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Personal Venture (Project) Final Jacob Fels

The purpose of this project is to allow you to explore and research a topic of interest that
relates to stage production and musical theatre. For my personal venture, I have chosen to
research and explore dancing in musical theatre. As I have always enjoyed dancing both
independently in my spare time and live with an audience. In my personal venture I will
explore the skills needed in musical theatre, Training in musical theatre and the career
options for dancers in the musical theatre industry. The aim of this research is to help develop
my knowledge based around dance in musical theatre and learn careers you can have after
being a dance performer.

Dance in musical Theatre doesn’t have a specific style but has a description that is embedded
in the history of Broadway musicals; dance in Musical theatre relies prominently on having
knowledge of jazz, tap and ballet. Musical theatre dancers are, first and foremost, actors and
have a high focus on musical interpretation (Dance With Me Studios, 2020). In musical
theatre, a dancer is primarily a dancer and only does dancing but they can if applicable also
sing and act. Dancing has a universality (universally) that isn’t bound to a certain culture or
nationality. Dance is a type of non-verbal communication that transcends further than any
language ever does earthly which also breaks down language barriers which are present in
contemporary society (Bradley, 2020). When dancing in front of a live audience you want to
take the viewers on a journey emotionally and generate a connection between you and them,
and when you do take them on this journey you tell a story that the viewers get absorbed in.

There is no uncertainty that dancers whether they are hip-hop, musical theatre, or jazz related
etc. don’t need physical and psychological attributes compared to athletes as a lot of the time
dancers get called athletes. However, dancers involve an additional artistic component
performance on stage is judged not according to a card that has numbers in aesthetic sports,
rather on the ability of the dancers to produce an emotional connection with the audience
(BJSM Blog, 2018).

As the entertainment industry becomes more and more competitive, it is important that
dancers hoping for a career in the industry also become more competitive. While also
becoming competitive, dancers also need to have good skill with posture, balance,

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coordination and flexibility. Whilst dancing in itself is, is an astonishing value for someone in
musical theatre some other skills can also come in handy.

Some technical and interpersonal and organisation skills that are needed or highly looked at
are:

 Singing/Vocal Training: Singing and Vocal training is a skill that is useful with being
combined with dancing because being able to do multiple thing and being vocally
trained will forever be a vital skill for dancer hoping to have long-lasting careers in
musical theatre. Only few modern-day musicals have a dancing only role, so having
singing under your belt is essential to become a lead dancer and landing the job.
Vocal training helps you with breathing properly, voice projection and how to
perform accents if needed.

 Acting: Acting is another skill to have from a young age. Whether you are on stage or
on camera, acting isn’t something you can fake it ‘till you make it. Having the ability
of acting won’t necessarily make you a better dancer but will make you a more
attractive option as stated previously; with most modern-day musicals not only having
a dancing role. Being able to act also improves confidence and awareness of the body
and helps you with voice control and effective communication which is essential in
the entertainment industry.

 Public Speaking/confidence: Public speaking isn’t something that will help make you
a better dancer, but it would help with auditions to impress the assessors and
impressing the audience. Good public speaking skills can also help you from going
from a backup dancer to becoming spotlight because people will want to see you more
often and take centre stage.

 Networking: Networking no matter how good you are will greatly increase your
chances in getting a job. Being able to network and spread the word is an incredibly
valuable tool to have. You can’t always know who is auditioning when and where so

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by being able to network and spread the word you could get a call and if you have
made an impression on someone you could land a job pretty quickly. Whether it is
through a Facebook friend or Instagram follower you aren’t only opening yourself to
new possibilities but also finding out casting/audition that you may have not known
about (Dance Desire Dance Store, 2020).

Other skills such as dedication, organisation, time management, healthy mind and body, etc
are also transferable to other areas which are needed and highly looked at becoming a dancer.

Dancing in musical theatre has multiple ways and places in which you can train, learn and
improve your skills and techniques, whether it be during primary, middle or high school
under the performing arts, courses and degrees in university or TAFE or private classes in
dance studios. All of these options give you a chance to extend your skills and gain more
insight into dancing not just in musical theatre but dancing as a whole (performing arts) (The
Good Universities Guide). At TAFESA you can get a certificate IV in Dance which helps
expand your horizons and skills based around the subject of dance and the performing arts.
It’s a 6-month course with a full-time study load which is held at the Adelaide College of the
Arts and costs approximately $2,000 (Certificate IV in Dance - TAFE SA, 2020). If,
however you are looking for teaching dance in a school Flinders University is a great
pathway where you can study a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dance) where you cover areas
which are, but not limited to choreographing, stage performing and the techniques in dance.
This degree has a full-time study load of 3 years and costs $7,100 which is held at the
Flinders University Bedford Park campus. (Flinders University, 2020).

Some careers for dancers in musical theatre are but are not limited to be a choreographer,
dance captain or even a dance medicine if injuries were to arise. (New York Film Academy,
2014). Although a choreographer and dance captain have similar jobs with teaching and
learning routines, a dance captain is typically teaching the routine while the choreographer
makes the routine. Both parties however look for details and specifics to make sure arms/legs
go where they have to or the musicality of the dancers. (Getintotheatre.org, 2019). A dance
medicine is a career that many dancers go to after a while being in the dance industry, as they
know bodies very well as they have been through so much training which helps them

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understand what happens when there is any injuries or sprains etc. (New York Film
Academy, 2014).

Throughout my project I have learnt quite a lot to do with dancing in musical theatre and
what it entails as well as what is needed to become one. During this year of researching about
careers for dancers in musical theatre, post retirement or post dancer, becoming a dancer has
definitely become a more viable option to choose from when it comes to job planning and
careers for my future. During the musical this year being a performer has also introduced me
into the entertainment industry and what goes on behind production. This relates to being a
dancer as dancing is something done for entertainment purposes and is a major production
that I now know about and what goes on “behind closed curtains”.

REFERENCES
New York Film Academy. 2014. 8 Dance Related Careers To Pursue After Dance Life.
[online] Available at: <https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/dance-related-careers/>
[Accessed 20 July 2020].

Bradley, K., 2020. Choreographing Cabaret: A Guide To Storytelling Through Dance And

Movement. [online] VCU Scholars Compass. Available at:
<https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/816/> [Accessed 12 May 2020].

Tafesa.edu.au. 2020. Certificate IV In Dance - TAFE SA. [online] Available at:

<https://www.tafesa.edu.au/xml/course/aw/aw_TP00674.aspx> [Accessed 14 July 2020].

Dance With Me Studios. 2020. Musical Theater | Dance With Me Studios. [online] Available
at: <https://dancewithmeusa.com/types-of-dances/musical-theater/> [Accessed 21 April
2020].

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Dance Desire Dance Store. 2020. 8 Extra Skills of an Employable Dancer - Dance Desire
Dance Store. [online] Available at: <https://dancedesire.com.au/2018/04/23/8-extra-skills-of-
an-employable-dancer/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

The Good Universities Guide. 2020. How To Become A Dancer. [online] Available at:
<https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/careers-guide/dancer> [Accessed 26 June 2020].

Getintotheatre.org. 2019. What Does A Choreographer Do In Theatre? | Job Profile,

Description & Specification. [online] Available at: <https://getintotheatre.org/blog/what-
does-a-choreographer-do-in-theatre> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

Flinders University. 2020. Study The Bachelor Of Creative Arts (Dance) - Flinders

University. [online] Available at: <https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/courses/bachelor-
creative-arts-dance> [Accessed 14 July 2020].

Getintotheatre.org. 2019. What Does A Dance Captain Do? | Job Profile, Description And
Specification. [online] Available at: <https://getintotheatre.org/blog/what-does-a-dance-
captain-do> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

BJSM blog - social media's leading SEM voice. 2018. What Is Dance Medicine? | BJSM
Blog - Social Media's Leading SEM Voice. [online] Available at:
<https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2018/08/16/what-is-dance-medicine/> [Accessed 22 July 2020].