As a spectator, you’ve seen performances. It doesn’t matter what kind of dance performance you’ve seen, but I bet (if you’re not a dancer) that you don’t know the sacrifices these amazing artists make. Here are some things you should know about what it takes to be a dancer.
1. Practice
This is probably the most exhausting and most important part of being a dancer. Every dancer has it’s unique style or signature, but something you’ll find all dancers have in common is their need of perfection. They want their piece to be as immaculate as it can be. To achieve this, they spend long hours practicing and re-practicing the same routine over and over again. Can you imagine repeating the same movement, hearing the same music for hours, day after day? Well that is how much these artists care and love what they do.
2. Dedication
As a dancer, dedication is a big part of the job. It’s what gets you to every practice and makes you a great performer. That little dance move that doesn’t just satisfy you, but you go all the way until you own it, which is what dedication is all about.
3. Body
Like a painter has his colors, a dancer has its body. The body is the only instrument a dancer needs (of course there are the costumes and props, but you know what I mean). There are different types of bodies and being skinny, chubby, tall or a shortie does not make you a better or lesser dancer. Everybody has his or her own style. Don’t let your type of body and/or people stop you from dancing. As long as you’re passionate and good at it, nothing else matters.
4. Exercise
Of course, exercise is important to be a dancer because you need to develop resistance. You must be able to move nonstop on the dancefloor for long periods of time. So if you thought that attending practices for hours was exhausting, imagine 30 to 45 minutes of exercise and stretching before practice!
5. Main rehearsal
This is probably the longest, most monotonous practices of them all. Here is where you practice everything. From the beginning until the end with the whole shebang (music, clothing, cues, spotting). It seems like the day of the performance; and it isn’t until the choreographer believes the routine is perfect, that you can go home! This means there is no official ending time for this final practice.
6. Backstage/ Nervousness
This is where it gets a bit crazy. People running from one place to another because they start on this side but almost immediately that’s done they appear all the way on the other side, some costume broke and they are trying to sew it back together before appearing again on stage, someone has to change in less than 20 seconds, the choreographer is yelling because the crew missed some kind of cue to change the lighting…in summary: it’s a very stressful scene. Imagine being backstage about to perform in front of a crowd, what you’ve been practicing long and hard, and now anxiety kicks in! The moment of truth is just seconds away.
7. Stage/What you see
After all the hard work, it is time for the performance; what you actually see. The smiles, the coordination, the grace, you don’t notice the exhaustion and all that it took to be in that spot. And for that beautiful moment the dancer forgets all those hours spent, all that hard work, the distress, and nervousness, because on that stage is where he/she feels free, happy, complete, his/her true passion is to perform and that’s what it means to be a real dancer.
Now every time you see any kind of performance, I’m sure you’ll appreciate them even more knowing the hard work behind their work of art.