By Guest Contributor: Mia Lyndon of auditionquest.co.uk As artists, we strive towards constant achievement daring ourselves to accomplish more and more. We survive upon outlined goals and struggle until we reach them. So when we don’t achieve what we desire, we feel like we’ve lost everything.  Planning and aspiring is healthy.  These are positive notions that can ultimately lead to success. Applying pressure and forcing career deadlines on ourselves, however, are certainly not.  Artists often struggle to deal with failure because they strain themselves towards achieving everyth ..read more

I’ve always been a fan of transparency and support. I believe in finding answers to my questions and in lifting others as I climb. With that, I’ve been looking for a way to connect more with my tribe - so, here it is!     Ask Me Anything is just that - an opportunity to get answers to your most pressing questions or even general wonderings. If you’re struggling to figure out what to ask, here are a few topics you may want to know more about: Finding work Building relationships in the field Money Blogging Mindset Choreography Classes My biggest challenges My bigges ..read more

When I was first starting my dance career, I was hard pressed for money. Actually, I knew how to make money, but the types of jobs I needed (ones that offered benefits), often competed with my dance career goals. I usually found myself in a see-saw situation where either my bills were being paid while my dance career suffered, or I was building momentum in my career while being stressed about money. I eventually realized that I needed an income stream that supported my career pursuit, not one that worked against it. My last year living in Los Angeles, I thought I'd finally found a system that ..read more

One of the things I love most about The Working Dancer is the community we’ve created of dancers who openly share their stories to help the next generation of movers.  These stories are always so rich in insight that leaves our readers inspired and recharged for the journey ahead. Dance icon, David Winters, just became the most recent #workingdancer to share his journey with our community.  Mr. Winters has written a book called “Tough Guys Do Dance”, in which he details his incredible career working in productions like West Side Story and with artists such as Michael Jackson, Diana ..read more

Live, produced, raw. In your feed, in your story, even in your messages. On IG, Facebook, Twitter, Snapshot…you name it. We get videos just about every way on EVERY platform. It’s one of the most popular methods of self-promotion these days. Here’s the thing, marketing vids are about more than just interesting content. They’re being used for branding, to grow your audience, and to promote your work, which hopefully leads to more money in your pockets. Since there are so many videos competing for everyone’s attention, it’s extremely important to create compelling videos that do what they’re in ..read more

You booked the job of your dreams! Your hard work has finally paid off, right? Well, just a heads up: there’s a lot more work ahead of you. We all know to shine our hardest in auditions. We know the choreographer, casting director, and whole panel of judges are looking for what makes us stand out from the crowd. We push our bodies and minds to the brink because we need this gig to pay rent next month. But once we get the job, we tend to relax. The check has already been promised so all we have to do is show up, learn the choreography, and go home. We might mark when we feel a little tired, si ..read more

  Are you the dancer who's been training your entire life but then decides to pursue a career in something completely unrelated? Or are you the person who fell in love with dance later in life, and you think you've missed your chance to make it your career? There are a number of scenarios like these that keep dancers from pursuing their dreams of turning pro.  The interesting thing is that many of the reasons that keep people away from a professional dance life simply aren't true. There's a decent amount of educating that needs to take place when it comes to pursuing dance as a ..read more

  When dancers look at a class, piece of choreography, or performance, they don’t just see the final product. They see years of training, months of rehearsals, expensive medical bills, and nonexistent retirement plans. However, many companies seeking to hire dancers don’t see all that. Because they’re inundated with Instagram stars “hitting dem folks”, they think anyone can be a dancer and that they can pay us next to nothing to “do a little dance.” Then we are left with no money, no recognition, and no prospects of lasting success. Dancers know that we deserve proper compensation, and it ..read more

  It's no secret that dancers are generally strapped for cash.  Jobs can be few and far between, the competition is fierce, and rates aren't always what they're cracked up to be. It can be tough when your passion doesn't completely pay all your bills.  Many dancers find themselves frustrated and working odd jobs just to make ends meet.   The good news it that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  With the awesome technology we now have at our fingertips, there are a number of ways you can use your craft to generate some extra income...IF you're willing to st ..read more

  I've given up before.  There was a time when waiting for my dance dreams to come true was just too much for me. I was frustrated, didn't know anything about trusting the process, and wanted results pronto! I obsessed over this perceived lack of progress in my career until I was bitter and no longer enjoyed the pursuit anymore.  Not only was I not enjoying the pursuit, but I was pretty unhappy about life all around. The disappointments. The rejection. The setbacks.  I just couldn't take it anymore.  So I quit. Well, that's what I intended to do.   What actua ..read more