Dance Life and How to Make Money doing what you love

After you put in your 10,000 hours, it's time to make money. Right?

Starving Artist isn't a phrase used without reason. If your an independent person, and your living in a large city close to the heart of the dance world - getting your feet off the ground can be difficult.

I speak on the side of street style dances including Break dance(Bboying), Hip-hop, Poppin', House, Locking, and styles there of. When it comes to making money in dance there are only a few options.

1. Perform - It's most dancers dreams to perform as backup dancers or be in a large production showcase. Depending on the scale of the shows and how consistent, dancers can bring in $100 to a few thousand per show

2. Win Competitions - A freestyle battle or a choreography competition will give you prize money anywhere from $100 - $250,000. These require you be the best and take a lot of energy and stamina. If you live in a large city like New York or LA, you can find these happening almost everyday and every weekend.

3. Win a TV show - Big scale competitions like So You Think You Can Dance offer the winner $1 million deal. These shows are less about your dancing and more about your showmanship, background story, and how good they can sell you. Most shows are scripted and you must waive your rights of ownership.

4. Teach - Teaching others how to do what you do is a skill in itself, but for the right person it can be a decent way to earn money. It's a gradual process and you may only have 1 class for a while. Dance teachers can make $20K- $30k a year and masters in their field can bring up to $75k. For new teachers earnings can be $500 - $5k/year.

5. Hit - or Hustle, 'Hitting' refers to dancing on the street, subway, or any public area in order to receive tips.
   There are NYC dancers known for making thousands off of this, but there are territories and unwritten rules to the game.

6. Judge - If you are top tier in your style, you can judge competitions. Can make $50 to over a thousand per competition. Starting off at small local jams can help those new to the top tier.

You must be careful of how economic your energy use is. If your spending 8 hours at a competition going through many rounds and using lots of energy (which you must put back in you), on top of the entry fee - it may not be worth it.

Dance or any skill take a long time to master and in the arts, the return on investment is very slow, but can be very rewarding. You must be in for the long hall.

The Hungry Dancers Dilemma
An athletic dancer can expend over 5,000 calories in a hard training session or show.

This leaves one's body depleted of energy and nutrients. Combine this with the financially starved dancer and you get a physically fit body going towards the cliff of malnutrition.

$1 pizza, Micky D's, a box of fried chicken, with some sugar-packed energy bars and some sugar water to wash it all down with.These are the cheap, tasty choices for the average dancer in all circles. Even the more healthy minded still get stuck in the convenience habit.

Unfortunately, theses foods are all low in nutrients and only serve to fill the stomach. This is the downfall of many dancers in the long run. Sure, in your teens and early 20's you can power through, but soon your body will start to feel it. Your muscles stiffen, joints tighten, stamina slows, body fat catches up, and their recovery time starts to take considerably longer.

Why do you need to recover quickly.?
Simply put - the less time your body spends healing , the more time you can spend putting those 10,000 hours in.

I spend most weeks putting in 12-15 hours and reaching 25-30 hours on a busy week.
This is down considerably from the 30-35+ hours I put in every week for the first 10 years of my training.
My body has aged and I am now in my 'prime' physical age for the next 3-5 years.

In the long run, it's about longevity.
Nutritional health, Sleep, and balance in physical activities are key.

I divide my time between practices, shows, teaching classes, and casual dancing. They are all intense in their own ways, and all deserve proper recovery.

PUT MONEY INTO YOUR FOOD
You are what you eat. Buy organic nutrient dense foods, eat lots of greens. Don't be cheap on yourself. You may have to make sacrifices elsewhere if your not in strong financial standings, but it's worth it. You get the added benefits of not being sick as often, or even for periods of many years. Your body will be stronger and you wont get hurt as easier and recover quicker.

Your body is a machine. It's a high-end performing race car, feed it the good shit.

How to obtain longevity:

1. Space out physical activities for proper resting time. (1 day of rest or minimal activity is best)
2. Sleep well. Your body heals best during sleep. (8-10 hours min.)
3. Stretch. Before during and after practice. (Stretch to warm up before, and stretch for flexibility after)
4. Eat well. Probably the most important, eat nutritionally dense meals.(Avg. 50% green veggies, 30% protein, 20% carbs & sugars from fruit)
5. Dance efficiently. I will dive into this in another post, but keys like breathing, balance stances, posture and working with your core and not against it.

So next practice, instead of grabbing a Gatorade and a slice, grab some water and a salad!