Career Advice For Aspiring Dancers (and everyone else)

Careers in the Arts are often overlooked in our School-to-Career programs. Most feel that you have to be really lucky or know the right influential people to make it in the Arts. But rather then requiring luck to succeed in the Arts, it’s passion that keeps you going and gets you noticed.

My school system has embarked on a unique relationship with the local company that brings traveling Broadway productions to the area. This is the fourth time that they have created an all-local-student production of a major Broadway production.

“A Chorus Line” gives the audience a glimpse backstage at a Broadway audition and rehearsal where dancers are competing for a few select places in an upcoming production. They’ve all spent untold years working hard to get to the audition, and now we see the building anxiety over who gets to be one of the eight dancers that will be chosen.

Besides the actual auditioning and rehearsals, we get to meet the characters as they discuss dancing, family, relationships, ambitions, and most importantly for this conversation, they talk about their career and their plans for when they are too old to dance. Some of the characters are living for the moment and have not even considered a life without dancing. That passion is what makes the great dancers truly great.

The actors, orchestra, and many on the technical crew are all middle and high school students from across our large school system. A few teachers and former students are busy working behind the scenes making this a memorable event for all.

We are fortunate to have a talented group of professionals working with our students. Terrence Mann, a Broadway professional, is directing the production. Charlotte d’Amboise, who is in the current Broadway production of A Chorus Line, is helping out with the choreography. Tammy Holder, Broadway musical director, is conducting the orchestra and inspiring the voices. And Craig Stelzenmuller, Broadway lighting designer and former student from this area, is lighting up the stage.

Many of our students have turned this experience in to an official internship. Working with professionals in a professional setting has giving them the unique experience of working on a real Broadway musical. It is hoped that the internship will integrate what they learn “on the job” with what they are learning in the classroom. At the conclusion of the internship, each student will report to their class about their experiences and what they learned from them. These experiences can truly prepare them for the Broadway life or any related career.

Careers in the arts are not for the faint at heart. There are not enough jobs for the people vying for them, but if you have the passion for what you like to do, you can turn anything into a career.

We can learn a lot from the Arts about passion-driven careers. It’s not about the money, it’s about the talent within you that wants to come out and express itself. Are you passionate about what you do in your work? Can you help the next generation find their passion and help them fashion it into a rewarding career?

Well, that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.