Hello Dancers,
There’s been some things heavy on my mind that I am realizing when it comes to it being not just a dancer but also being a professional as well. As dancers, it is so easy for us to forget that we are beyond movement. When it comes to dancers in the professional world you have to educate yourself in your profession. As a dancer, it’s okay to ask yourself questions like “How much am I being paid?” or “What is expected of me?” because if you never take out the time to educate yourself you could end up being jaded into what you think you are getting yourself into. As aspiring ballet dancers we really need to use research as a foundation to choosing what route we should take when it comes to pursuing your dance career. My biggest concern for dancers is that they go out looking for work blindsided either technically, financially, or professionally and they throw their talents on the line because of the lack of preparation when it comes to going the professional route.
Photo: Pretty Matches Productions/Zero Point Zero Production.
Where are you at technically?
Before you go out and put everything out on the line you have to take a look at the technique you have and compare to the technical level of the members of the company that you are trying to join. Our generation of dancers like to rush technique and that creates a problem when it comes to auditioning for companies. You can never be 100% prepared for an audition but if your technique level closely matches those in the company you are making yourself more of a candidate. Am I discouraging auditioning? Heavens no! I think dancers should audition of to get them more comfortable and used to the pressures that it brings along, but i think the problem comes along when people credit auditions as class which is not the case at all. Consistently staying in class is the best thing for you technique and is also the best way train yourself for these auditions.
What is your financial stance?
Auditioning as a ballet dancer is quite expensive contrary to people’s beliefs. Think of the travel, the shoes, your appearance; maintaining all of these can be quite the cost, so you have to look at the cost of all of these things so you can make sure you are fully prepared to begin the audition process. Now next becomes the big question of how much to professional ballet dancers get paid? You have to do your research as a dancer because regardless of what of your outside circle tells you it is more than possible to live a stable lifestyle as a dancer. Now let’s be clear, when first entering a company do not expect to get the pay of Yuan Yuan Tan or Steven McRae but use your resources and find out how much your company of interest pays and their benefits and compare that to your lifestyle now.
What is being “professional”?
Of course talent is a must when it comes to making it in the ballet world but often dancers forget that professionalism is a must when it comes to making a career out of dance. As dancers you have to evaluate your dancers etiquette that you are when you step foot into your first ballet class. You have to constantly be practicing concepts like your timeliness in class, your body language while you are learning in class, or even your dress code. You are probably reading this thinking, of course why would I not follow these guidelines, but a lot of dancers tend to forget their etiquette when they start to get comfortable at their studio or intensive. Don’t allow yourself to exude this lack of effort in your mannerisms because believe or not they will reflect in your dancing on and off stage!
Dancers have been some of the most intellectual people I have met and hope that dancers are continuing their intellect by not just being a dancer but being a smart dancer. To make it as a professional dancer you have to put in that extra time to understand that ballet is a business, and just like any other business you have to make yourself marketable to succeed in the crazy professional world. With this being said you should check out a really cool article where Donna Sapolin of Forbes discusses “7 Things Ballet can Teach Us About Work”. It brings in the other side of how the concepts of ballet are effective in the professional world, so now lets link these concepts and gear them towards creating your own professional ballet career!
Below I will leave you with some ferocious Derek Dunn and Jim Nowakowski turns to take us to dance heaven (both Houston Ballet)
Keep Calm and Dance on!
jetejerrett 