So You Think You Can be a Dancer

Joshua Thaddeus Bozzacco

English III Honors Pd. 3

Mr. Piatak

February 23, 2017

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When people move rhythmically to music, typically following a sequence of steps, they

practice a well known art form known as dance. Dance can portray different stories through

movements performed by a dancers body. Dance can represent a variety of stories, anywhere

from a dance about a relationship to a dance about World War II. People dance because of the

love and feeling they get when on stage or finishing a routine. Performing dance takes people to

a different universe, they can not even explain how dance makes them feel. Performing and

choreographing dance does come with challenges, years of history, performing takes a great

amount of time and energy to learn/master, and not everyone can make a living out of this career.

Dance contains many years of history that date back anywhere from ancient civilizations

in Egypt to the first games in Olympia, Greece. In ancient civilizations they used to dance in

front of temples for their gods, as a form of temple ritual (Gascoigne). Priests and priestesses

used to play musical instruments while others danced around them with different movements,

representing a significant event in the story of a god (Gascoigne). These movements would

simulate patterns such as the rhythm of night and day (Gascoigne). Also at Egyptian funerals,

women would dance to express the heartbreak they felt after losing their loved ones (Gascoigne).

In India, the priestesses used hand movements in Hindu temples to create a form of dance.

Documents from as early as the 1st century AD can describe and prove this informations

(Gascoigne). They call this form of classical dance Bharata Natyam and highly skilled

practitioners still perform this style today (Gascoigne). Dance contains a variety of different

forms and they all have a history that can date back years and years.

A key dance form that sets the base to any technique in dance consists of ballet. Ballet

began about 500 years ago in Italy during the Renaissance era (The History of Ballet). During
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this time the Italian nobles entertained important visitors with complex shows of poetry, music,

mimes and dance (The History of Ballet). An Italian woman named Catherine de Medici

married King Henry and became the Queen of France (The History of Ballet). After they

married Catherine de Medici introduced the dance of ballet to the French court (The History of

Ballet). Years later in 1643, Louis XIV became the new King of France at only the age of five

(The History of Ballet). The King loved to dance and perform in many of the courts ballets.

He later on created the Royal Academy of Music and Dance in 1661 (The History of Ballet).

During this time the five basic ballet feet positions became created and ballet began to develop a

set technique (The History of Ballet). All of this contributes to the reason why ballet dancers

use the French language to describe ballet steps and different techniques (The History of

Ballet). However, dancing does not end at Ballet as dance forms keep evolving, including

modern dance which has become an extremely popular style.

Within the 20th century, modern dance became almost a tradition of theatrical dance and

this style seemed extremely unique to most people ("Modern Dance History"). This technique of

dance originated in Europe, but by 1930 the United States had become the center for the modern

dance experimentation ("Modern Dance History"). Individuals created modern dance as a

reaction against ballet, as a result of ballet becoming proper. Many people did not like how

formal ballet had become, which caused individuals to create a new dance form ("Modern Dance

History"). Modern dance consists of more loose and free flowing movements, along with the

benefit of having no strict rules like ballet ("Modern Dance History"). Modern dance took over

the world by adding this new and unusual technique. ("Modern Dance History"). Modern dance

might seem out of the ordinary, but this dance form can ultimately take dance and movements to
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the next level.

People can find African dance throughout the African continent used in all cultures, this

style uses a mass of energy and beauty (African Dance History). In Africa, people use dance to

express life experiences, honoring kings and queens, celebrating weddings, encouraging

abundant crops, marking rites of passage, and many other rituals (African Dance History).

Within ritual dance, Africans use masks and dance to communicate with their gods (African

Dance History). Economics and political forces have changed a great deal in the African

society, with this African dance has need to change also (African Dance History). This new

adapted dance fills needs within many African people who have migrated from small villages to

the gigantic cities (African Dance History). Other than for rituals Africans use dance for

enjoyment and entertainment.

Ritual dance in Africa goes back to ancient times and many Africans still use ritual dance

in their society today (African Dance History). The Mbira dance, a ritual dance of Zimbabwe

that reinforces and confirms the belief of their society (African Dance History). They usually

remain religious in nature and designate for specific occasions that expedite and facilitate the

most powerful expression of the African people known as ancestral reverence (African Dance

History). People perform ritual dances usually for the higher level classes and the elders

(African Dance History). Throughout Africa, they dance to either celebrate the marking of

birth or to mourn the dead (African Dance History). Sometimes at funerals, the Owo Yoruba

perform the igogo, during which young men dance over the grave to pat down the soil with

stomping movements (African Dance History). African dance involves an extreme amount of

stomping, such as tap dance which also includes extreme amounts of stomp like moves.
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Tap dance originated in the United States during the nineteenth century, however it

became widely known throughout the world (History of Tap ). The name originated from

the tapping sound the shoes makes when the small metal plates hit the floor (History of Tap...).

Tap dancers remain known for the sound their feet make, but they also consider themselves as

musicians (History of Tap ). This dance form originated from the traditional clog dance of

northern England, the jigs and reels of Ireland and Scotland, and the rhythmic foot stomping of

African dances (History of Tap ). While tap contains quick rhythmic steps, the genre of

Jazz takes on a smoother style of dance.

Jazz started as a social dance that became popular with African Americans around the

late 19th century and 1910 ("Jazz Dance"). Jazz originated from the African American dance of

the late 1800s to the middle of the 1900s (Jazz Dance). Some different moves in jazz dance

include the cakewalk and turkey trot ("Jazz Dance"). Some social jazz dances, such as the

Charleston, Jitterbug and Twist, have movements that can relate back to African and early slave

dances ("Jazz Dance"). The Fox-Trot stands as a European dance adapted to jazz rhythms ("Jazz

Dance"). Jazz focuses on body line and a flexible torso. (Jazz Dance). This form moves

extremely fast and has accurate footwork with the feet basically parallel ("Jazz Dance"). Also, it

includes exaggerated movements of individual body parts such as the shoulders, unlike ballet

which remains truly proper ("Jazz Dance"). In this type of style, dancers use a great deal of floor

work instead of high lifts or leaps ("Jazz Dance"). Jazz turned ballet into something a little more

interesting, and now hip-hop has taken jazz to the next level.

Hip-hop emerged as an extremely popular dance form that began in the United States in

the 1970s ("Hip-Hop"). Hip-hop not only interested to people in the United States, but interests
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people all across the world. Hip-hop includes a variety of different components including disc

jockeying, rapping, dancing, fashion, art, language, and movement ("Hip-Hop"). Hip-hop

developed in New York City, mainly among young African Americans and Hispanic Americans

("Hip-Hop"). Hip-hop originated from a kind of music created by performers known as disc

jockeys (DJs) who worked with records on two phonograph turntables at the same time

("Hip-Hop"). This consists of just a few of the most well known types of dance styles. There still

remain many other dance styles found out in the world today while new dances originate every

day.

Many professional dancers start at the age of two. Starting at such a young age helps give

the dancer an advantage towards becoming one of the best dancers in the world. A local dance

instructor, Angel Bell, wished she started dance at a younger age because she would have liked

more time to work on her craft and technique (Bell). Many teachers would suggest learning as

many different aspect in dance and to train in all genres, all levels, and to not hold on to fear to

try something one would not normally try. Learn the history of how each genre became

developed so dancers can appreciate the value of what it brings to the world of art (Bell). Never

stop learning or training and know there always remains room to grow and learn more and more

each time an individual dances. Sometimes dancers start at an older age which proves an

extremely difficult task because dancers compete against other dancers that have danced their

entire lives.

In order to become a great dancer, people have to train for hours, sometimes all day and

night. Most dancers should train in all types of dance styles so that they have a better chance of

getting a job, but dancers can not do anything without the technique of dance. Without technique,
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dancers feel lost on the dance floor. Technique prepares each individual to learn the most proper

way to dance, technique can improve dancers abilities by a great amount. Dancers have to have

the ability to know about dance technique and how to translate that to others, in order to teach

individuals (Bell). They need to have plenty of patience, especially when working with

extremely young children (Bell). Dance teachers always have to remember that people dance to

have fun and having the children learn to love dance while progressing in their abilities (Bell).

Teachers have to remain positive, willing to dedicate a great amount of time and energy to each

student and class.

A good education in the art of dance can develop the knowledge and skills required to

create, perform, and understand movement as a means of artistic communication ("Dance

Education in the United States"). A good dance education will mainly include improvisation,

technique, choreography, performance, observation and analysis ("Dance Education in the

United States"). Many colleges in the United States, provide classes and dance majors. Many

performing arts schools exist that offer the same majors. It really depends on where students

would like to go and what type of environment they want to have.

Many dancers usually want to go to colleges that offer good programs for dance. Some of

these colleges include Arizona State University, East Carolina University, College of Charleston,

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, New York University, and the University of South

Carolina ("University & College Dance Programs Schools "). All of these colleges either have

top rated dance majors or top rated performing arts schools. Dancers usually have to audition for

all of these colleges to see if they will get any scholarships or to see if they can even dance there.

Do dancers even need to go to college or get any internships? Surprisingly, dancers do

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not have to attend college. Dancers really do not need a college degree to become a dancer.

People start dance around age two and after high school, they either move out to start auditioning

for dance jobs or they may take an internship. Many dance intern programs exist to benefit

dancers and that do not require much education. If a dancer has talent, a job opportunity can

include work with Disney at either a theme park or even traveling the world on a cruise ship.

Many other job opportunities exist in dance that depend on someone's talent and not how great of

an education dancers have.

Angel Bell began dancing at the age of 16 on her high school dance team in Beaufort,

South Carolina. When taking her first dance class, Angel fell in love and started taking dance as

much as possible (Bell). Her dance teacher saw how much dance meant to her, the teacher let her

assist at the local dance studio (Bell). Angel did this outside of school, to pay for all the dance

classes that Coker College offered for her to take (Bell). Bell received a Bachelors Degree in

Dance Performance & Choreography from Coker College, then she became head ballet instructor

with Crystal School of Dance as well as a dance director/choreographer for Extreme Talent

Production (Bell). Her credits include dancing as a NFL football cheerleader for the Carolina

Panthers, dancing with MC Hammer, and she became a featured dancer in a Jake Clayton music

video (Bell). She has become a guest choreographer for Beaufort Dance Festival, Coker College,

Miller Street Dance Academy, and Krista Whitener Dance Academy (Bell). She became apart of

Elektrik Dance Crew and Company, she had the chance to audition for Americas best dance

crew.

Angel continues to train in dance and still tries to learn as much as possible from other

dance teachers to better herself as a dance instructor at Anne-Maries Academy of Dance (Bell).
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Angel loves to share the love of dance with others and hopes for people to feel the same

inspiration she gets when learning from other teachers who had taught her (Bell). I chose to

become a dance teacher because I love to dance and I love to work with youth. Its truly

rewarding to watch where they started, see them grow and become better every day (Bell).

Angel always had an interest in dance, but did not train in it until a much older age in high

school (Bell). Angel fell in love with the way dance made her feel and how she could express

what she felt through movement and create art with her body (Bell). Angel also always wanted to

become a teacher and work with kids. Angel started teaching her first dance class in high school

with the recommendation from her dance teacher who she assisted (Bell). It became an

afterschool program for students in an arts school (Bell). She continued to learn how to teach

dance by assisting many different teachers while in college and also teaching and choreography

for anyone who wanted to learn or just have fun (Bell). As for the future, Angel Bell plans to get

a Masters Degree in Dance Education (Bell). With the art of dance, someone can always train

and learn more to get better, because dance stands as a continuous learning experience.

Within the dance world, a dancer's confidence when meeting with potential employers

can determine their salary. Angel taught at many different places where the pay has fluctuated

depending on many different things. At the beginning of Angels teaching days, she received no

income, but instead received free classes for every class she taught (Bell). Salary range really

depends on where the instructor teaches, as well as the education and background in teaching the

instructor has (Bell). Also, it depends if the instructor teaches weekly classes, a one time visit,

choreography, travel needed, etc (Bell). When Angel started teaching classes in college at a local

studio, the studio started her pay at $5-7 an hour teaching about 3-4 hours a week (Bell). Some
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workshops Angel taught paid her per classes, which could range from $50-100 per hour, plus

they pay for travel if needed (Bell). Some places offer a one time flat fee for doing guest

choreography, cutting/editing music, and teaching the choreography in a day for a few hours.

Right now, Angel teaches 3-4 nights a week and about 40-50 hours each month with a

pay range of $25-30 an hour (Bell). Angel only teaches dance part time in the evening right now

(Bell). Many dancers do struggle financially. Ballet dancers at the American Ballet Theatre get

paid less than garbage men. This low salary remains extremely unfair since these dancers have

trained their whole life to dance and get paid terribly. On average, a person who dances for a

Performing Arts Company gets paid $20.53 per hour, but most dancers do not dance for

companies ("Occupational Employment Statistics). The majority of dancers get paid decently if

they work at a dance studio or continuously audit for different dance jobs.

Finding a job in this career can either come fairly easy or exceedingly hard out in the

world. It remains tremendously easy to go choreograph for a dance studio, as long as the dancer

has talent and good ideas. If dancers want to appear on a T.V show or as the next Beyonce

background dancer, they better have a good resume and a great deal of talent. For Angel, she

needed to find a place where she wanted to teach that feels like a second home and not just a

place where people teach (Bell). Most dance studios have teachers already, so dancers just have

to keep looking and when an opportunity comes open that they feel will become a good fit for

them, then they will know (Bell). Angel began to teach right out of college and has taught at

many different places since then, some places longer than others, but it all became worth the

learning experiences to her. Also if dancers market themselves properly through stating all their

awards and accomplishments, these all play into factor of studios wanting to hire them.
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Overall, dance makes many significant contributions to the world, from recreational

purposes to religious rituals. Dance can occur during funerals to mourn over lost loved ones and

honor those passed away or can even occur at a simple birthday bash. Dance contains history that

can date back to years before the great ancient empires and has continued to grow every day

since then. Even though most dancers make performances look effortless, dance can take years to

master and learn certain techniques. Dance performance and choreography has evolved fairly

quickly and will continue to keep evolving each day. The act of moving ones body to the

rhythm of music represents a beautiful and passionate form of expression. Performing and

choreographing dance does come with challenges, including the poor pay and working

tremendously long hours. Many people in the dance field do not think of dance as a job, but as a

way to express their imagination of the world while feeling satisfied. Not everyone can choose

their passion in life and also make a career out of it. Dancers may not make a great amount of

money or have the best lifestyles, but if they have passion for what they do, in the end they will

always have self gratification.

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Works Cited

"African Dance History." New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 2 Nov. 2016.

Web. 12 Feb. 2017. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/African_dance>.

Bell, Angel. E-mail interview. 9 Feb. 2017.

"Dance Education in the United States." NDEO. National Dance Education Organization, Web. 4

Feb. 2017.

<http://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=194704>

Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF DANCE." HistoryWorld, Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ihf>.

"Hip-Hop." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New

World Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

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5861&db=funk&AN=HI071250&site=ehost-live&scope=site>

"History of Tap Dance - Dance History Articles." History of Tap Dance - Dance History

Articles. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

<http://dancelessons.net/dancehistory/HistoryofTapDance.html>.

"Jazz Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New

World Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

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"Modern Dance History." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk &

Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

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<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s845

5861&db=funk&AN=MO125100&site=ehost-live&scope=site>

"Occupational Employment Statistics." Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of

Labor, 30 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes272031.htm>.

The History of Ballet. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Ballet, n.d. PDF

<https://www.paballet.org/sites/default/files/documents/PABallet-HistoryofBalletpdf.pd>

"University & College Dance Programs Schools, Studios, Companies Choreographers, Teachers,

Pilates, GYROTONIC, Somatic Practices." Dance Magazine 84.1 (2010): 198.

MasterFILE Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

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