The rise of the recreational dancer

I dance with a passionate group of people at the University of Alberta who are collectively named Orchesis. The dancers who are part of this group are talented and dedicated to learning and performing modern and jazz movement. Our group varies in age, from high school students to undergraduate and graduate students to adults in the community and U of A alumni who want to continue their dance training after leaving the institution.

Hardly any of the dancers in Orchesis are aspiring dance professionals and that, I think, is what makes this group so unique and impressive. Most of the dancers lead dual lives, as teachers and lawyers and accountants and consultants by day, then they train and they rehearse and they perform by night. Though dance is not their career and they do not get paid to perform to the best of their abilities, they continue to show up for classes and rehearsals and devote their time and energy to performance.

Interestingly, since the advent of television shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, America's Best Dance Crew, and movies like Black Swan, dance has become much more popularized and, perhaps as a result, more accessible to the general public. Audiences are becoming more open to watching and trying dance, from contemporary to ballroom to hip hop. Hence, there is a new generation of adult dancers who have already decided on careers other than dance but still want to participate in performance. I'm happy to see that there are more and more studios and institutions that are offering adult recreational dance classes in addition to their regular professional classes.

The recreational dancer must face unique challenges as compared to the aspiring professional. Professional dancers often train from a young age, developing the flexibility, stability, strength, endurance, and stamina to train for hours a day. Recreational dancers often come to dance later in life or return to dance after a long period away from dance, which means they must develop new muscles to support a new range of movement or they must rehabilitate long apathetic muscles. Professional dancers are accustomed to dancing through injury and their injuries are not related to improper technique as often as are the injuries sustained by recreational dancers. Perhaps the most daunting idea for the recreational dancer is trying something new. Walking into a modern class with a new instructor, working with a new choreographer, choreographing for the first time: these are things both dancers must face but the recreational dancer often feels far less prepared to confront.

I recently returned to dance after a long period away. The very first class I took in modern dance left me feeling discouraged and very clumsy. I actually thought I would not return but one classmate convinced me that the class would become easier over time: the best part about classes is that developing good technique requires repetition. She was absolutely right and I am overjoyed that she convinced me to stay. I performed in Orchesis annual Dance Motif that January. In the summer, I performed in my first "independent" dance show with the no/w/here project at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. This year, I am working on creating original choreography for myself and for others in various theatres across the city.

The Heisenberg Principle, choreographed by Celine Cattoen-Gilbert for Dance Motif 2011. Photo by Centree Photography.

I feel very privileged to be a recreational dancer and I feel very lucky to be in a city that affords me so many opportunities to perform as such. If I could offer advice to the aspiring recreational dancer, I would say that you should not rest on your laurels and wait for opportunity to come to you. Seek out classes that will challenge you, work with new and emerging choreographers, watch as much dance as you can, and, of course, find groups like Orchesis that will let you perform annually. Nike says it best: Just do it!