danceypants
Brooklyn, NY
Female, 25
I am a professional NYC contemporary/modern dancer. I work freelance, dancing in various projects around NYC. It ranges from performance art, flash mobs, and various styles of modern/contemporary dance. It's tough, I hustle everyday. I also bartend to pay the bills and work at a dance studio for discounted classes. It's a struggle, between auditions, classes, and maintaining artistic integrity. But I love my life.
Um, I really make sure I choose gigs that I truly want to do. When I check listings for auditions, I make sure to cyber-stalk the company or choreographer first. Most dance makers have videos on the internet, so I watch them and read their website about the artistic directors history. As a trained dancer, I can smell BS from a mile away. (dancers are just like everyone else, they embellish their resume, but it's harder to get away with when another dancer does some digging) I love gigs that I believe in. I once had an old dance professor tell me that as a dancer you ideally want three things out of work; 1. to love your fellow dancers 2. to believe in the integrity of the work 3. to love your choreographer/artistic director. 1 out of 3 is good. 2 out of three is lucky, 3 out of 3 is rare. My favorite gigs toe the line of performance art and modern dance. I love structured improv, I like the risk and nervous energy of not knowing what will come out of your body naturally. The best is when you do contact improv with a partner, sometimes the coolest things are created. I also like work where I'm not just the choreographers pawn. I like to have some artistic input. I'd say my least favorite gigs are flash mobs. They pay good money. I did one for a bank a while back in Times Square. I made $500 for 3 rehearsals and 2 performances. I also got a free stuff after. Cool right? I guess, I liked the woman who was choreographing it, I take her class frequently. But there were 60 dancers hired, it was insanity. Rehearsals were a nightmare, people were disrespectful and and rude. Talking throughout, coming in late, openly mocking fellow dancers. But then again, I did another for a make up company and people were sweet. It's all jut a gamble.
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Stores, banks, make-companies, and video-games. Most have been held in heavily populated areas like Herald Square, Times Square, or Bloomingdales.
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I wouldn't check out craigslist for auditions. They can be sketchy. I had a friend who went to an "audition" she read about on craigslist, and it ended up being at some woman's house in farfaraway, Queens. She was the only one there. And even though she offered payments for performances. The performances ended up being "belly dancing" topless at some guys party. So craigslist=no bueno. Haha Check out dancenyc.org. They have legit audition listings. They also list performances, arts administion jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities. Etc. Also when you take class (generally if it's a large professional studio space like DNA, Peridance, steps, BDC) they have postings for paid auditions on the wall.
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Haha. I used to teach, I've taught a various levels of dance since I was a freshman in college. It's funny, I used to teach little babies ages 2.5-4. You can definitely tell how naturally coordinated and intelligent a child is through dance class. When they are that small, they can only mimic for the most part. Some kids could take direction really easily, others were distracted by their own foot. I remember one little girl I had in my 4 year old class, she was an attentive listener, she caught on really fast to movement phrases, and executed them amazingly, (well, for a 4 year old) Then I had other 4 year olds who weren't coordinated at all. They tried their little hearts out, but it just wasn't working. I think honestly that comes from DNA. I've also taught adults and yes, I believe that some people are just hopelessly uncoordinated. It's kind of like their awkward teenage body never grew up. They learn the combination (movement phrase) but the connectivity between their brain and body just isn't there. I feel bad for them, because most of the time, older kids and adults want to be in class, dancing. They bust their butts, and they do improve gradually, but they will never have the natural "musicality" or "flow" that is required of a dancer.
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Call Center Employee (Retail)
I've heard that a lot of startups are hiring really well-educated college grads and paying them a lot, reasoning that customer service is often a client's most lasting impression of a brand. What do you think, and is it something you see spreading?
Help Desk Technician
Does it get aggravating answering people's dumb questions all day long?
Toll Collector
What's the rudest thing a driver ever said to you?
Uh, well I don't really watch the show, but from what I've seen they are really good. But like I said in my description of my job, I am a modern/contemporary dancer. It's a completely different world than ballroom dance. Honestly I know nothing about ballroom. I've never done the cha cha or anything in that category. I think though you have to have a pretty face to be a dancer on tv. I've had friends audition for So You Think You Can Dance and Nigel told them they were really good, really talented. But they weren't pretty enough for television.
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Wow. There are a lot of people that have changed the world of modern dance. I remember when I was in college sitting in dance history class and learning about all the major influences in the dance world. Modern dance itself, at its inception was a game changer because no one had done anything like that before. Dancing in loose, flowing clothing; barefoot nonetheless, was unheard of. I'd say currently, someone who is changing the face of the dance world is ohad naharin. He is the artistic director of batsheva dance company based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. He created an improvisational movement vocabulary called gaga. It's the idea of moving your body from the inside out. The teacher gives you cues that you visualize. for example the teacher will say, "imagine the air in the room becoming thick, how would you move?" while in class there are no mirrors, and once it begins you cannot stop moving and no one can leave or enter when class begins. From my own personal experience, studying gaga and watching other dancers who study it intensely, it changes how you move. As a person, as a dancer. You become more kinesthetically aware of your body itself and your body in space.
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I don't wear shoes. It's contemporary modern dance, so I dance barefoot. Sometimes I wear socks though.
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