My Dance Experience

For my final post, I would like to share how dance has positively affected my life. Although in each post I have shared small pieces of my personal dance experience pertaining to the topic, I am going to make a post solely about it.

I started dancing when I was two years old for one reason only- because my sister was a dancer and I wanted to do everything she did. When I turned four, I started competing and from that moment on I absolutely loved everything about dance. Throughout my dance career, I had ups and downs in regards to placing at competitions. but winning was not the important part of dance to me as I got older. One of the most important lessons being a dancer has taught me is that if you worked hard, practiced hard, and gave it your all, the satisfaction of performing at the best of your ability is more valuable than any number of first place trophies.

Another lesson dance has taught me is discipline. Not only from a young age did I learn to listen and respect the teacher, but self-discipline. For example, when a teacher gives you a correction you must apply that correction. Only you have the power to point your foot or straighten your leg completely. Most things in dance are not natural and require constant attention until pointing your foot every time it comes off of the ground becomes second nature. Self-discipline was taught by my teacher saying, “I cannot make you better by telling you corrections. Only you can improve upon your dancing by applying the corrections.”

Dance has also been a great stress reliever I have had through my entire life. It has taught me so much and has shaped who I am as a person. I am so thankful my sister encouraged me to start dancing at such a young age and I’m excited to see where my dance career goes next.

 

Dancing on Broadway

Many talented dancers dream of performing on Broadway. Most preschool dance classes begin with having kids perform to songs from Disney musicals and other children’s plays. The problem with dancers wanting to be on Broadway is the fact that for a majority of the jobs, you must be very talented vocally as well. There are few parts in musicals where the characters only dance, even if it is only in the chorus. Also, most parts are chosen based on the individual’s voice rather than their dancing ability. Even if you are talented in both aspects, it is still incredibly difficult to find a job because there are so few available and the jobs are often for people with specific looks.

However, one job in New York City that is catered specifically to female dancers is The Rockettes Dance Company. This group is known for their exact movements and perfect synchronization. I had the opportunity of taking a class with the Rockettes one time in New York and it was extremely difficult to be able to match someone so precisely. This job is only accepting of girls that are taller than 5’6″ and shorter than 5’10”. Performing on the stage at Radio City Music Hall must be a great job that a majority of dancers would love to have.

In order to learn how to be a “broadway dancer,” dance studios often offer classes that are focused on teaching this style. These classes became so popular that dance competitions created a category titled musical theater. The rules for each category vary from competition to competition, but it basically is a dance routine that must be to a song from a broadway musical. When this category was first created, dancers embraced the style and would often lip synch while dancing. After a few years, the category has transformed into dancers mostly performing jazz routines to Broadway songs.

 

Dance Debate

Probably the most debated topic on dance is whether or not it is a sport.

Most people that do not dance automatically say it is not a sport, but more so a hobby or activity. These people do not understand the strength and dedication it takes to have proper technique, which is what you are scored on at competitions. Dancers sometimes run laps to increase their stamina. Running decreases flexibility so after running, dancers cannot relax but rather must do a series of intense stretches to maintain their flexibility after the workout. In high school twice a week I would attend a mandatory class titled “strength and conditioning” which was designed to give the dancers a full body workout in order to stay in shape to be able to have stellar technique. Also dance, like soccer and basketball, is a team sport. When you practice in the studio, you must work as a team and more importantly, when you go on stage in a group dance, you must work as a team in order to succeed.

On the other side, some people do not consider dance a sport but rather they consider it an art form. A quotation said by ballet teacher on numerous occasions was “walk like a dancer, not like an athlete.” If you do not look at dance as an art form, it is difficult to put passion and meaning behind the steps. Without the artistry aspect of dance, it would not be pleasing to perform or to watch. To be able to choreograph, practice, and eventually perform a piece is an art.

In my opinion, dance is a combination of a sport and an art. Famous dancer Shanna LaFleur said, “it takes an athlete to dance, but an artist to be a dancer.” I agree with this because in order to be successful with a team, athleticism and teamwork is a necessity along with passion and creativity in movement.

Choreographers

Growing up, most dancers dream of dancing in music videos or being in famous companies. If it is not one of these top performance jobs, it is most likely their dream to be a choreographer. Choreographers are the dancers who create and teach the steps to performers. They are some of the most creative individuals and artists because of their unique work. Some choreographers decide to tell stories through their dancers by music selection, costume selection, style of dance, and the movements themselves. My dance teacher would start every new routine by telling us her “vision” of what she saw this dance being when we got on stage. It was then the group’s job to make her vision come to life by listening to exactly what she wanted.

Most choreographers start out small, such as making up their middle school talent show dance. After years of working in small studios, a choreographer may be hired as an assistant to a well known choreographer. Then, they may be asked to teach at conventions. If their work is good enough, they could be asked to choreograph for broadway shows, musicals, award shows, concert tours, and dance television shows such as Fox’s, “So You Think You Can Dance.” Choreographers made famous by television travel all across the country and are paid large amounts to choreograph dances at local studios.

I have had the experience of choreographing a dance for my dance company here at Penn State last semester, which was a great experience. Until choreographing a full dance completely on my own for the first time, I never truly appreciated how hard my teachers have worked in the past to give us quality dances. In the future, I hope to choreograph more dances and get the opportunity to choreograph at my old dance studio someday.

Competition Day

Growing up, my competition team would attend between four and six competitions a year on average. When I started competing at the age of four, I competed in two dances. My senior year of high school, I competed in ten dances. Some competitions are held in one day whereas some are held over a weekend or even an entire week (nationals). Most competitions we would travel to, but never too far with the exception of nationals, however some teams travel across the country to compete.

Every competition was a different experience, but every competition was rewarding just from the satisfaction of performing something you have rehearsed for so long. No matter if you scored well or not, it did not take away from the amazing feeling of performing on stage.

The scoring system of dance is different than most competitive sports. Whenever coming home from a competition I would always be asked, “did you win?” This question is not a yes or no question like most would expect. First, each dance that was performed receives an adjudication. These are ranked silver, high silver, gold, high gold, platinum, and today most competitions also award a perfect platinum if the dance received a score with three or less than three points shy of a perfect score. After adjudication, the announcer will rank each dance within the category they competed in. These categories are divided by the age (or average age of the group) of the dancer(s), the style of dance, and the number of people in the dance. For example there is a category titled small group hip hop age 13-14. After the category is announced, they move on to announcing overalls. Overalls mean the highest scoring solo, duet, small group, and large group of all ages in every style are announced. There are also special judges awards which are awards created by the judges for a specific routine.

 

Disney World Performances

Over spring break as a member of Penn State’s Peace. Love. Lyrical. Dance Company, I travelled to Orlando, Florida. The purpose of the trip was for the team to be able to take a class at Disney Performing Arts Studios in the theme park Epcot. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been dancing for a majority of my lifetime and have completed many different workshops over the course of my dance career. I must say that this was a completely new experience and one of my favorite dance moments to this day! The class we took consisted of jazz and technique taught by a Disney performer who currently dances in the parade in Magic Kingdom (another park in Disney World). She had recently moved to Florida after being a New York City Rockette and was very inspiring. The instructor challenged us and gave us a mock audition as if we were trying out to be casted in a Disney show.

After taking the class, we were given a tour of the practice spaces and dressing rooms for every performer. This was very exciting to see all of the behind the scenes action and allowed dancers from my team who are considering auditioning for Disney shows really see what it was like.

Also, while in Disney World, Peace. Love. Lyrical. Dance Company was invited to do a performance in Downtown Disney one of the evenings we were there. Again, this was a completely new experience for me performing in front of people in Disney World because as we learned the previous day in the workshop, the main goal is to entertain the audience no matter what.

Being able to perform in Disney World is something I will always remember and allowed me to see more opportunities to further a dance career in the future.

Dance Conventions

Dance conventions are events that consist of many different classes from many different choreographers that are usually well known to the dance world). They typically last a weekend unless they are held over the summer, in which case they typically last a week. Many different studios attend these conventions in order to learn new styles and dance in a different atmosphere. Taking class from a different choreography can assist you in coming up with your own unique style as well as teach you about dancing outside of your local studio. Some choreographers even go to conventions to take class in order to make sure their work is keeping up with today’s popular styles.

On a normal day at a convention, you would typically have class early in the morning and dance for the duration of the day with one or no breaks. One of these classes teaches the “audition piece.” The second day also starts early and at some point you continue on with learning the “audition piece.” At the end of the second day you perform this piece for the choreographers you have learned from all weekend and they choose who they believe retained and performed the dance the best.

The audition at the end of the convention is often for dance scholarships to compete at certain competitions for free or go to more conventions for free. This process is much like a real life audition in which you are given a number and must perform a routine you had just learned, often with improvising before and after the dance begins.

Some of the more famous dance conventions include JUMP, Wild, Tremaine, and NUVO. Most dance conventions also host dance competitions at night, which also makes the experience even more fun yet exhausting.

At the age of eight, my dance studio required that you attend one a minimum of one dance convention a year. As a young dancer, I had no idea what a dance convention was but signed up like everyone else and did not understand the experience I was going to have. Over my years of dancing, conventions have significantly helped improve my ability.

Nutrition

Whether you believe dance is a sport or not, there is no arguing that dancers are athletes. The amount of strength and stamina needed to perform well is comparable to any other sport. With this being said, dancers need to be aware of their eating and exercising habits in order to stay healthy. On competition or recital day it’s easy to forget to eat properly and drink water, but this is necessary to be successful and to take care of yourself.

Although dance is physically demanding, it is also a competitive art form. Typically when companies or famous celebrities hire dancers for their performances, they want their dancers to look a certain way. For example, some famous ballet companies require their dancers to be below a certain weight and be a certain shape. Too many times these standards lead dancers to having difficulties with their nutrition, such as developing eating disorders. When constantly put on a scale and told to be a certain shape, it’s no wonder many dancers struggle with this. While trying to lose significant amounts of weight, many dancers do not consume the high number of calories and carbohydrates they need in order to dance as much as they do. Disorders such as anorexia take a toll physically and emotionally on the dancer and can lead to harmful, long term effects on the body.

Eating disorders and other nutritional issues are specifically common among ballet dancers because of the competitive nature. Everyone just wants to be perfect and to be chosen. When you hear “ballet dancer” you think of the very thin girl in pointe shoes. Ballerinas have to be petite in order to be lifted, but they cannot get to this size in an unhealthy manner without  compromising their quality of dance.

As society is changing their view on beautiful people being super model thin, the dance world is also changing their view that all dancers should be thin. Today many people are hiring dancers of all shapes and sizes, not because of their look but because of their talent. This change in society’s view will most likely decrease the number of eating disorders among dancers.

Unique Style

“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known.” -Chuck Palahniuk

This quotation can be applied to life in general, but more specifically dancers. Each dancer is completely different with their own unique style. How do dancers who train together from the same teachers for years and take the same classes emerge as completely different artists? They acquire their own personal style of dance from numerous people and places. Most dancers start out with a style similar to others in their studio, but as they mature they use resources to refine their own form of movement. This mostly happens subconsciously. For example in class, you can notice a dancer perform a certain step a bit differently with their own style on the move and then you make a choice. If you liked what they did, you will most likely incorporate the way they performed into your own dancing the next time you perform or if you did not like what they did, you will be sure you do not do the same. Dancers normally have multiple teachers as well and how much each student in the classes takes from each teacher determines their style too. The different combinations of what the student replicates from each different teacher contributes greatly to their exclusive style. Another place dancers shape their movement is by watching famous dancers and choreographers as inspiration. Just by watching, a whole new style can be formed.

Unique style is a great thing until teachers are attempting to make each of their students perform the same movement exactly the same way. Each dancer in a piece can see the choreographer perform a move and attempt to replicate it completely different. It is quite difficult to make a group of unique artists to look the same, but that is all part of the challenge. 

The Importance of Your Team

I’m sure everyone has learned the importance of a team at some point or another in their lives. When people here the word “team,” most probably think of a contact sports team. Like gymnastics and swimming, dance teams are a bit different because although you are all on the same team, you end up competing against your teammates in solo competitions. Some may think that this would damage the teams support for each other, which in my experiences is 100% not true. My dance team from my hometown is basically my family and I can already tell I am going to be extremely close with my dance team here at Penn State.

Considering I saw my dance team from home for multiple hours everyday, seven days a week, we were very close friends and teammates. Creating a piece together and all working for the same goal formed an irreplaceable bond amongst my group. All of the hard work and sacrifices made for the team brings the members together and drives the motivation to succeed.

The importance of being a close knit group when it comes to dancing is the level of trust to go out on stage with a group of people. It’s easier to not get stage fright when having full confidence that if you mess up, your team will be right behind you performing the correct way, just like you all practiced for hours. Also if the dance includes any sort of lifts, you need to have full trust in your partner that they will be there to catch you. If you hold back, the lift will not work. An incredible amount of trust is needed to let a team member completely be in control of the fate of your physical well being. Overall, the team makes you more comfortable while performing. Being with the people you practice with gives you a sense of comfortability that cannot be found with any other dancers.

Not only does a dance team have close relationships with one another, but they also inspire each other. Every single dancer can learn so much just from simply watching another dancer. Growing as dancers requires gathering observations of things you like watching when people dance and things you dislike. You then become the dancer you are by combining all of the likes and removing the dislikes. That being said, by watching your team, you can learn from them as they are also discovering the dancers they are.

After any victory at a dance competition, the quote “there is no I in team” is more prevalent than ever because every single dancer contributed to the group in some way.