Becoming a Professional Dancer + New Exercises

The Dream... right?

Many see Dance as a career of volatility, however at Science in Dance we tend to disagree. Your passion and commitment to bettering yourself each day will determine how successful you are in the industry of Dance. Yes it can be exceedingly difficult to gain employment but it only takes one "YES" out of 100 "No"s to change your life.

This concept has everything to do with Dance Science, Training, Practise and mental well-being. I am passionate about giving Dancers the platform where by everything is in its correct place and they feel that they can Dance at their best.

How a Dancer feels internally and externally is so multi-factorial that it can be difficult to know where to start in terms of creating the best environment for an individual to thrive. But lets start at the basis of human existence, the building blocks of our existence... The Body and Mind...

A close friend asked me the question "How are you feeding your soul?"... a similar question cropped up in a book called "4 men and a Boat" which tracked the progress of Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Mathew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell as they prepared for their Sydney 2000 Olympic Rowing Finals. "Will it make the boat go faster?" If eating improperly or doing something was going to be detrimental to their race plan, they simply didn't do it. If it was going to make a positive difference they did it. Each INDIVIDUAL in the boat had their own way of interpreting this and that was the key.

Assessing what YOU need in order to thrive is key to success. If you are not consuming enough water, adequate carbs and protein and gaining enough sleep and rest then your'e probably not making your boat go faster.

Over the course of the last year I have been fortunate to be part of preparing Dancers for Performances and Auditions. During this process I have aided Dancers decide what the best route to success is for themselves and develop strategies to ensure that all the important factors are in place so that they can achieve whatever their goal might be. If you leave no stone unturned then you have your best chance.

For many this has been preparing the body to jump higher or gain flexibility. For others this has been going through nutrition and recovery tweaks in the lead up to the event.

The point of this article? Becoming the Dancer you would like to be has the best chance of coming true if your work with the controllable things. Work hard with your teacher, your coach, your physio etc. leanr from them, listen to their advice. But also! Do not be afraid to tell them what it is you are after.

Do not be afraid of dreaming big because of the fear of failing. We must challenge ourselves so that we can develop and move forward. SO go for that job, Do that exam, practise whatever it is you feel you "can't" do. Because those experiences are where you will improve and learn the most.

Here are a couple of Videos to add to your exercise collection:

Split Squat