Jobs like London busses

I'm sure we've all had the London bus experience at some point in our lives. Waiting ages for one and three come along at once? Well this has happened to me very recently, only to my good fortune it has been in my professional life. I can be rest assured that I'm not alone in the dance world in hitting the wall where you think you can't keep going to auditions anymore and it's no less of a kick in the stomach each time. I reached that point last week and in an instance it all changed for the better. I'm sure all performers can agree that going to countless auditions and getting knocked back time and time again can be extremely disheartening. Just when I thought I'd reached my limit, I got offered two jobs! Last Friday, I went to an audition for a cruise company in London. Just two hours into the audition myself and one other dancer got called over to the table of the casting director. She offered us a job on the spot and told us she didn't need us to stay for the remainder of the audition. I was elated and suddenly forgot about all the upset I had experienced in previous auditions. It was all worth it in this moment. This made me reflect on the commonly used phrase "If it's meant to be, it will happen" - I'm not someone who believes in "everything happens for a reason" but I do feel that the time was right for me and that particular contract was meant to be.

On Sunday, another common saying sprung to mind after my second lucky break of the week. I went along to watch my friend Maddy (who is also doing the course) in her production of Swan Lake with Vienna festival ballet. Having taken class with the company a few weeks ago (after coming back from injury), I was familiar with the staff and other dancers. In the interval, the ballet mistress and company director took me aside and explained that one of their dancers had got injured and they needed someone to join the tour with immediate effect. They again offered me the job on the spot and asked if I could start with them on Tuesday. I was in a state of surprise and gladly accepted the offer. The saying that sprung to mind is "being in the right place at the right time" this really was one of those scenarios. Who'd have thought that I would go to watch my friend perform and walk away with a contract with a ballet company. It made me reflect on how easy it is for your professional life to completely change in a matter of moments and sometimes it can be over just as quickly as it started. As a dancer you have to constantly be prepared to drop everything at a minutes notice and move to wherever the job may take you! I feel in the dance industry, with talented dancers two a penny, quite a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time. For me, being in the audience as they need another dancer,  it was just that. Equally, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the dancer who's path similarly changed very quickly too but perhaps not for such a positive reason. It made me think about the mortality (for want of a better word) of a dance career and how unpredictable it can be. Dancers have to be prepared at all times for whatever might come their way and I think it makes for very strong people. Luck and good fortune play a big part in the profession as well as other unchangables such as height, shape and colourings.

This situation has caused me to reflect on the brevity of a dancers career and how there is this constant battle between body and time. A dance career doesn't tend to extend much beyond early to mid- thirties as the body can't withstand the strain it's put under on a daily basis. Dancers getting injured at a young age is a taster of what is to come later in their careers. Is it a profession people should view as temporary? As someone who likes to have a clear plan, I have always had ideas about what I would like to do post dance career and I've always been aware that I need to be prepared for it to end early, but is this something everyone should consider and is there enough emphasis on planning for your future  career path? With dancers persuing a career from such an early age, they don't always have to give much thought to alternatives as they have a clear idea of what they want with their lives. Is this native though? I believe more thought needs to be given to this as a dance career is very fragile, one injury could end it permanently! I found online a lady called Alison Golding, who had written her MSc Dance Science final paper on the ending of a dance career entitled " A golden thread: Holding up identity in a professional dancers' career transition". Interestingly, she talks about the idea of loss both during a dance career and after. The thing that I found most relevant was the concept that when a dancer retires a part of them is lost and dance was such a pertinent aspect to their being. I can, to some degree, achknowlege the truth in that as dancers are so passionate about dance that it does indeed become part of their identity, however I can't help feeling that it is unnecessary to feel a sense of loss. There is so much out there that means you can remain involved in dance without physically dancing. Should this replace the loss discussed? - I think it's should. What point is there in dwelling on what was, when you could be looking at what could be or what is now?