Dance Artist Interview Preparation Guide

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A male dancer is called a Danseur or a Principal Dancer if they are ranked highly in a professional company.

Training to become a professional dancer takes between 8-10 years. Students begin at about age 7. Beginning ballet usually consists of 1-2 ballet technique classes a week. As the student gets older, around 14, they are heavily involved in about 10-15 classes a week made up of ballet technique, pointe (for women), jazz, modern, partnering, and more. Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education offers a nationally accredited program of classes that prepares students of all ages for a future in dance or just to have fun.

Growing up I always said I’d be a lawyer (up until I was about 14!) or maybe I would be a cook… I love cooking.

I would love to have a place in London, another in New York and one in Santa Monica… I lived there and it’s just so laid-back, so nice… I could walk to the beach every morning before class, it was great, so different from the rest of LA.

Please share your answers.

Pointe shoes are made of layers of fabric and glue covered with satin. Pointe shoes do not have a heel like normal street shoes but have a sole which is made of hard leather. Dancers sew satin ribbons and elastics around the ankle to keep the shoes on securely. The price of pointe shoes varies between $50.00 and $80.00 depending on the make and style of the shoe. Many professional dancers have shoes custom made to their feet, which costs quite a bit more than a standard pair of pointe shoes.

In 10 years I don’t know if I’ll still be dancing but hopefully I’ll be teaching. I teach once a week for Ballet Black’s associate program and I enjoy it a lot. As for dance, it just keeps evolving… I’m sure the younger generation will have higher legs and be doing more pirouettes.

Yes, if I have too many days off work!

☛ Who are you and what do you do?
☛ Why do you do what you do?
☛ How do you work?
☛ What’s your background?
☛ What’s integral to the work of an artist?
☛ What role does the artist have in society?
☛ What has been a seminal experience?
☛ Explain what you do in 100 words
☛ How has your practice change over time
☛ What art do you most identify with?
☛ What work do you most enjoying doing?
☛ What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
☛ What themes do you pursue?
☛ What’s your scariest experience?
☛ What’s your favourite art work?
☛ Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
☛ What’s your most embarrassing moment?
☛ What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
☛ Why art?
☛ What is an artistic outlook on life?
☛ What memorable responses have you had to your work?
☛ What food, drink, song inspires you?
☛ Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
☛ What do you dislike about the art world?
☛ What do you dislike about your work?
☛ What do you like about your work?
☛ Should art be funded?
☛ What role does arts funding have?
☛ What makes you angry?
☛ What research to you do?
☛ What superpower would you have and why?
☛ Name something you love, and why.
☛ Name something you don’t love, and why.
☛ What is your dream project?
☛ Name three artists you’d like to be compared to.
☛ Favorite or most inspirational place (in Devon)?
☛ What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
☛ Professionally, what’s your goal?
☛ What wouldn’t you do without?

☛ How long have you been dancing?
☛ How does dance inspire you?
☛ How long have you been dancing?
☛ What got you into dancing?
☛ Why do you like dancing?
☛ Do you hope to become a professional dancer one day?
☛ Why do you love to dance?
☛ Do you hope to inspire others to dance too?
☛ What are some of your goals for dance?
☛ What type of dance do you practice/train?
☛ Would you like to try another type of dance?
☛ How do you feel when you perform?
☛ What inspires you to keep on dancing?
☛ What is your favorite part about Dancing?
☛ What has dance taught you?
☛ Do you plan to do something with dance later in life, or is it just a hobby?
☛ Have you ever participated in a compaction?
☛ What/Who in courage you to dance?
☛ Do you have a diet to keep yourself fit and healthy?
☛ Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
☛ Where did you learn this kind of dance?
☛ What is your greatest weakness?
☛ How many days and weeks do you practice this sport? For how long?
☛ Do you have a favorite dancer? Who?
☛ Are there any challenges in this sport/dance?
☛ In this sport do you need a partner, group of dancers or you can do this alone? Why?
☛ What can you advice to does people who would like to dance this type of dance?
☛ What do you think is the key to success?
☛ Have you ever been injured? If yes when, how and did it effect you?

☛ As a designer, whose work do you admire?
☛ What product would you like to design or redesign?
☛ What creative projects do you do on your own time?
☛ How do you keep up with the latest creative tools and technologies?
☛ What tools do you rely on in your day-to-day work?
☛ How influenced are you by current trends?
☛ How has your design direction contributed to solving a business problem?
☛ Let’s say you’ve started working on a high-profile brand. What do you do in the first week to learn about the brand?
☛ Describe one of the most challenging design projects you’ve ever worked on.
☛ Recall a time you took charge to turn a negative situation into a positive situation.
☛ What are some ways in which you have trained or mentored colleagues?
☛ Your project is delayed for reasons you can’t control. How do you update your colleagues and clients about the situation?
☛ Your most important client hates your work. What do you do?
☛ Describe a time you’ve reduced the scope of a project based on what your team could realistically accomplish.
☛ How do you keep your team motivated in the face of tight deadlines?
☛ Which of our clients are you most interested in working with? Why?
☛ Have you seen any of our creative materials? What are your impressions?

☛ When and why did you start playing?
☛ Which instruments do you play?
☛ What was the first tune(s) you learned?
☛ Is your family musical?
☛ Describe your family member's musical interests and abilities.
☛ Which famous musicians do you admire? Why?
☛ Which famous musicians have you learned from?
☛ Who was your first teacher? Other teachers?
☛ Describe your first instrument. Other instruments.
☛ What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town?
☛ Were you influenced by old records & tapes? Which ones?
☛ Who are your favorite musicians? Groups? CD's?
☛ Have you been in competitions? Fleadh's? Any prizes?
☛ Do you perform in public? Describe those occasions? Concerts, radio, TV?
☛ Do you play for dances? Step-dancers? Describe the differences.
☛ How do you handle mistakes during a performance?
☛ Do you get nervous before a performance or a competition?
☛ What advice would you give to beginners who are nervous?
☛ Do you attend sessions? What makes a good session?
☛ How often and for how long do you practice?
☛ What do you practice - exercises, new tunes, hard tunes, etc.?
☛ Do you teach music?
☛ How do you balance your music with other obligations - mate, children, job?

I love just being on the sofa, remote in my hand and just vegging out, watching Brothers and Sisters. Fun is going out for a nice dinner. My favorite place in London is this fantastic Argentinian steak house called Marina del Sur.

Usually I get my iPod – I use NY teacher’s ballet music CD – I give myself a barre again.. then just get in that corner, stretch, get everything together and warm up. I usually do another barre an hour before when all is ready… with the make up on and everything.

Trying to be constantly improving, staying fresh… not just hitting a rut. To keep going is always a challenge but doing things outside of the studio like Pilates and Gyrotonics help keep you in the studio for longer.

A dancer's career can usually last until his/her early to late 30s, sometimes a few years more. The length of a dancer's career is very similar to any other professional athlete, depending on the dancer's individual body and avoidance of injuries. After retiring from the stage, dancers can continue a career as a ballet mistress or master, choreographer, or instructor, or choose a different career altogether. Many dancers today are getting degrees through universities with programs that are tailored around a dancer's vigorous schedule.

A typical day of work for a dancer starts early with an hour and half class to warm up and refine their technique. Class is followed by four to six hours of rehearsals, sometimes followed by an evening performance.

A lot of the music that we dance to gives me inspiration. Classical music in general. Mozart is my absolute favorite.

Red wine and a hot bath. Together!

Dancers eat just about anything. They do not all survive on carrot sticks and celery. Dancers must eat a good balanced diet that provides plenty of oomph in order to maintain the level of energy needed to exert their bodies during demanding physical rehearsals and performances. And yes, you may occasionally see a dancer in line at Jake's for a double dip chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone.

The life of the pointe shoe depends on the dancer's individual feet and what they are dancing at the time the shoe is worn. Most ballerinas go through a pair of pointe shoes in one performance; sometimes more.

Growing up I really loved The Catcher in the Rye but my all-time favorite is Gelsey Kirkland’s Dancing on My Grave.

I pretty much have the same thing everyday, I have porridge and a banana, plus I drink an espresso.

I love to cook! My signature dish would be homemade meatballs and I also like to do lemon and oregano chicken. And I always bake cookies and banana bread.

I try to go to bed by eleven. But on performance day I’m lucky if I am in bed by one because by the time you get out, home, shower, have dinner… but at least then we get to sleep in the next day.