that young ballet dancers are fighting to survive in New York’s cutthroat dance industry. Many are left with crushed dreams and uncertain futures. But the recession has made the industry even more competitive for entry-level dancers. With fewer available positions and instability within companies, young people could be deterred from dancing careers altogether.

The New York City Ballet is not the only ballet company hit by the financial crisis. Other cities across the country, including Sacramento, Cincinnati, Miami and Madison, Wis., have faced similar crises. Some companies, like Sacramento Ballet, decided to cut 12 performances from its season to make up for losses. Other companies, such as the American Ballet Theatre in New York, Boston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet, chose to cut vacation pay and pension plans rather than sacrifice jobs. But the New York City Ballet chose to cut costs by firing personnel instead.

"I felt the rumblings of an earthquake," said Katie Glassner, senior associate and assistant chair of the Barnard College dance department. "Wow. If New York City Ballet is letting people go, the trickle down from the subprime mortgage market and Lehman Brothers has really cracked open our entire culture."

Barnes hopes to bounce back from his unemployment before long and continue dancing in New York City. After taking his final bow as a New York City Ballet dancer in July, Barnes earned an understudy role in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Aida. He also auditioned, but did not get the part, for a corps dancer role in a traveling production of Billy Elliot.

The transition from full-time employment to freelancing has not been seamless for Barnes, though he hides his disappointment with an infectious laugh and a hug when he greets friends and fellow dancers. He admits he struggles to keep a disciplined dance regimen, maintain his focus and stay motivated, because he knows how important it is to keep in practice.

"Dance is really just muscle memory. That’s why we rehearse so much," he said. "You have get your body used to it so that once you get on the stage, it's just like doing 1-2-3, A-B-C, so that you don’t have to think and [you can] put all your energy into the movement to portray the story." Freelancing is one way that Barnes refreshes his muscle memory while making ends meet.

Barnes recently joined Amanda Kostreva, 21, in a dance to Nina Simone's "I Put a Spell on You." The dance was a part of a contemporary showcase for choreographers and dancers at the B.B. King Blues Club, called "Love is Love."

"I think Darius is a beautiful dancer," Kostreva said. "I can’t believe I got the opportunity to perform with someone of his caliber." Kostreva, a fair-skinned Boston native with long blond hair tied in a bun, studies dance and history at Barnard. She started dancing at 4. She stands tall, with her shoulders held back, accentuating her dancer's physique.

"Thinking about not dancing was so painful that I never even contemplated it," she said. Kostreva continued dancing through high school at Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. At 17, she faced a fork in the road: to enter Jose Mateo's apprenticeship program or to go the academic route.

"As a dancer who chose to go to college, I kind of by default gave up dancing with a big company, doing story ballets," she said. "I don’t regret that at all."

Like Kostreva, Barnes began dancing at a young age. He left home at 16 to move to New York City and enroll in the School of American Ballet. Barnes, then 19, earned an apprenticeship at the New York City Ballet to further his craft.

“You learn as much as you can, and you just hope really hard that you get to perform," he said. "I worked my ass off.”

All the while, his future within the company was uncertain. The work paid off when Barnes earned a corps contract starting in October 2008 and continuing for 34 weeks.

“When you get your contract, you feel secure,” he said.

But then in February, the artistics director called Barnes into his office and told him his contract would not be renewed.

“You kind of know if you get a call in late February what it might be about,” Barnes said. “They said they had to make a tough decision. They said, ‘We’re in a huge deficit, and budget cuts had to be made.’”

Because Kostreva chose a path opposite from the one that Barnes pursued, she accepted that she would never reach the level of prestige he has already achieved. Instead, she plans to study in Capetown, South Africa next semester, and then start the job hunt next fall, searching for a role in a smaller dance company.

"When you dedicate your life to dance without going to college, there’s so many things that can go wrong," she said. "It’s so dangerous. If you get injured, with the economic crisis, and you lose your job, you don’t really have anything to fall back on. By the time you’re 40, you’re kind of left with no career options." For Barnes, it is a dangerous time, but he doesn't regret not going to college and taking a safer route like Kostreva. He's floating from one opportunity to the next, hoping that his motivation and discipline will return and guide him back to a secure, elite position. "I didn't want to leave dance," he said. "I worked too hard to give it up that quickly."