9 Common Misconceptions About Dancers

1. Dancers don't eat

This one couldn't be further from the truth! Dancers expend large amounts of energy doing what they do best, which means that sufficient fuel (aka food!) is required to maintain such high energy levels. Dancers still eat carbs like you and me,  as well as other low GI foods in order to sustain a consistent energy release.

2. Dancers are dumb

Just because dancers spend all day doing physical activity rather than sitting at a desk, don’t assume they’re not smart. In fact, being a good dancer requires intelligence as well as physical fitness. Dancing has been proven to be good for the brain in so many ways and there is no such thing as a dumb dancer! Quite often dancers will seek theoretical enrichment and study alongside their career in dance, so they have a vocation to return to after retiring from physical performance.

3. Dance is JUST a hobby

A career in dance can be a contentious choice in some households. Many debate that dancing is just a hobby and not a "real job". Don't forget that without live performers the entertainment industry would be virtually obsolete! How are you going to go and see a show or concert when nobody performs for a living? Dancers work day-in-day-out to perfect a role or routine, often enduring days of 12-hours plus! Kind of makes full-time work look like a cake walk huh?!

4. Dancers are all tiny

Funnily enough, all sizes/heights have their place in the performance industry. Often shorter dancers are cast as Disney Princesses for sake of costuming etc., and taller dancers are quite often cast across the world's best cruise lines (think beads, feathers and long legs!). Although nowadays, we often find that as long as the average height is consistent across a troupe or company, the actual height itself rarely matters!

5. Dancers have gross ugly feet

Okay okay okay, some dancer's feet are certainly 'weathered', and a career in foot modelling mightn't be on the cards. Did you know that it is the so-called "gross" callouses and short nails that ensure dancers can turn barefoot and dance en pointe? These somewhat unsightly appendages have adapted to protect themselves, and believe me when I say they get a lot of love and attention at the end of each day!

6. Dancers can tear up a d-floor

Some dancers have moves of fire, but some seriously struggle to freestyle their way around a dance floor. The main issue being, is that dancers often have structured combinations and routines to remember and unless you want to witness a rehearsed solo production, then some "step-taps" might be the extent of what you'll see!

7. Dancers are naturally flexible

There are definitely some dancers that are naturally blessed with limber bodies, but more often than not, those splits or high kicks have taken hours and hours of stretching! The perseverance and commitment required to get to this point serves dancers well as they strive to be their best each and every day.

8. Girl dancers don't lift boy dancers

Pfft... yeah right! Let's move into the 21st century shall we?!  Partnering is partnering, and many contemporary and acro-dance works see men being hoisted into the air by their female counterparts. It's not always about strength and size - don't underestimate the power in all that lean muscle tone!

9. The 'dancing life' must look like "Dance Moms"

... Quite the contrary actually! Unless a student is particularly young or new, there's rarely any reason for parents to even enter the studio space. On the odd chance they do enter, there is certainly none of the drama you see in your beloved TV show. Studios are often treated as sacred workspaces, with no room for negativity or bullying. Competitions are definitely not as catty and O.T.T as they are depicted - in fact, we get along really well with our rivals at eisteddfods! If we're constantly in each others' company at competitions, then why not make it fun for everyone?!

Hope we've set the record straight! There's so much to love about dance!