As glamorous as it may seem, the life of a dancer at professional level is full of hard work, pain and strict dedication to the goal. Many dancers attest that you must desire to be a dancer with all your being: if you can imagine yourself doing anything else at all in life, you must do that instead of dance.
If the hard graft of dancing has not dissuaded you from striving for your goal and you still wish to pursue a career in dance you must commit yourself completely, as it requires a lot of passion and pain, both physically and mentally. If it so happens that you become injured during your dance training or professional career, that might put an immediate stop to your life as a dancer. It is important to have a "plan B" in order to fulfil you when dance may not be able to.
If or when you no longer dance or are out of work, it is useful to have completed some form of education, and a clear idea of how you can survive when you are in between dance jobs, so develop your skills and build up professional experience. Persistence and a positive attitude are imperative to your survival as a dancer and remember to enjoy the hard work involved in reaching your dream.
It is important to keep your feet on the ground, remain reasonable and therefore think realistically about your career. So much of dance is about personal choice of someone working above you, and what one casting agent or director will love, another will not. Each day you audition is different, and luck on the day of being noticed at the right time plays a big part in securing a job. Even if you are the strongest dancer in the class you take, this may not count for much in an audition where a dancer with a different colour hair and build is being sought.
Ensure you play up to your strengths and use them to your advantage, promoting yourself as well as possible, be it in a class, audition or workshop. Continue learning and building on your skills - so much more is required of dancers every day, so in conquering your weaknesses you have the best chance of being selected. Despite this, there will certainly be auditions and jobs that you simply won’t be suitable for, due to reasons with nothing to do with dance, so you must develop a tough skin.
Becoming a professional dancer
As glamorous as it may seem, the life of a dancer at professional level is full of hard work, pain and strict dedication to the goal. Many dancers attest that you must desire to be a dancer with all your being: if you can imagine yourself doing anything else at all in life, you must do that instead of dance.
If the hard graft of dancing has not dissuaded you from striving for your goal and you still wish to pursue a career in dance you must commit yourself completely, as it requires a lot of passion and pain, both physically and mentally. If it so happens that you become injured during your dance training or professional career, that might put an immediate stop to your life as a dancer. It is important to have a "plan B" in order to fulfil you when dance may not be able to.
If or when you no longer dance or are out of work, it is useful to have completed some form of education, and a clear idea of how you can survive when you are in between dance jobs, so develop your skills and build up professional experience. Persistence and a positive attitude are imperative to your survival as a dancer and remember to enjoy the hard work involved in reaching your dream.
It is important to keep your feet on the ground, remain reasonable and therefore think realistically about your career. So much of dance is about personal choice of someone working above you, and what one casting agent or director will love, another will not. Each day you audition is different, and luck on the day of being noticed at the right time plays a big part in securing a job. Even if you are the strongest dancer in the class you take, this may not count for much in an audition where a dancer with a different colour hair and build is being sought.
Ensure you play up to your strengths and use them to your advantage, promoting yourself as well as possible, be it in a class, audition or workshop. Continue learning and building on your skills - so much more is required of dancers every day, so in conquering your weaknesses you have the best chance of being selected. Despite this, there will certainly be auditions and jobs that you simply won’t be suitable for, due to reasons with nothing to do with dance, so you must develop a tough skin.