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The Importance of Studying More Than One Style of Dance

By Matthew Dickens

The face of ‘commercial dance’ is constantly evolving. Trends have a tendency to come and go. It is now more important than ever for young dancers (that plan on working in the industry) to study more than just one style of dance.

There have been several periods where the industry was leaning towards a popular style and many different styles have had their day. From Jazz Dance to Breaking to Pop and Lock to Hip Hop to Ballroom (which boasts several styles), calls are going out seeking a wide variety of dancers these days. Many dancers that are proficient in one style only are slowly falling by the wayside.

Those of us that claim the word ‘dancer’ or ‘choreographer’ are living in a very interesting time. There are a lot of jobs! Thanks to hit shows like Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew and films like Chicago, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Nine, You Got Served, Rent and Rize, commercial dance is looking like it is here to stay. The dancer works as a SAG Principal when hired for a movie or Commercial. SAG Principal work comes with Health, Pension, Welfare and other benefits including residual payments. On many occasions when there is a large group of dancers, the ‘Group’ rule has come into effect. It generally starts at ‘9 or more’ where the day rate is less, but there are still benefits and residuals. Major Broadway Shows are still thriving in NY and on the road. The Equity minimum for a dancer in the chorus of a show is a substantial living. Broadway has even welcomed a wide variety of styles as the commercial world moves forward. Some shows still require strong technical dancers, but, other shows have made hip hop or urban dance its style. Broadway remains ‘classic’ but also ‘keeps up with the times’. Adding necessary voice classes to the plate of a dancer is crucial for Broadway which I will be writing a whole new article on this subject. And did I mention the importance of Acting Class?

The Dance World for a time was seemingly for the young, but, nowadays there are several calls going out to every age. I had the pleasure of working recently with the well known choreographer Marguerite Pomerahn Derricks on a commercial for the Japanese Market. She hired 40 dancers ranging in age from 19 to 60 something! This is not that rare of an occurrence these days. Many dancers have come out of ‘early self retirement’ and are hitting the audition boards again to find that as a dancer, you are always a commodity. Dance Agencies are thriving as more and more dancers of all styles and ages hit the scene.

So to all of you dancers out there, where ever you are studying, make sure you step into that ballet class, that tap class, that modern class, that hip hop class (oh and did I mention that hip hop covers a variety of styles on its own), and whatever else your studio has to offer. If you live outside of the NY and LA market, summer scholarships in these towns are still available at a wide variety of studios. Bottom line…it takes hard work to become a working professional dancer in the Entertainment Industry. Although there are a lot of jobs, there are some powerful well trained dancers auditioning for those jobs so the competition is stiff. Like Debbie Allen said in the movie Fame, “You got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs and right here is where you start paying…in sweat”.

MATTHEW DICKENS WORKS IN THE INDUSTRY AS A TRIPLE THREAT TWICE OVER AS PRODUCER/DIRECTOR/CHOROEGRAPHER AND AS AN ACTOR/SINGER/DANCER. HE MOST RECENTLY WORKED AS TALENT PRODUCER ON A REALITY PROJECT FOR ABC. HE IS CREDITED AS CHOREOGRAPHER OF THE AVIATOR AND HAS WORKED WITH DEBBIE ALLEN (FAME), MICHAEL PETERS (MICHAEL JACKSON), FRANK GATSON JR (BEYONCE AND DESTINY'S CHILD) AND SEVERAL OTHERS. HIS IS CREDITED WITH SEVERAL BROADWAY SHOES SUCH AS MISS SAIGON, SUNSET BLVD, DREAMGIRLS, CARRIE AND SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE. HE CAN BE SEEN IN THE FILM VERSIONS OF DREAMGIRLS AND RENT. HIS FIRST FEATURE LENGTH MOVIE AS WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR IS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT.