Robin Merchant started dancing at age 12. At the beginning, she danced
solely in ballet. At 16 she started branching out and learning other styles.
Now she is a trained dancer in over 15 styles of dance including hip hop,
break dance, and jazz. In 2003, she performed in the movie Honey with Jessica
Alba. She's also danced for the TV show Smallville, and for companies such
as Mountain Dew and Disney.
"I'd say dance is coming back into style right now. With movies like
Step Up 2 and highly rated television shows like So You Think You Can Dance,
I think more people are realizing the hard work put into this art form, as
well as producers seeing the effectiveness of using dance to their benefit,"
says Merchant.
Fashionable or not, it is still hard for dancers to make a living from
dance performance alone. "When I was younger my income was based on performing,
now my income comes from performance, instruction, lectures and choreography,"
says Merchant.
Few dancers find full-time or permanent jobs in dance. Dancers must constantly
compete for short-term work. Rejection is the biggest challenge for many dancers.
"It's really hard to walk into an audition and get rejected. It's not that
someone doesn't like the product you're selling -- you are the product. Even
if you know an audition called for all blondes and you're a brunette, rejection
is still hard," says Merchant.
This career can take dancers around the globe. Merchant recently finished
shooting The Cheetah Girls: One World. It's the third movie in The Cheetah
Girls series and was filmed in India. It was an amazing experience for her
to see the country and meet dancers from India and compare dance styles. She
got to experience cultural differences first hand.
"I'd never been on a set where they had to stop shooting because a cow
had wandered into frame! Some of the shoot locations were old palaces a tourist
would never be allowed to enter," says Merchant. She also instructed a group
of underprivileged kids when she wasn't shooting the movie.
"The joy those kids held was shocking, when you realize their families
barely have enough money to provide two meals a day," she says.
Merchant says if you love dance, you should go for it.
"The best advice I can give is to be as versatile as possible. The more
styles you've mastered, the more opportunities available to you. Don't try
and copy other people's looks and styles; be you -- cause there's no one else
that will fill those shoes better!"
Jennifer Abbey's big break in dance came when she beat all the odds and
landed a role in the 2007 movie Hairspray with John Travolta and Michelle
Pfeiffer. She crashed the audition, showing up uninvited, and beat out 2,000
dancers auditioning for the role.
"I was an up-and-coming dancer/choreographer with nothing special on my
resume and nothing really to boast about until the day I got the call for
the job. The most exciting part was working with people who had the same dreams
and aspirations as I did," says Abbey.
Landing the part gave her a big boost of confidence and hope. She felt
like her dreams had come true. "I would never ever think that one day I would
be clubbing with Queen Latifah or going to the premier for a major motion
picture that I was in and chilling with Zac Efron at the after-party," she
says.
Abbey, also known as J-Beautiful, recently danced for rapper Flo Rida as
he performed his hit Low at the Much Music Video Awards. Despite her impressive
resume, she says hip hop and street dancers often get paid close to nothing.
"No paid rehearsals and no paid performances on top of that. Everyone wants
the best, but yet they are not willing to pay for it. A lot of hip hop dancers
just love performing so much that they sometimes don't mind -- at first,"
says Abbey.
"I cannot make a living on just dancing. I teach four times a week and
usually have to work a part-time job in a mall or restaurant, just to get
by," she says. She began learning ballet and tap when she was six years old.
As she grew, so did her interest in other dance styles. Now she mostly performs
stylized jazz and hip hop.
"What makes me so passionate about dance is that I can express my feelings
without saying a word. I've been dancing for so long that it has become a
necessity. It's like air: without it I can't breathe," says Abbey.
She dances for at least an hour each day making up routines or fooling
around. She also teaches. If she's preparing for a show, rehearsals can take
up a lot of time in addition to the actual performance.
"Knowing that I could be an inspiration to future generations of dancers
makes me work harder to be a good role model in the dance studio and out of
the dance studio. Meeting new people, working with celebrities, learning new
things, these are all things that excite me about being a dancer," she says.
There are many difficult aspects to trying to make it as a career dancer.
You have to be a real go-getter to find work for yourself. But Abbey says
she never gets bored and enjoys every second she's dancing. "I'd rather do
something I love and can do every day without dreading it than work at a place
where I'm miserable," she says.
Another career option for dancers is to open a studio. John Munger is the
director of research and development for Dance/USA and a long-time dancer.
He has some solid advice for dancers thinking about opening their own studio.
First you should learn something formal about financial management. You don't
need a degree, but some college accounting courses would put you on the right
track.
He is adamant that teachers should only teach what they know. "If you're
a hot jazz and tap person ... teach jazz and tap. Don't fake teaching ballet
or modern if you don't have the skill at it." He says students of "fake"
teachers must undo the damage when they reach a college dance program.
Munger also advises you to put together a full evening concert
on your own before you open a studio. It is best to do this while you are
young and have a good support system -- like the dance studio at your university.
He says to do all the work yourself. That includes music, public relations,
advertising, finding dancers, and the choreography.
"The experience of producing your own stuff will take you through so many
things you'll want to know when you have your own studio," he says. Knowing
how to put on a solid performance is important. It is a great way to show
off your students and your studio.