THE FORGOTTEN AND UNRECOGNISED – THE DANCER

We have some of the best dancers in the world here in Australia!! BUT they aren’t getting paid to even live right!
We have some of the best creators and artists working their butts off and loving it but they can’t live like this for ever. We can’t live like this forever! It’s the new generation! Dance is recognised now and famous to the youth just as much as football. Trust me I’m touring Australia as we speak, touring into dance schools and communities (I’m in Tennant Creek working with the youth out here to get them up on stage to perform at the Desert Harmony Festival, big job). We are athlete’s! It takes a decade of dancing everyday to become a professional to start making money! Intense training, investment into dance classes, study, oversea’s trips to get better training (injuries pulling you back). I’ve done 4 trips and spent over $10,000 every time.
I make my money through teaching but teaching and not performing is killing my soul. As much as I love giving, I can’t afford to be doing it all my life at this extreme. I need to perform, I need to dance full out before my body can’t do it anymore. I loose my athleticism from teaching because it’s draining doing the same movements over and over! I could be 10 times more amazing!
If dancers were paid like Lawyers and Doctors…..Wow Imagine the arts level in Australia??
We are doctors of our own kind, with more then 4-8 years training at Uni and we get paid just $10,000 a year to actually entertain(the best part) and to earn that we are entertaining the Lawyers/ Doctors child to keep them from seeing the Doctor or Lawyer. We can’t get loans because we are self employed and don’t have full time job’s because there isn’t enough job’s? When in fact we are working full time just not being paid on someone’s pay roll(“Lamb’s over looked my shoulder and added”).
I feel it’s because of this tall poppy disease running around in Australia?
I feel the stereo type footballer Australian hating on me because I dance (“you’re a poofter if you dance”…..?). But aren’t they the one’s running around in hot pants tackling other men? I’m the one dancing with the ladies everyday of my life rocking out top moves and have pashed some of the hottest women I have ever seen? Including my adorable princess Nicole Lamb that I’m with now struggling to travel to the next destination to inspire youth to grow and not think like the stereo typed Aussy! We are Aussy, we love to dance and we are the future to having a free mind and doing what you love!
Now if it were supported more in Australia we would have a healthier country and open country and a country full of happiness! movement Creates happiness!!!
MTV, SONY, Aria Awards etc I get offered gig’s from you to make other artists like Britney Spears, Fergie and Dizzy Rascal to name few look good and yet I’m offered to do it for free? I love what I do! This is all I do, this is all I know! I love it alright! But if you want me to make your artists look good, look after us and we will rock that gig more then you will ever know. So they turn us down because we ask to get paid more then $0-$250.00 for over 20 hours of rehearsal and rocking a performance of the artist they are making money out of? Then you know what they do is get the other dancers that are up and coming and are frothing to get that spot to put on their CV!
This is not how it should be! I just choreographed a major Australian artists last film clip, where not much dancing was used. BUT not one of the extra’s were paid! This happens to professional dancers in film clips, It’s an “experience”. This was an experience most of those people will never do again, for all the hours getting bossed around and treated like shit. I’m heated about this as a new generation child coming up as a major artist for this country! I could have left off to USA and stayed an had a great career, but I’m choosing to stay and support and make Australia grow in the arts! Our new generation here is really full of talent, your sons, daughters, little cousins, nephew’s and nieces could be a real star and your stopping them due to your opinion or the governments?
Deal with my spelling, you know what I’m getting at! My passion took over my English ok! haha
Pretty good whinge I think haha COP IT
THIS IS AN ISSUE! I’ll BATTLE YOUR OPINION!
WATCH THE ABOVE VIDEO, IT HELPS BUT IT’s HALF CLOSE TO THE REAL WORLD OF A DANCER!
THIS ISSUE WILL BE DISCUSSED AT UTOPIAN DREAM 2011 www.utopiandream.com.au
LOVE & LIGHT
Travers Ross
www.traversross.com.au