Dancers face the reality of competition

By Shazia Azra Aslam

When Jackie Dowsett, junior dance and elementary education major, wakes up at 8:30, she immediately puts on the leotard and tights she will wear all day. From class to rehearsal and back again, Dowsett's day is filled with constant movement.

Hector Berlanga, junior dance major, wakes up every morning at 6:30. In addition to dance rehearsals and class, he works at the library. During times of performances, Berlanga gets done with rehearsals between 10 p.m. and midnight. Dowsett and Berlanga's lifestyle, which may seem different from many, is not an uncommon lifestyle for a Meadows student dancer.

"I'm always doing something," Dowsett said. "I'm never just sitting there."

During her breaks she is either working on a paper for class, emailing a friend or finding time to eat. Eating is something that Dowsett finds very essential to her lifestyle. She says that many people with busy schedules just like hers sometimes do not set aside time to get proper meals.

"Eating is important," Dowsett said. "It's what keeps me going."

It is not uncommon for Dowsett to find herself going from ballet class, to rehearsal and then to another rehearsal for a different performance.

She has even juggled two performances in one night-Hope Show and Sing Song.

"It was crazy," Dowsett said. "I definitely did not sleep that week."

She had tests that week as well as rehearsals for multiple performances. Dowsett said she pulled more all-nighters this semester than any other semester before. But, she noted, it seemed just a normal thing for her.

Dowsett's discipline with dance came at an early age. Dowsett recalls her childhood and adolescent years as being different from other children her age. She began attending ballet lessons six nights a week at the age of eleven.

"I would eat dinner by myself," Dowsett said. "I gave up a lot of my social life."

But looking back at her childhood days, she does not regret a single moment of it.

"I want to dance," Dowsett said. "That's my passion."

She believes her determination and sacrifices got her where she is today.

"I may have missed out on a lot growing up, but in the end, I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Dowsett said. "I danced my heart out."

At age seven, Dowsett got her first lead as the character Clara in "The Nutcracker."

"I just knew this was what I was good at," Dowsett said. "My teachers pushed me and wanted me to make it almost as much as I did."

Berlanga recalls his high school experiences in a different light. He went to a performing arts high school where he was surrounded with people just like him.

First-year Kasha Liggett sacrificed her senior year of high school to train in Seattle with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

"I did my senior year classes all through correspondence," Liggett said.

She received offers to work with dance companies but injured her back in the spring.

For many dancers, the dream of making it big is what keeps them going. But most dance majors have to face a harsh reality-dancing is very competitive and a dancer is only valuable for a limited time.

"I used dance to get me into college," Berlanga said.

He does not plan on pursuing a professional dance career after college.

"I have thought about entering the dance world after college, but it's just too difficult," he said.

Dowsett says she hopes to try out for New York's Broadway shows someday, but she plans on moving slowly towards her goal. She has considered working on a Caribbean cruise ship or being a dancer at Disney World. She has also considered the possibility of being part of a small dance company.

Knowing that competition is fierce and there is always the possibility of an injury, Dowsett is planning a double major-dance and elementary education. When she graduates, she will have a teaching certificate.

"I make easy connections with children," Dowsett said. "I'm willing to perform at night and teach during the day."

Liggett is also planning on double majoring in dance and business.

"The chances of making it in the dance world are slim to none," Liggett said. "You can't do much with just a dance degree these days."

Liggett said she wanted business to be her back up in case she does not make it or in the event of an injury.

"I don't think people understand the competition involved," Dowsett said.

She notes that the competition is especially severe among young women. Many of Dowsett's male friends back home from her jazz dance group are touring with big names like Ricky Martin, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and 'NSYNC.

"The girls [from back home] are amazing dancers as well," Dowsett said. "There is just a bigger market for men in the dance industry."

Dowsett advises to dancers who are just beginning to take something academically stimulating in college as well. Considering the competition and the possibility of an injury, such advice is sound. Berlenga has the same stance on the issue.

"Women [dancers] are a dime a dozen," Berlanga said. "There aren't a lot of men [in the dance profession]."

The pressure on dance students goes beyond worrying about technique and form; a dancer must look the part as well. It is not uncommon for eating disorders to be prevalent around the dancer scene.

"A lot of ballerinas live off cigarettes and coffee, maybe eating one meal a day," Dowsett said. "There is definitely pressure to look a certain part."

She added that teachers are not afraid to tell students what they really think.

Berlanga agreed that the dance professors are straightforward about a student's physique and performance.

"If a person is not mentally strong, they will never make it in the business," Liggett said.

Being honest sets students up for the real world.

"They [dance professors] tell it like it is," Berlanga said. "But more pressure is definitely on the women to look the part."

Berlanga has only heard of a few cases of male performers facing this problem. In the end, it is the tenacity of the dancer that determines whether they have a chance for success or not.

"A dancer has to be persistent," Liggett said. "They have to really want it before they will succeed."