Jeremy McQueen

Someone recently asked me what I felt was the single most important key to having a successful career as a dancer, especially transitioning back and forth between concert dance and theater. Often young dancers feel pressured to focus on one very specific career path. Whenever I teach on the road, I always stress the importance of ballet training and technique. At a very young age, my dance teachers instilled in me the importance of having a strong ballet foundation. At the time when I started training in both theater and dance, I had no idea which direction I would gravitate towards, as I got older. I actually had my first interaction with the arts training in music before I started dance or theater. Performing in general was always something that I loved. Just being on stage and having an audience to perform for, whether it may be theater, concert dance or music recitals, I was a ‘ham’ and loved being in the limelight.

My dance teachers taught me early on that in order to have a strong foundation in any career, ballet training would help me. Not necessarily because I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but they felt that ballet would give me the discipline, focus and structure I needed in order to take those training experiences and apply them to my day-to-day life as a young adult/professional. From the moment you step at the barre there is a sense of structure and etiquette, which provides the foundation for everything you do. You’re taught at a very young age a sense of professionalism and discipline. You learn that it’s disrespectful to look at the clock to check the time while the teacher is teaching. You also learn that it’s rude to put your elbows on or hang on the barre, as it shows that you are disinterested or have an unwillingness to do what the teacher is teaching. Even the simplest things of how you are never supposed to turn away from the barre when you switch sides, you always turn towards the barre help create a strong sense of discipline. The littlest things about ballet helped me have focus on the task that I was doing and making sure that my brain was connected on what my body should be trying to execute.

Ballet also set the foundation for my strong technical ability. With strong ballet technique, it is easier to transition between all of the dance styles, thus making yourself highly marketable as a performer. In an economy when times are slow and in such a competitive industry it’s better to be in a position to have versatility and a wider range of abilities to find work.

In concert dance you don’t have to sing, but you are still telling a story with your body and your technical ability. Acting training is vital in both fields as well. However, singing comes more into play in theater. I’ve seen many dancers attempt to transition back and forth through theater and concert dance but a lot of times its the lack of vocal training that inhibits their ability to work in theater. In theater you really have to be able to sing, dance and act well if you want to have a career that flourishes. We call this the “triple threat” complex. In dance you only need to be able to do two of the three. And at that, acting for dance is a little different, as you don’t have to speak with your voice. If you are a young dancer that wants to have options I say take lots of ballet and vocal lessons. Eventually supplement your training with acting classes and technique classes in other disciplines like jazz, modern, hip hop, etc and you will see how quickly you can flourish having been in a situation where you have slowly built upon your foundation. Both fields of the arts require a strong interest, perseverance and patience. I encourage all of the students I teach to be fully invested in learning as much as they can about the fields of study that they are interested. Learn the ins and outs of both businesses early and you’ll find ways to be able to fluctuate between both. Have patience and go see all different kinds of performance. Get to know what shows and choreographers work you like. Take master classes, and occasionally in other disciplines to help keep you well rounded and you will find that strong ballet technique and discipline will just help your career flourish.

-Jeremy McQueen