Commercial Dancer
Meghan Hanrahan
What Does it Take to Become a Commercial Dancer?
Job Outlook
High School Preparation
Courses that would benefit me at leyden:
Two courses that would benefit me are athletic PE and physical management. This is because these classes help you stay in shape and also teach you how to stay shape. As a dancer this is crucial because you need to be able to do the dances, but also look the part because in the dance world image is everything.
Extracurricular activities that would benefit me at Leyden:
Two extra curricular activities that would benefit me are poms and orchesis. These are both dance related activities and would help me greater my dance training.
Volunteer Work:
Things you can volunteer for that would better your career are performing at community events in order to get your image out. Every Time you perform you are networking and helping yourself get into the dance world. Also, you can help out at a dance studio or at an agency. This could benefit you because they could later help you get jobs in the commercial dance industry.
“The people who are successful in L.A. work their tails off. It’s OK to work hard—and in the end it’s a sweeter deal anyway, because you worked for it.” -Mandy Moore
References
Having good references is very important because they can be the deciding factor on if you get the job or not. If you put down a reference that doesn't have a good idea about you, it can really hurt your likely hood of getting the job. Your references are there in order to help you get the job. They are there to speak highly about you, if you worked well with them in the past.
My References:
Richard A. Smith - Artistic Director of Inaside Chicago Dance Company
Nancy Suwalski - Fine Arts Supervisor for the Des Plaines Park District
- Sarah Ford - Dancer and Choreographer
Post-Secondary Plans
Colleges with good dance programs:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Arizona, Tucson
Ohio State University, Columbus
UCLA, Los Angeles
University of Texas, Austin
Going into the commercial dance industry, you need to have a good dance training background. This is going to help in auditions because it will show that you are a versatile dancer and have the training to easily pick up choreography. Taking an internship[ at a well known dance studio can also help you get your name into this industry. This is because the people you work with will most likely know someone that can get you an audition or a gig.