So here I am, about to step into the big, bad world of dance blogging. Perhaps a little over-dramatic, but I am a dancer after all, and who doesn’t love a bit of drama? The dance world generally is continuing to expand its arenas and mind, and is a never-ending cycle of new work and new ventures. Having only written reviews and dance features to date, to say blogging is unknown territory is a huge understatement. However, it is rather exciting! Talking of expanding ventures, the avenue of blogging is yet another to be discovered and I’m running the whole way.

I think the main crux of my current thinking is ‘opportunity’. To be named ‘a dancer’ or to study dance is just not enough in the present arts climate. At every turn more is required: teaching, volunteering, learning, stretching, I think it is probably something instilled in every artist to reach higher and work harder. Once, to have been a student at any institution was an event of the minority, whereas it seems the twenty-first century has brought more competition than can ever have been envisaged some few years ago. In terms of dance, to simply have a qualification is considered by many as a given, something that is easily attainable. I am not wishing to enter the debate surrounding dancers being the hardest working students – because they are – but to justify how beneficial additional ventures can be.

In my mind, in order to succeed in any area of life, but particularly within the arts, it is imperative to self-promote and self-motivate. Nothing in the sector will be handed over without the bat of an eyelid; everything must be worked for, whether payment is in blood, sweat, tears or administration work. As mentioned, the competition within the arts sector is almost incomprehensible. Dancers leaving the cut-throat nature of auditions behind for work within an arts organisation will face this same blood-thirsty ruthlessness. It is rather a contradiction to apply the same level of competitiveness that is present in performing to working behind the scenes in an arts organisation, but it is becoming increasingly clear that even these jobs are hard to come by, and are fought for, tooth and nail. This notion is, of course, fairly depressing (and even a little exaggerated – dancers hey!) but I feel it is also the stimulus for even harder work and the increased determination to succeed.

For example, internships or offering yourself as work experience are almost certainly the only way in to an arts job, and even more certainly unpaid. There is much debate about the nature of internships, and whether they should be paid, but overall, they are certainly vital in terms of gaining. Point blank, there is simply no longer the time, work spaces or resources in an organisation to take on freshly-graduated dance students, eager to explore another avenue of dance, dedicated and passionate. Additionally, the circumstances of said organisation also require the individual to have gained a certain level of experience, before they even begin their first job. Irony is not the word. Catch 22 is not the expression. To meet these requirements demands painfully hard work and own-brand beans on toast, paying for travel and assisting everyone, simply in order to gain knowledge of the sector most people have been passionate about for most of their lives – if you didn’t love it, you wouldn’t do it.

I believe this type of voluntary work comes within the category of ‘opportunity’. This rather negative tone is not intentionally negative, but perhaps a sub-conscious effort to see everything as a benefit and something to work for. Agreeably, the circumstances behind opportunities may be tough but the hard truth is that sometimes the world is not enough. I once heard the phrase, “You must be superhuman!” Well, nearly there. In terms of investing so much personal time and money into gaining worthwhile experience, working alongside volunteering in some way is often the compromise, and in turn delivers the unquantifiable reward of gaining a career, or even job, in the art world. In short, doing everything you possibly can is a sure-fire way to find a niche for yourself to succeed. Even for performers, the more you can do, it seems, the better. And of course, why wouldn’t you want to? Sometimes the factor separating one from the group is the act of reaching out for more, and then more after that as opportunities always look bigger from behind.