A DANCER

By: Savannah Faye Arneson

WHAT IS A DANCER?A dancer is someone that expresses ideas stories, and rhythms with their body. In the future, advancements in training equipment and music styles will increase a dancers ability to creatively express ideas and feelings to an audience. The biggest style of dance is Ballet, while others perform more modern dances. Dancers often work in a group, but some dance solo. Being a dancer is a very fun career, however it is hard to make a living off of it, so you have to be very skilled and talented. Choosing to be a dancer, and being a good dancer that makes a profit, are two very different things. To be a successful dancer is very hard work and takes much of your time. You have to stay healthy and physically fit because dancing is a very motivating and active thing to do.

Solo- one person/independent

WHAT DOES A DANCER DO?A dancer is capable of doing many things. They work in musical shows in folk, ethnic, tap, and jazz dances. Many dancers also sing and act, others teach or choreograph dances. Choreographers create new dances and also change older dances. Some teach other dancers how to get the results that they want, while others help dancers prepare for an audition, or for a certain production.

Folk Dance- A dance that was created by common people.Ethnic- Expressive movementTap Dance- A form of dance made by using the sound of ones tap shoes hitting the floor.Jazz Dance- A form of dance that shows a dancer’s individual style and originality.Choreograph- To create a new dance

WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR BEING A DANCER

To become a dancer you must be flexible, have good body tone, and be healthy. Training begins with ballet, girls normally start earlier than boys. The older the dancers get, the more serious they become about choosing dancing as a career. Later when they are teenagers they normally start attending dance schools, by the age of 17 or 18 they should have their first professional audition. By then dancers usually start to focus on a certain style of dance. The more training you have had, the easier it is to be successful in an audition and to make it far in dancing. A college education is not required, however it may be useful once your dancing career ends, so you still have a job. It also helps if you know how to act and sing. You can improve by taking classes on singing and acting as well as dancing.

THE DUTIES OF A DANCER

A dancer’s job is physically demanding and requires long hard working hours. This also requires dancers to stay in top physical condition through exercising daily and lots of dance training. Going to dance classes regularly helps improve the dancer’s ability and to learn new moves. Dancers must spend 8 hours or more a day in a class or practicing. Dancer’s also have to perform in order to earn money. Most of theses productions are in the evening, where practicing and rehearsals take place during the day. Dancers have other duties before a performance like a photography session and costume fittings. Also dancers must have good problem-solving skills and the ability to work with other people.

EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING USED FOR DANCING

The clothes you wear for dancing depends on the type of dance you choose to do. Special dance shoes will be needed for most dance styles For example in ballet you need ballet slippers and for tap you need tap shoes. A dancer will probably wear a black leotard and pink tights for ballet and black pants for tap. Most dancers dance in a studio, whish commonly has the same equipment in everyone. The equipment in the studio are; dance floors, ballet barriers , glassless mirrors, and gym mats. This is the basic equipment that is in a dance studio used by dancers.

Ballet Barriers-(French) The bars that are in the studio that dancers use for support.

TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THIS JOB

In the future, advancements in training equipment and music styles will increase a dancer’s ability to creatively express ideas and feelings with the audience. The imagination of a dancer will increase horrendously, and this would be because of the new technology in music and equipment. This would also increase the creativity in dancers, which would help choreograph even more dances.

A NEW DANCERThe name of the new job doesn’t really change but the way the new job is, does change. The new job of being a dancer is based on the new technology that is developing. Music is definitely changing, this would effect dancing because it would change the way they dance. Dancers dance with music, so if the music changes then so does the dances. Technology is also changing the equipment dancers use, and if the equipment that dancers use regularly throughout their job changes, then the job will change too. Such as the shoes they use, the clothing they wear, and the useful item they use to help them dance. While being a new dancer, you travel a lot from place to place. “Weekend travel is common when a show is on the road. Dancers must also work late hours and practice during the day” (Dancer). This helps your dancing career become more successful.

A new dancer would travel a lot and a way it would mostly travel is by airplane or car.

WHAT IS REQUIRED TO BE A DANCERIf you are a new dancer you must have many years of dance training, from little to adulthood. You must have choreographed at least 3 dances and taken a large amount of creativity and choreography classes. “Training is an essential element to professional dancers’ careers. Dancers are usually in class or rehearsal for 8 hours a day to ensure the best physical condition and preparation for performances” (Dance). You have to know ballet, tap, and other dance styles that you have trained for several years. You must also be strong, flexible, and healthy.

TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL BE USED

If you are a new dancer a lot of technology will be used. Lots of different styles of music will be used for choreographing a dance and to dance along with a rhythm. There is also a lot of technology used in traveling, Which is a big part in a dancer’s career. It determines where the new dancer will perform and how is effects the dancer’s life.

A DANCER TO A NEW DANCERBeing a new dancer is even more hard work than a dancer. You have to be a lot more creative and spend even more time in classes, rehearsals, and practicing. “A dancer's job is physically demanding and requires long and irregular hours.” (Dancing) You also use a lot more technology than before, whether you use this technology with your performance or for help with your dancing, it is benefiting your dance career and how successful you really become!

WORKS CITED"A Career as a Dancer." CollegeView - College Finder & Recruiting Service. Web. 09 Dec. 2011.

<http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/a-career-as-a-dancer>. From this website I learned the education that would be helpful for being a dancer and also a good job description of a dancer.

"Dance and Choreography Careers, Jobs and Employment Information | Career Overview." Careers, Career Information, Job Search, Descriptions, Education and Job Search Guide. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. http://www.careeroverview.com/dance-careers.html .From this website it provided me with a good summery of being a dancer as well as the training needed to be a dancer.

"Dancers and Choreographers." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos094.html .This website gave me the education and training needed to become a dancer. It also gave me other requirements needed to be a dancer.

"Dance | Start Your Dance Career." DiscoverFame | Your Complete Entertainment Career Resource. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.discoverfame.com/talent/dance/>. From this website I learned a lot about the different kinds of dance styles and I also learned what a dancer does.

"Dancer." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. <http://www.bls.gov/k12/sports01.htm>.From this website I learned what the job was like, job description, and the training needed to be a dancer.

"Dancing Career Information: Becoming a Professional Dancer." Research Schools, Online Courses, Degrees and Careers at Education Portal. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. <http://education-portal.com/articles/Dancing_Career_Information_Becoming_a_Professional_Dancer.html>.From this website I learned the job duties of a dancer, and the training needed to become a professional dancer.

Product, Type Of. "Dance - Gymnastics Cheerleading Dance Martial Arts Tumbling - Tumbl Trak." TumblTrak - Cheerleading, Dance and Gymnastics Equipment. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.tumbltrak.com/equipment/2:4/dance.html>. From this website I learned what some of the equipment was used in dancing.