It depends. Why are you wanting to become a professional dancer? Is it for the fame… Is it for the feeling you get when you perform in front of an audience… or is it because you love sharing stories with the audience. For many of us, dance has been a way of life for as long as we remember. We can’t imagine doing anything else except becoming a professional dancer. There was a line that was drawn, and all of a sudden, we’re no longer just dancing for fun, but so that we can make dancing our full-time job. So should you have a career as a dancer. Yes, you should if you’re passionate about it.
Everyone knows that becoming a professional dancer is an uphill battle and a constant struggle, and it’s one that might not pan out. Our dance blog is here to explore whether becoming a professional dancer is really worth it.
The Passion
Of course, if we’re going to focus on all the negative sides to professional dancing, our blog thinks it’s only fair to focus on the positive. The truth is that for so many dancers, their love of dancing and passion for the art overrides all of the drawbacks. So even though things can be outrageously challenging and competitive and painful, both physically and emotionally, dance is so emotionally fulfilling that it can absolutely all be worth it.
We’re not trying to scare anyone from pursuing the life of a professional dancer. But we think it’s essential to consider all the realities, the good and the bad, that come with professional dancing.
The Unknown
You can focus all you want on the feeling of being center stage. You can fantasize about that day for years, and work tirelessly to make that happen. But the truth is that until you begin pursuing life as a professional dancer, you won’t know what it’s like.
You might get into the audition phase, give it a couple of months or a year, not experience a breakthrough, and feel like it’s time to try something else. You might experience a lot of success, but then become disenchanted with the politics (though to be fair, every job has its own set of politics and bureaucracy). This is just a reminder that while you might think you’ve thought everything through, you won’t know what to expect until you try to break into the industry.
The Potential
Just like a professional career in sports which will end at your mid to early 30s. The experience and knowledge learned while being a professional dancer is priceless. And the potential can be limitless, but it starts with an understanding that you are MORE than just a dancer. You’re an artist, a creator, an educator, a mentor, a coach, a storyteller, an influencer, and a leader. After your professional career, you can get into studio ownership (alone) or with a business partner, or more teaching online & at a studio, or choreographing, or curriculum building, or consulting, or speaking and coaching.
The Verdict
Unfortunately, our dance blog can’t make any decisions for you. But we can present both sides of the coin to the best of our ability, to help you make an informed decision. If you decide that dancing for fun and enjoyment is going to be a lifelong hobby and sport, that’s awesome! If you decide to pursue a full-time career as a dancer, yaaaaasss you go. If there’s anything that More Than Dancers knows, it’s that there’s no wrong way to dance. And that you can make it a great living doing what you love. Good luck figuring out your path, and keep coming back for even more articles, posts, memes, videos, and everything in between.
…and never say never, because limits like fears are often just an illusion.
The Uncertainty
As a professional dancer, there’s a level of uncertainty that can (and should) make every dancer a little anxious. Your career could end abruptly in a way that other jobs simply don’t. Most employees experience an injury and go back to work as usual — your career as a dancer depends on being in full physical condition.
There’s also a deep level of uncertainty for dancers in terms of whether or not they’ll get into the performance or company or school they want, if any at all. Dancing competition only gets more intense as you get older and more invested in making dancing a career. You can no longer be the best at the studio — you have to be the best among dancers who are all likely the best at their studios, too.
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