In dance, as in life.
I haven’t taken class in over a year. My glitter-lined false eyelashes are shoved in the back of my makeup drawer. A few months ago, I finally accepted it: I am not a dancer anymore.
At first, this made me sad. I spent my childhood in a dance studio. For over 20 hours a week I trained and cross-trained with my teammates. My college essays were all about this fusion of athletics and art; competitive dance shaped my adolescence.
As I immerse myself in creative strategy and the advertising industry, however, memories of the dance world still resonate in surprising ways.
I grew up preparing for one cutthroat creative industry. Now, I am starting my career in another.
1. Get to the front row.
On competition weekends, I would take class in a convention center ballroom packed with dancers. The goal? Get noticed. I learned to move to the front of the room, even when I wasn’t confident with the choreography.
Putting myself out there meant better feedback, a better view, and, ultimately, success. I remember this every time I press “send” on a cold email or raise my hand in a meeting. The front row is scary, but it’s where I need to be.
2. Watch others, then make it your own
At large competitive conventions, groups would rotate dancing the routine to give each other space to move. When it wasn’t my turn, I would find the best dancer on the floor. If I loved how she linked two steps together or interpreted the music in her improvisation, I’d try it out for myself.
This is the hallmark of any creative craft. To improve, you must watch and learn from others. My own skills in writing, strategy and design are a unique combination of what I admire in my peers and mentors; creative growth is synthesis.
3. Feedback is required.
The ad school practice of posting work to a wall for critique feels familiar to anyone who grew up in a competitive sport. Critique was coveted on the dance convention circuit. To be critiqued meant you were worthy of notice and of growth. After each performance, you even received an audio recording of feedback: a play-by-play reminder of what you could improve.
There were certainly instructors and judges who took this culture to unhealthy levels, but today I remember it fondly. Receiving and giving critique takes practice. It’s a career-long endeavor, but I’m happy I began to learn that so early in life.
4. Perfection is impossible.
I remember standing at the barre while my ballet teacher made the rounds for corrections. I was never the best dancer in ballet class, and never would be. My legs were too short, my feet were too flat, and my shoulders were perpetually ear-level: all big technical no-nos.
Yet, oddly, dance fostered a culture in which that did not discourage me. No one can achieve perfect form or a perfect performance. Improvement is the goal. I try to apply that mindset to everything from brief-writing to creative pitches. Perfection is impossible, but that doesn’t mean improvement is futile.
5. The X Factor
In a sea of qualified applicants, it takes more than skills to stand out. Getting hired is equal parts skills, charisma, and luck. Some people just “have it.” If you’re trying to get a job in advertising, all these warnings sound familiar. I heard them first, however, in the senior room of dance conventions, surrounded by other young women who dreamed of a career in commercial dance.
Years of auditions, call-backs, and rejections prepared me for the creative job hunt I’m about to tackle. If I’m being honest, they taught me that I can never really “be prepared.” I can learn the combination quickly, build the perfect resume, nail the technique, polish my portfolio and still…what will ultimately spark my career is something special about me.
None of these insights are answers, and sometimes the “truths” of creative paths are scarier than they are comforting. Still, I am glad I grew up rhinestoning spandex leotards and bruising my knees on ballroom floors. In dance, in advertising, and in life, many lessons are the same.
(and — just for fun — here’s an old video of my dancing days)
Note: A recent piece in The New York Times poignantly captured the grueling, glamorous world of competitive dance. If you’re curious, I highly recommend it.
