4c. Developing questions within the professional community

I have been trying to get my questions out there and get other opinions on what possible answers may be. I have spoken to two people within my professional community who have come up with ideas and answers which have been useful to me and got me thinking. Therefore I thought I would blog about what these two people had to say when faced with my set of questions. One of them was a television presenting agent who I have been fortunate enough to have a few meetings with and the other was a friend of mine who also trained as a dancer at college and is now looking in to career transition but still wanting to stay linked to the industry without being ‘A dancer’.

When talking to both of these people I didn’t sit down and hand them my questions like an interview but I went about it more like a discussion and tried to phase my questions in! However, I think we covered most of them in the end, so here are some of their responses:

What are the similarities and differences between the dance world and the television industry?

-The agent didn’t know much about the dance world as all her knowledge and experience is in television. However, she didn’t look down on dance at all and said she believed that one of the main similarities was that you need a great amount of intelligence to be involved in both industries. I was so pleased to hear her say this as it saved me having to prove that I wasn’t a ‘stupid dancer’ as many people assume. She said they are similar in that you have to be able to withstand a great amount of pressure and you have to be able to handle rejection, in her words you need to be ‘as tough as old boots’! This was reassuring as it is a skill I have already acquired from college!

-My friend and fellow performer said that from what she has gathered so far there were more differences than similarities between the two. She thought they would be worlds apart as from her research not many people have crossed over between the two. She found that most people in television have a background in either drama/acting or a normal degree from university in something like drama or English and have then been able to make a transition in to television somehow. She said there weren’t many people who had been serious dancers or ballerinas or something before entering television. This made her assume that the industries were completely different and you need a completely different skill set and personality for each industry.

How do you know where to start?

-The agent gave surprising advice and said that now the only way to break in is through the back door and not through the front. She said it used to be all about ‘who you know not what you know’ but now it doesn’t work like that anymore. However, in the next breath she is advising on networking skills.

- My friend also came up with the ‘back door’ theory without me prompting her. It is a path she is looking in to and thinking of pursuing in order to get on screen. While I appreciate that maybe this is a very effective way of making it I am sceptical of whether it is the only way.

Can anyone actually help?

-The agent inferred that people can help and give advice but no one can do the initial ground work for you. Once you have done that and managed to ‘break in’ then someone will take you on and then they can help a lot more.

-My friend hasn’t had much luck yet apart from in the dancing world but she seemed to think it was more a case of ‘right place right time’ as opposed to one person being able to help and launch you to stardom!

How do you prepare?

-The agent gave clear advice in that area and said you have to keep researching various people, presenters, programs, directors, production companies etc. Also to keep updating headshots, show reels and try and get relevant and interesting things on your CV.

Which of my previous skills and knowledge are still relevant and useful?

-The agent said; professionalism, all education and knowledge, networking, memory skills, and individuality. However, advise was to forget the ‘glam cruise ship thing’ it’s all about natural and normal.

- My friend thought that all skills and knowledge would be useful as it makes you a more informed person. She is always trying to expand her knowledge and develop her skills and she said she would always try and use everything she knows or can do to her advantage. However she also thought there are many skills we still have to acquire but possibly things you can only learn from experience and practice with real life situations.

Is it possible to make a smooth transition or is it like starting again?

-Both said they consider it like starting again as you will have no respect or credit when entering the industry no matter how much dance experience you have. You have to start from the bottom again and work your way up. (If you manage to get in at the bottom at all!)

What are the pressures and demands of the television industry? Are they the same as the dance industry?

-Both said image straight away. However, the television image is different to the dance image.  It is all about looking young, natural and fresh faced. So not too much make up and looking as normal as possible. This is different to the dance world where you are half way there if you have fake tan and false eye lashes on. A completely different ideal look but an image pressure none the less.

Does television present a healthier image than dance in relation to physique?

-The agent said yes definitely. There are many presenters who are of a ‘normal’ size. Take Holly Willoughby, she is not stick thin and always looks healthy. At the moment she is presenting Dancing on Ice and this morning heavily pregnant. If she was a dancer she obviously wouldn’t be able to carry on with this by this stage of her pregnancy. The agent said that with many children looking up to presenters on television there is a conscious effort for a normal image and while there is a pressure to look nice and stay in shape, there is not a pressure to starve yourself and be thinner than the girl standing next to you.

What are the necessary skills to be a presenter?

-My friend suggested- Intelligence, personality, professionalism, energy, enthusiasm, likeability, networking skills, determination, ambition, take direction well and to be quick witted.

Is it more stable as a career compared to dancing? Are there more opportunities for a long lasting career?

-The agent suggested that it wasn’t any more stable than dancing as even well known presenters find it hard to get work and there are no guarantees as with the dance world.

-My friend said that she felt there were many more opportunities to expand and develop a career as the television is always developing and there will always be new programs. There are also lots of opportunities behind the scenes and now with the expansion of programs on the internet there is massive scope for new things with new technology and trends.

By talking to these two very different people I was able to see different views and ideas. This helped me expand my own thinking as I value both of their opinions.

 Looking back to my main question:

‘How do you break in to a new section of the industry?’

I am not sure if these answers have got me any closer to my main question or just opened up new questions all together?! However, this is definitely a good thing as there is no point doing an inquiry in to something which can be answered easily. I have realised there is no one way to get there and everyone will say something different. If there isn’t one way to do it I wonder if there is a best way to do it? There seems to be so many different factors which influence our careers and various paths and things can change by the day. I am particularly interested in looking in to the pressures and demands as they are so different from what I am used to in the dance world but there are still so many pressures.

After talking to people about my questions it has made me consider if many presenters who are out there at the moment have always been the way they are now or did they change themselves (image, personality etc) to become successful in television? My next port of call is to research presenters who are out there at the moment and see how their background and previous experience has got them to where they are today.