The Role of a Dancer

What are the expectations? What challenges will you face?

This post will dive into the life of the average dancer and how they are expected to live it in order to enhance their journey.

Health

As a dancer, you must maintain a healthy diet so that your body can keep up with the high physical demand of dance.

• Carbohydrates - It's advised that 55-60% of a dancer's diet should be carbohydrates to provide enough energy to be able to endure through a piece of choreography. This would be true for Merce Cunningham class as his technique requires moderate levels of stamina, the energy is mainly concentrated into the high levels of technical movement influenced by Ballet. During particularly heavy training however (more likely seen in a Jasmine Vardimon class), the percentage of carbohydrates should be increased to 65% to fuel the muscles for more intense and athletic choreography.

• Vitamins & Minerals - Getting a good daily intake of a variety of vitamins and minerals is also very important as it benefits many different areas of the body from eyesight to heart health.

• Protein - Protein can build and repair muscles fibres and so 12-15% of a dancers diet should be protein. It will help a dancer heal faster if injured or be injured (eg. pull a muscle) less easily.

• Water - Its vital to keep hydrated, especially with a heavy, regular physical workload.

You must also exercise and train regularly to ensure physical appearance and abilities are maintained. Irregularity in a dance fitness schedule may have negative effects on a dancers body for example reversing any previous hard work by reducing flexibility and stamina (as well as many more physical skills). I have learnt this from my own personal experiences, in specific when I injured my upper leg, primarily my hamstring but also some tendons near my knee. This injury occurred after attempting a free-fall after not having danced throughout the 2 weeks-holiday from school. The injury meant I couldn't dance at all for a few days and so sat to the side, and even after that my flexibility was poor.

It is key to not only keep your body fit and healthy but also your mind...

• Keep your mind focused so that you keep up with choreography/other dance demands.

• When your not dancing, take your mind off it and do something else that you enjoy

• Maintain a regular sleep schedule so that your mind and body is well rested.

Skills

Different dancers have different skill sets. Someone that performs ballet will be very flexible in order to complete some vital moves within that dance style however, someone that performs tap isn't required or expected to be flexible as their style of dance is performed primarily with their feet. Though there are some skills not all dancers require, there are some very key skills such as expression and musicality, that dancers must have to be successful in the dance world. Its a combination of those key physical, expressive and mental skills that turns dance moves into a performance that can entertain an audience. Famous dancer Fred Astaire, well known for ballroom dancing with Ginger Rogers, performed dance breaks which were intended purely for entertainment. If he didn't have that dancer skillset his routines wouldn't have been nearly as successful as they were. Not only do great physical, expressive and mental skills create an entertaining dance but also create understanding of a storyline. Dancers should be able to utilise their skills to tell a story whether that's through call and response or points of focus. An amazing example is another famous dancer, Gene Kelly who directed, choreographed and danced in Singing in the Rain and provide greater understanding of the movie.

Physical skills:

• Posture - the way in which someone holds their body. Revelations, choreographed by Alvin Ailey displays a group of dancers with great posture. Despite the fact that they move across the vertical plane from glancing upwards on the balls of their feet to a low squat and across the horizontal plane through a series of leans, their spine remains unskewed. This presents great posture and makes the movement seem more precise from and audiences perspective.

• Alignment - arrangement of body parts in relation to another/something else. As seen in Richard Alston's Soda Lake, when he aligns and traces the circle above him with his arm. Alignment brings aesthetic to choreography therefore making it more pleasant to watch for an audience.

• Balance - a steady, even distribution of weight. Balance is exhibited throughout Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake as the choreography is full of ballet content. Ballet involves many spins and balances, a balance seen in Swan Lake being an arabesque with one straight arm stretched out the the side parallel to the floor and the other at a 90 degree angle over the head. If balance is lost, especially in unison, the mistake is very clear and lowers performance quality providing an even better reason as to why its such an important physical skill to have.

• Coordination - two or more parts of the body working together effectively. Shown through Merce Cunningham's technique and works showcasing coordinated tilts of the torso such as Locale. Coordination allows for great timing between dancers because of the coordination between the individual dancer's body. When timing is off it can often distract an audience from the dance and story it's telling and so coordination is key.

• Control - the ability to start and stop movement, change direction and hold a shape. Found in many ballroom couples, especially whilst in hold, such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers as they have to work together with the male often taking lead. There also has to be a lot of control when movement has to be performed slowly and smoothly, a movement example being a dip.

• Flexibility - the range of movement at a joint. Flexibility of different body parts is seen from each of the 6 merry murderesses in Cell Block Tango, choreographed by Bob Fosse. 'Six' straddles over a male dancer, nearly in box splits showing her great flexibility in the hips.

• Strength - to be able to physically exerts a large amount of force (muscular power). Required greatly by the female dancers in Rich Man's Frug, choreographed by Bob Fosse in the form of abdominal strength to be able to successfully hold an extremely leant back 'Fosse walk'.

• Mobility - the range of movement at a joint, the ability to move fluently from action to action. Mobility is very important in all dances but especially from the prisoner in Swansong to create great fluidity in the movement and make it appear as though the guards are manipulating him with ease. A specific moment would be the transition between a bridge and backwards scissor kick as it is extremely fluid and requires good flexibility. Mobility is such an impressive skill as it makes dancing seem effortless despite the fact that its the complete opposite and also really improves the performance quality.

• Stamina - sustaining prolonged physical effort. Majorly found in Vardimon's pieces such as Park where the dancers perform high intensity sections with constant movement and tricks. An example of a trick being when the 4 male dancers in the first section push up into a straight arm plank with such high energy that an arm and both legs are off the ground. Stamina allows for the quality of the performance to remain consistent so that the end is just as appreciated and enjoyed by an audience as the beginning.

• Extension - pushing a limb to its maximum length. Extension of the leading leg in a rumba is critical in achieving a perfect number. Professional Johannes Radebe and student John Whaite show a great example of leg extension when they rumba walk to the front right corner of the floor in their first rumba of Strictly Come Dancing 2021.

• Isolation - the ability to only move one part of the body. Exhibited in Lamentation by Martha Graham whilst also using her famous technique of contraction and release to create a mesmerising piece.

The physical skills for dance cannot be ranked from most important to least important. Each dancer's individual style is unique and so the key physical skills required for each will be different. For example, Flexibility is essential for Bruce with his style being a combination of ballet and the Graham technique (contemporary), however, you could argue that in Alvin Ailey's dances (especially Dust with the hand gestures) the physical skill isolation is the most important.

The body's adaptation: A dancers physical skillset needs to excel across all of the above 11 skills in order for them to adapt to different styles when necessary. Choreographers will expect a dancer to be able to perform their style well and meet all physical demands of the workshop/audition piece. For example, if you were auditioning for Matthew Bourne's work, it would be key to take ballet classes prior to the audition due to the fact that his style is very balletic. This will help with physical skills such as balance, alignment and extension - all three would be seen in a Matthew Bourne's works. Whereas, if you were to audition for a Jasmine Vardimon work, a conditioning class or time at the gym would be more suiting as it would improve a dancers strength and stamina, 2 physical components that are crucial for repeatedly jumping, rolling and moving in and out of the floor. This can be seen in the video of her company's performance 'Park' where at 0:21, 4 dancers roll to the floor into a lowered plank to then boost themselves into the air with a hand and both legs in the air and only 1 hand on the floor and descend back to the floor again. This jump-like movement is comparable to the many jumps in Swan Lake such as the split leaps at 0:07 as they both require great exertion of energy. However, they are very dissimilar because the choreographers have choreographed the jumps to be in their style. The split leaps are smooth, graceful and have a high sense of gravity and so requires a great deal of leg strength and flexibility. Yet Vardimon's style of jump is abrupt and has a low sense of gravity and requires full body strength to create the dynamic and visual quality.

Expressive skills:

• Projection - ability to project energy outward and confidently so that they may communicate clear images and ideas. Seen in Christopher Bruce's Shadows when the son projects negative energy to the audience to imply he is distressed through a series of movements with sharp, fast dynamic quality.

• Focus - centering all attention to one movement or space. Focus point have to become part of the choreography to help communicate a feeling or story.

• Spatial awareness - knowing where you are in relation to the people/things around you. This would've been crucial for the Gobstoppers in Nutcracker, choreographed by Matthew Bourne because of the barrel rolls that are performed in close proximity.

• Facial expression - the ability to infer an emotion through your facial muscles. The dancers in Bob Fosse's Big Spender from the movie Sweet Charity use facial expression as a way of communicating with the audience. Their dull faces clearly infer that they don't want to be there which is further proved by the limp arm swings that give the sense that they've given up. Facial expressions are so important for any dance in helping to convey an emotion and help the audience understand the meaning of the dance.

• Musicality - highlighting certain sounds in the music with movement (timing with music). Clearly seen in Jerome Robbins', West Life Story when the dancers regularly take part in well timed dance fighting. This includes split leaps, hops and scissor kicks that are all well timed with the beats in the music.

Expressive skills are key in bringing a story and emotion to an audience, in different circumstances however some are more important that the others. Facial expression would be less important for a member of a large dance group performing in a theatre where view is sometimes restricted than a dancer on a show such as Strictly Come dancing where the camera is on the dancefloor with them. However the group would need better spacial awareness with there being so many of them yet the couple on strictly have the whole space to themselves, and with the style being ballroom they move as one for the majority of the time anyway.

Mental skills:

• Movement memory - the recall of learned material. Something that would've been especially key for the dancers in Rooster by Christopher Bruce to be able to perform a nearly 30 minute long dance without any mistakes. Good movement recall will maximise time in the studio allowing for faster progression and also help towards a better performance. This is because that dancer can then worry less about remembering the movement and instead focus on expressive skills.

• Commitment - dedicating yourself to something. It is expected by dance companies, choreographers and other dancers that you are mentally committed to the dances. They need to be able to trust that you will always turn up to rehearsal and be available for all shows.

• Confidence - having belief in yourself. Confidence is something that many beginner dancers struggle with as they have been put in an unfamiliar circumstance. Its important to have confidence in yourself so that you can fully and successfully perform to an audience, any doubt could lead to incorrect choreography or timing. With the male dancers in Rooster having to play just a strong, controlling role, the mental skill of confidence would be key to fully embody the intended character set by Christopher Bruce. Many "arrogant" gestures are also used such as the adjusting of the tie and slicking back of the hair, movement that if performed without confidence wouldn't have the the same effect. Sometimes dancers have to confidently play the role of a timid or scared character such as the orphans in the first section of Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker.

• Concentration - focusing ones attention. Good concentration will make a dance more successful and liked by the audience. Lack of concentration could mean irrelevant thoughts are going through a dancer's head, possibly distracting them from the choreography, causing them to make mistakes.

Mental skills aren't just important when performing but also during rehearsal. A concentrated dancer will engage with the others and the teacher and so wont miss any key parts. A committed dancer will make sure to show up to every rehearsal. A dancer with good movement memory will remember everything from the previous rehearsal and so wont waste time on recapping choreography. Finally, a dancer with good confidence wont be afraid to go wrong in rehearsal if it means it will eventually be perfect for the main performance.

The mind's adaptation: A dancer's mental skills will be more greatly tested with certain practitioners than others. A Jerome Robbins workshop will require very strong mental skills, movement memory for the movement-crammed routines, commitment for the challenging acrobatics, concentration to succeed with the musicality of the gestures in the choreography and confidence to be able to embody the character. Overall his style and routine are much more complex than Bob Fosse's Big Spender for example where little space is used and choreography is mostly gestural. A choreographer has the expectation that a dancer has good mental skills and can endure challenging sessions without giving up.

Some Expectations

The knowledge a dancer has is especially important. They should know the names of/how to do common movements so that they can perform them upon the chorographers demand. A good dancer must also have knowledge upon different dance styles so that their skill set is suitable for a larger variety of performances. A good example of this would be the male dancer who plays a prisoner in Christopher Bruce's Swansong. The dancer, Koen Onzia, performs ballet, contemporary and ballroom (the Waltz) during this piece, and was therefore likely picked by Bruce for this role because of his knowledge of different styles and ability to perform them.

There is also the expectation that dancers will have the confidence and preparation to be able to audition for a part in a show or for a job within a dance company. Within that dance company they will likely have to work closely with instructors, choreographers, or other dancers to interpret, develop or modify their routines. As well as being expected to attend promotional events, such as photography sessions, for the production in which they are appearing.

When on the pathway to becoming a dancer, one should expect for dance to takes a toll on their body and experience many injuries. In fact, dancers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. They also must understand that the career they are entering isn't one that is likely to take them up to retirement, many dancers stop performing by their late thirties because of the physical demands. None the less there's still the option to be involved in the dance world by continuing to work as choreographers, directors, or dance teachers.

Interrelationships

Many people are behind the scenes of a well made dance along with the dancers. This includes the set designers, choreographers, lighting designers, costume designers and more. This means the dancers must work with and communicate with them throughout the whole process of the piece from beginning to end in the following ways:

• Set designers - have knowledge of any props that you must use, be aware of inanimate objects on stage with you (spatial awareness)

• Choreographers - listen to choreographer at all times, get familiar with the music they choose

• Lighting designers - make sure you know the timings of the changes in lighting or where the lighting is going to be on the stage

• Costume designers - allow to be measured by them for costume dimensions, communicate if the costume isn't comfortable or if it is restricting movement.

Interrelationships are important in creating a successful production. There is more behind the scenes than one might originally think. The above interrelations are of course the most obvious but as seen in the video: Cinderella | The Rehearsal Process (Matthew Bourne), there's often interrelations between different aged dancers that have different experiences and so can learn from one another. The older ones bring the experience and the younger ones "bring in a fresh take on things and energy". Alongside that Matthew Bourne explains how the group interrelates with venue owners. Though it seems less significant than the interrelation with the set designer for example, the venue owners are the reason they can tour because interrelationships whilst showcasing and advertisement the works are just as important those bullet pointed above that are found in the making process.