Is it too soon for me to direct a contemporary dance group?

by Anna
(Mexico)

Hello! My name is Anna.

I've been a fan of the arts since I was a little kid. I've been involved in singing, acting, dancing, poetry, speech, gymnastics and even cheerleading. All of these in a basic level. I've been in a dance academy since january this year. We learn a lot of dance styles, from ballet to tap. I'm loving contemporary dance, i can't wait until I coreographe my own dances and stuff. This summer I'm taking ballet, hip-hop and contemporary dance (Graham's technique). Anyways what I wanted to tell you is this. I go back to college this august and we don't have any kind of dance groups or anything, so I would want to start a new contemporary dance group for girls in the campus and I would like to direct it. I am aware I still have a lot of things to learn but I was wondering if i could start sharing what I know and continue to learn on my own. Do you think it's too soon? I would like your opinion. Your site is amazing, it's helping me a lot. Thank you!

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Is it too soon for me to direct a contemporary dance group?

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Jun 22, 2012
 Answer from Maria
by: Maria

Dear Ana,

I believe you should start right now!

Directing a dance group is something that one learns with practice. Schools and academies teach you some tools and give you just a minimum of experience. The road in this profession is long and the experience within formal education is usually short so, the sooner you start the better (no matter what your level of knowledge is).

Don't worry about being at the beginning of your career as a dance choreographer. We all started once and with little knowledge. It is actually the courage to try to do it what leads us towards being experienced and better at what we do.

You and your friends will learn something from that first attempt for sure. And that will be one step forward. Maybe you will be tired at the end, discouraged or even disappointed with your dancers. That is very common, so don't give up if that happens. Just give your self a time to think about everything that happened, understand and learn. The creative processes are usually difficult and complex and it is our persistence and passion for dance what makes them live.

I'll be glad to have news from this project in the future. You can come back to this thread and share how it goes, what you do or even ask other questions to help you go on.

In case you haven't found these, here are some readings that might be of interest for you:

Tips for young choreographers

Readings on choreography


I wish you a lot of fun and poetry.

Maria

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