Dance something: do you know this?
You're at a celebration, party, family reunion or event. You introduce yourself - or are introduced - and say that you are a dancer, possibly also a choreographer and teacher.
I can't count how many times I've been asked straight away: ‘Can you do a quick dance? Here and now?!’
Or: ‘I'll invite you to my wedding, then you can dance something.’
And best of all: ‘You dance? Aha, and what are you doing during the day?"
Sure, there's dancing – and there's dancing.
Dance should be fun, you can work up a sweat, it's good for your fitness too. And you can express yourself and let your emotions run free. Preferably to music.
But dancing professionally is something completely different. Going through and surviving this intense and constantly challenging training. It takes a lot to finally find a place on stage, in an ensemble or production, to be able to survive there for years, if not decades:
Not just talent and a certain amount of potential. No, it takes courage, stamina, resilience, strength, endurance and enormous flexibility. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
In no other art form do directions and styles change and new movements and trends come onto the market as quickly and relentlessly as in dance and dance theatre. Staying up to date and keeping up with this requires enormous effort and consistency.
Therefore, don't ask a dancer for a mini-performance, here and now - or just like that.
We are not private dancers.
You don't put a chef friend in front of a half-empty fridge: an expired natural yogurt, half a tube of mustard, 3 wrinkled tomatoes, a limp cucumber and some rancid butter and ask him to prove his talent and skill.
I don't ask my tax advisor to do my income tax return quickly on a beer mat ...
Dance doesn't always take place on every dance floor. It takes time, space, inspiration and a lot of self-confidence and: the right environment.
So ask a dance maker where you can see his/her art, attend performances, festivals and support the professional dance scene.
AND go dancing yourself!
Keep on movin.
See you then and goodbye!
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