Competitiveness in the dance industry. My, my, my, where do I begin? This is where we get into the ugly part of the industry. The cut throat, the mean girls/guys, the vultures, the users, you know what I mean? Dance is one of the most competitive professions out there because everyone seems to be fighting for one spot. A spot that actually….doesn’t even exist.
“Well, what do you mean it doesn’t exist, Lexi?” I mean that there is plenty of room in the dance industry for everyone to reach different levels of success, but there is a popular belief that there is only one level of perfection and only a few people can reach it. However, in reality, that is the furthest thing from the truth. We all have the capability to reach our goal of success if we work hard enough for it and no one has the power to take that potential away from anyone. However, some dancers have the tendency to become intimidated by each other because they may feel that this particular person makes their chances of succeeding in the industry slim. Dancers with this kind of mentality are usually very insecure in their own abilities and if they see someone that can do something just as well, if not slightly better than them, they can have the tendency to resent that person and view them as a threat. In all honesty, when you really look at the bigger picture of this issue, it’s actually very sad because this not what dance is about. It’s not about who can do what better than you, it’s about how great you are at what you do. It’s not all about who you’ve worked with and who you know, it’s about how hard you work to get to where you need to be. It’s not about gaining the position of a certain spot, it’s about being the best artist that you can be and inspiring others to do the same.
If you’ve encountered any dancers like these, which I think we all have at some point, don’t let them affect you. Don’t give them the pleasure of occupying your head space. Just focus on your journey, focus on your improvement and always remain kind to the people that just may not be so kind to you. And if you are a dancer that finds yourself questioning your own abilities, don’t! Without even seeing you or even knowing who you are, I can tell you that you are absolutely wonderful at what you do and no other dancer can be you quite like you. I encourage you to never allow anyone to make you doubt yourself because we all have our strengths and our weaknesses, we’re all on our own journey and we are all still learning. As a matter of fact, we never stop learning regardless of how long we’ve been in the industry. So keep your head up and keep working, not for “the spot”, but to be a beast in your own right!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s post and I will see you next week for the next post!
Keep Dancing!
-Lexi
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