Being a versatile dancer

The studio I danced at during my childhood fortunately offered different dance genres. I was able to learn ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop all in the same place!

When I was in high school, I went to an audition for the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts. The first part of the audition was a dance class and the second part was a performance of your own composition. I walked into the audition feeling a nervous. There were a lot great dancers in there.

The first section of the audition went great. It was a normal ballet class, and I was feeling super confident. After ballet was over, the instructors said that we were now going to have the modern portion of the class. The other kids got excited, but I just stood there for a second a little puzzled thinking, what is modern?! I've never done modern before! I got through the rest of the class okay. With my versatile dance background and years of experience, I was able to pick it up, but I felt a little awkward and thought I looked funny. I wished I had taken a modern class so that I could feel more sure about what I was doing.

Having a wide variety of genres in your dance background can definitely help you out for auditions. You never know what they might throw at you. If you have ever watched the television show So You Think You Can Dance, you can see that dancers who only stick to one genre have a difficult time adjusting and learning new ones, especially dances that are more technical, like ballet or contemporary.

Knowing more than one dance genre not only makes you versatile, it also makes you more marketable. If you are ever looking to teach, the ability to teach many genres will give you an advantage. It shows that you are very knowledgeable in the world of dance, and that you also have a passion for it.

For dancers who are serious about going into the dance industry, I would personally recommend trying out as many genres as possible! You'll discover your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to dance, but you'll never know what you can do if you don't try!

I think "trying" is the key word. When giving a new dance genre a go, you can't just walk in and give a mediocre performance; you have to give it your all! My first hip hop class that I ever took was awk-to-the-ward. My ballerina body had hardest time adjusting to the rapid movement and synchronized beats, but I kept trying and trying, and now I love hip hop!

It's okay to have your favorite! (Mine is tap dancing.) But think about all the amazing things you can learn and discover when trying something new!


So, go out there and test out a pair of tap shoes or get funky with some hip hop. You'll never know unless you try!

Happy dancing!

 

Miss Tess

tessc@balletpetite.com