Are you interested in becoming a famous dancer? Are you aware of the training that professional dancers have to go through? Discover this and more to make your passion for dance your ideal professional path! Become a Profesional Dancer in Canada!
Fun facts about Dance in Canada!
Now let's dive into some Canadian dance history:
- Did you know that Canada is known for its Indigenous dance?
Long before the Canadian land acquired the name of Canada, Aboriginal dancers were already practicing their dances. The oldest written record of dance was made by Jacques Cartier in the year 1534, just when he came across a group of indigenous people dancing in what we now call Quebec. However, the indigenous dance has not been able to be preserved over time, which has resulted in a significant decline in its practice. However, in the late 1990s, Native artists and groups began investing more financial resources to preserve this art as part of Aboriginal and Canadian culture.
- Do you know what the French-Canadian dance tradition is?
This is called gigue, which is a type of traditional dance from Québec and part of the French-Canadian culture. The gigue is a form of percussion dance where sounds are made with the feet upon impact on the ground. The feet, ankles, and leg movements are usually relatively small, so this type of dance is also known as Québécois stepping. The gigue is one of the varieties of step dancing found throughout Canada. But actually, the step dance originated in the British Isles! And its path to Canada began with Irish immigration between 1832 and 1847.
- Is Canada a country famous for its ballet?
French settlers first migrated to Canada in the 1600s, when ballet was gaining popularity in Europe. Since these voyagers enjoyed ballet, they began to stage small performances throughout French Canada. However, it was not till 1951 that Celia Franca founded the National Ballet of Canada, intending to present the best classical and contemporary ballet. And today, this company is among the best in the world, with 70 dancers, an orchestra, and a permanent home at The Walter Carsen Center in Toronto.
- Do you know who the most famous ballerina is in Canada?
Karen Alexandria Kain, born March 28, 1951, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian ballet dancer who became one of Canada's best and most recognized dancers and an international public figure since her debut as Odette/ Odile in Swan Lake, becoming a great classical dancer of her era.
How beautiful has this little part of Canadian dance history been, right? Are you ready to discover how to become the most famous dancer of our time? Keep reading!
What kind of training do I need to become a professional dancer?
Even if anyone can become a professional dancer in Canada, in addition to practicing and rehearsing routines to achieve the desired presentation and rehearsing choreography all day, the truth is that to become a professional dancer, you will need to obtain a few more requirements to practice professionally in Canada. Let's know each of these requirements!
Get a university degree or college diploma in dance!
If you would like to become a professional dancer in Canada, you can pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. These types of programs are designed to combine creativity and performance in the context of dance. But How long does it take to be a professional dancer in Canada?
These three-year university degrees are generally full-time undergraduate courses that involve acting, dance, and drama, divided into six semesters of study. Here students can develop their dance techniques and acquire knowledge of dance history, cultural forms, and creative skills. When graduates complete this program, and can search for related job opportunities or pursue postgraduate degrees to gain more proficiency in their fields and broaden their career horizons.
Some of the popular job profiles that dance students can pursue after completing their university degree or college diploma are:
- Dance teacher: Dance teachers' responsibilities are planning activities and instructing students to improve their dancing performance.
- Production manager: These professionals formulate objectives, estimate costs and prepare budgets, to organize the specifications and deadlines of productions or performances.
- Dance and theatre members: These professionals conduct auditions to select acting members and collaborate with the technical crew that works for productions or performances.
- Dance performance artists: Also known as dance artists, these artists perform for audiences while collaborating closely with other artists.
Discover all the types of jobs for professional dancers in Canada!
It will be best for you to gain experience as a dancer.
Work experience is of great importance for any professional. It allows you to gain a wide range of knowledge and skills you won't acquire during your university education.
Moreover, if you are considering gaining work experience even during your years of study, this will allow you to put into practice the knowledge you have acquired within your dance profession, establish relationships with professionals and broaden your networking. But where can you gain experience as a dancer?
Training with recognized dance companies can help you develop muscle memory, flexibility, discipline, and techniques. But choosing the right school will depend on the type of dance you want to focus on. Below you will find some dance schools and organizations in Canada so that you can get more information:
- Ballet Companies: Alberta Ballet (Calgary), Ballet Edmonton (Edmonton), Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (Montreal), and National Ballet of Canada (Toronto).
- Choreographic Centres: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Banff), Dancemakers (Toronto), La Rotonde (Quebec City), and Studio 303 (Montreal).
- Contemporary Dance Companies: BJM Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal (Montreal), Dancemakers (Toronto), Dancetheatre David Earle (Guelph), and the Toronto Dance Theatre (Toronto).
Go here to discover more about the Salary expectations for professional dancers in Canada!
Attend auditions to broaden your network.
Even during your formative years, attending auditions can empower you in a high-pressure, highly competitive environment with repeated rejection and unexpected outcomes. It is also an excellent way to prepare yourself for how dance works in the real and professional world, step out of your comfort zone and increase your self-esteem.
How many years of training do you need to become a professional dancer?
If we consider the training and education needed to become a dancer in Canada, as you may need to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, these studies will take an average of 3 years, not considering a master's degree program or a Ph.D.
But this is only talking about educational training. To become a professional dancer, you must undergo disciplined and consistent training for eight to ten years or more, depending on what kind of dance you are interested in, from classical ballet, jazz, hip hop, and modern to dramatic dance.
Dancing training ideally begins when a student is between 7 and 10. And most dancers stop dancing between 35 and 40 years old. When most adults are financially secure and established in their careers, some dancers transition professionally as teachers, choreographers, or artistic directors.
How many hours do professional dancers train a day?
Most professionals will dance 10 hours a day and be in class, either training or performing five to six days per week. Typically, this time is spent taking classes, attending required rehearsals, or taking private lessons.
As you can see, being a professional dancer is a physically demanding job that often requires a lot of practice and hard work. Dancers must practice regularly, prepare for auditions and rehearsals, and spend a lot of time learning routines and choreographies.
However, even though a dance career can be challenging and competitive, your passion for dance and the art will outweigh all the drawbacks!
Are you thinking about learning more about dancing?
Would you like to learn how to dance? Thanks to online platforms, such as Superprof, you can find great dance teachers and private tutors who can give you excellent private dance lessons in Canada.
However, what are the benefits of having a private dance teacher? Looking for the ideal dance teacher can help you to:
- Learn dance techniques and artistic interpretations, even if you are an amateur.
- Improve in a specific type of dance, such as ballet, ballroom, folk, jazz, or modern.
- If you are already a dance student, prepare for particular auditions and performances.
- Learn the methods, cultural origins, and symbolic meanings of aboriginal, ethnic, and folk dances of Canada.
- Just enjoy the moment, feel the music, and enjoy your body!
Something excellent about Superprof is that you can choose the modality of dancing lessons you would like, such as face-to-face or online classes, or select a hybrid learning style! Give it a shot and enter the official site of Superprof Canada to discover thousands of private tutors in dance and other topics such as math, chemistry, swimming, Spanish, and much more.
Are you ready to have the most exciting learning experience?
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