There are many professions that we do not notice much until attention is brought on them for a particular reason. A backup dancer is by definition someone that is meant to blend in with the background.
Backup dancing is demanding, and they are meant to remain in the back row of incredible performances. We are going to shed some light on them today, we will discuss a few interesting details about backup dancers and what they do.
We will try to show you what the average backup dancer faces in terms of demands from their career. You may be interested in backup dancing as a career for yourself. Perhaps we can help with this decision.
Dancing is hard
Some people can do it naturally. They seem to be born with a natural ability to move with ease and grace while maintaining the beat. If you are not one of those people looking at someone like that can seem like a miracle. Something that is out of this world.
For a talented dancer, it is only natural to do this and look great while doing it. Often you can find very young children dancing with ease. That happens all around the world and with any style of music. It is a talent with which some people are born with. That does not mean that there is no room for improvement. Quite the contrary actually. You will find that a dancer has to remain training and working on his technique for the duration of their career if they are to continue to be successful. There is a huge amount of training involved in getting the knowledge and skill required to do this in a professional way. Competition is fierce and that forces anyone interested in pursuing it to be as great as they can be just to stay in the game. That is the case with any genre.
Different opportunities
As we all come to learn, most professional activities are not limited to the most exposed aspects of them. You do not have to be a famous choreographer or dancer to work in the field. There are many other ways in which you can make a decent living while doing what you love. It will take sacrifice and time, but it is doable. You do not have to be a star to live dancing.
That takes some of the pressure out of making such a decision. It means that there are more opportunities than we may have originally thought.
Backup dancing
This is one of the above-mentioned activities. You will not be the main man or woman if you are a backup dancer. Your job is to be part of something bigger. To play your part within the ensemble and put on a great show can be very rewarding, regardless of your place in it. This can be a source of income for dancers that are trying to break into the business.
The job of a backup dancer is to stick to choreography and make the main artist look incredible. Doing this is no easy task.
Preparation
Your training must be extensive. You may not need to be classically trained, but it does help a lot. On top of that, you will have to be able to handle whatever are currently the most popular genre. Physical fitness will play a big role on this too. Your body is your tool, so you will have to keep it healthy and in shape. The job can be quite demanding in terms of hours, so you will have to take steps to make sure that you get the rest and nutrition that you need. That will allow you to sustain the pace of professional life.
Compensation
If you can follow instructions and do your part well you will certainly manage to get some work if you look for it. Do not expect it to pay great at first, though. You will find a lot of people that will be glad to make you work for free. That is very common. You may need to accept to those terms a few times just to get some stage experience and start building a resume that will open other doors for you. You will also start to make contact with people in the business. That is always a great asset to have at your disposal.
Conventional life
If you find yourself attracted to this line of work chances are that you are not particularly interested in leading a regular life. You should think about this and its implications in the long run. It will take all your efforts just to stay in this business. If you ever feel the need to change directions down the road you may be at a great disadvantage. A dancers life is not a conventional one by any means. That can be great, though. Your hours will be flexible and you will probably get to travel quite a bit. You will meet a lot of interesting people and get exclusive access to a lot of entertainment, too. These are all great things to have, just make sure you are doing it for the love of dancing and you will be fine.
Conclusion
It is not common to find something that gives meaning to our lives. We often have to look hard to find it. If you were born with a talent for dancing and feel that you would like to do that for a living backup dancing may be a good entry point for you. You will need to ensure that you are fully ready to take this challenge head-on. If you train hard and keep a good attitude, then chances are you will start to make things happen for yourself. Do not be discouraged at first, keep trying and you will succeed.