Professional Dancing
March 6, 2012 Professional Dancing “There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ” Edwin Denby. Dance has not left behind identifiable artifacts that prove when dance was created. It is not possible to place a date on when it became part of human culture. For billions of years people have expressed emotions and feelings through movements.
Over the years dance has transformed into an art of great proportion in our daily life. Everyone dances for a different reason. Some because dance is a stress reliever and others, it’s a way for them to express themselves, but for professionals it’s because they cannot live without it. To become a professional dancer it takes hours of practice in a studio and the acceptance of not becoming a huge star with a lot of money.
To embark on the journey to become a professional dancer the first decision to make is what style of dance, after the decision is made the next step is to find a dance studio, during the training in the studio cross training will be needed to become stronger and more flexible, the finance, competitions and injuries are all ideas to consider before committing to a vigorous but rewarding schedule. Even though becoming a professional dancer has a high risk of failure and very low pay, the career can be very rewarding and enjoyable.
Finding a dance studio that will push the dancer to become a professional is hard. Usually after finding a studio around where the aspiring dancer lives, research is done to make sure the studio is going to push them to be their best. Many dancers train in multiple studios and possibly even a dance school before becoming a professional. To receive a bachelor’s in dance it costs about $25,000 per year. Most aspiring dancers attempt to get scholarships and sponsors. After graduating the jobs offered for dancers are back-up for videos and concerts, teachers and, theater performances.
An audition for these jobs is usually mandatory. Almost all professional dancers start out at a young age in ballet classes. By the age of 18 the dancer starts to audition for jobs and begin their career. Ballet is known as the foundation of all dance styles. Ballet provides structure of almost all dance moves and control of the body to continue on in the dance style preferable. To continue on in dance the style has to be chosen by the dancer. The number of styles of dance are uncountable but the most popular are ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and ballroom.
Usually those four are the styles that become a profession. Most dancers have a preferable dance style they like because of watching others dance on television or in the studio but to choose the style of dance the best way is to experiment with many. Usually after a few years of learning the foundations of dance the dancer starts to train in the style of dance they have chosen but training in the studio is not the only training a professional has to do. To become a professional dancer cross training is needed to build muscle and endurance.
Most advise pilates, upper body work, interval training, yoga, and tai-chi. These work outs help the dancer’s flexibility and strength to jump higher and carry out harder more complicated dance moves. With all this pressure to become a better dancer problems start to occur. An estimated amount of almost 100% of dancers has struggled with an eating disorder (Ballet Dancers). “Almost everyone credits George Balanchine, the renowned dancer, teacher, and choreographer, with the current aesthetic of ballet in the West, referred to by most as the “Balanchine body,” or the “anorexic look” (Gordon, 1983).
This is one of the many down sides of aspiring dancers. If given help the dancer can usually start eating correctly and continue on in the hope to become a professional. The cost of the dancers training in the studio may cost up to $200. 00 per month. If the dancer decides to enter competitions the cost to enter train extra and buy the attire can range around $300. 00. The profession of dancing becomes very expensive. Unless the dancer is getting paid to dance the dancer usually has another job on the outside creating the income to pay for the extra necessities of dance. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that dancers and choreographers earned a mean hourly wage of $16. 55 as of May 2010” (Dancing Care…). The career in dance is very risky and unpredictable. As an individual dancing everyone has their opinion of what they like and do not like. Because of this it makes the career very hard to get into and successfully have without the struggle of not having enough money. To become a known new aspiring dancer in the fierce profession entering competitions are a must.
Usually a solo in a competition costs $90. 00 to enter. Before learning the routine created by a teacher reading the regulations is a smart idea to know what is allowed in the routine and what is not. If the routine was created before the regulations the dance might have to be tweaked so the dancer is not disqualified. A competition can last just a day or over a weekend. The judging is fierce and the competition makes the dancer want to strive even harder to become an amazing artist. Dance is strenuous. In fact, dancers have one of the highest rates of non-fatal on the-job injury. ” The causes of most dance injuries are pushing for perfection so hard that muscles are strained, shin splints occur, plantar fasciitis happens, and stress fractures are created. When dancers have this the best way to cure it is stretching before and after dancing. If any serious injury occurs like breaking bones landing a move wrong it could ruin the dancer’s career.
Most dancers retire around the age of 30 if an injury happens early the dancers career they will usually retire a teacher. Recovering could take a few weeks to years. A lot of dancers have permanent damage to their body after a vigorous career of muscles being strained and the body being pushed to its limit. Becoming a professional dancer is risky but rewarding. To become a professional dancer it takes hours of practice in a studio and the acceptance of not becoming a huge star with a lot of money.
To embark on the journey to become a professional dancer the first decision to make is what style of dance, after the decision is made the next step is to find a dance studio, during the training in the studio cross training will be needed to become stronger and more flexible, the finance, competitions and injuries are all ideas to consider before committing to a vigorous but rewarding schedule. Every dancer has a different opinion of this profession but the ones who love to dance and have the passion that no one could ever take away from them are the ones who are happy and loving every second of it.
