...Life as a Freelance Dance Artist

I absolutely LOVE being a freelancer but that doesn't mean that it's always easy. In fact, most of the time it isn't.

Earlier on today, I was thinking about why I enjoy pursuing a career where I am constantly looking for the next job, never really knowing how much I am going to earn each month and why I'm always facing statements like 'you could really do with some more work' and questions such as 'when are you going to get a real job?'

Even though being a freelance dance artist is tough, I could never see myself being anything else. For all of those people who wonder why us freelance dancers love doing what we do, here is a little list of why it is 100% AWESOME! 

• We earn money doing what we love. Life is too short to be stuck in a career that you hate
• We get to work with incredible people of all ages
• Our place of work changes quite frequently, meaning we get to go on mini adventures on a regular basis
• We have the excitement of not knowing where we will be and/or what we will be doing this time next year
• We have control over what jobs we are involved in, allowing us to select roles that inspire us and help us develop & grow 
• We have a great sense of community with all of our fellow freelancers
• We get to be creative and have fun on a daily basis
• We inspire younger generations to express themselves and think creatively 
• There is always something new & exciting to learn
• We hold more skills then people may think, which are transferable to a variety of other job roles
• Most of us do everything. Our accounts, taxes, administration, project management, funding applications, curating/programming, invoicing... (the list goes on & on & on)
• Our careers can take us down so many different paths, in numerous fields of work
• We are really in touch with our bodies and tend to look after them better than the average person. (some may disagree with this point)

There are SO many other points that I could add to this list but this post would become more of an essay if I were to carry on! 

What do you other freelancers think? 

Leave a comment and let me know. 

Big Loves, 

Steph 

Spring Equinox 2015

I apologise for the delay in posting this, I have stupidly been delaying my first blog post because I'm an idiot who seems to be going through some form of QUARTER LIFE CRISIS!

Anyway, that's a whole other blog post in itself, right?

On Tuesday 24th March, I had the wonderful opportunity to help out at the annual Spring Equinox show at the Corn Exchange in Newbury, Berkshire. This wonderful platform for young local dancers has been running for quite a few years now and was created by my wonderful friend, Laura Kelleher-Byrne (she is an absolute dance wizard, i'll have you know!)

This year there were gorgeous performances by ACE Dance Company, Junior & Senior West Berkshire Youth Dance Company's, NCYDC, D@anga and EEDC.

 The reason why I wanted to blog about this event is because it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my journey as a dancer and also realise how much I've grown as an individual. I had the joys of being an audience member throughout all of the dress rehearsals and the pleasure of helping backstage during the performance itself. During both of these roles, it made me realise how lucky the young dancers (both past and present) of Newbury are. Considering that Newbury is a pretty small town, there are endless opportunities for young individuals to express themselves through this art form. Sometimes the dance world can get incredibly competitive and nasty but luckily for me, Newbury's dance scene is wonderful.

I can't quite remember the year but I also performed at this event and it was so exciting. To think that I performed here with ACE Dance Company, then went on to complete my degree at Coventry University, moved to London and then moved back to Newbury feels somewhat cyclical.

That's something to think about eh?

 Each and every child, parent & dance teacher that was involved with Spring Equinox left feeling positive, inspired and a general overall sense of achievement. In particular, I was overwhelmed with pride for how brilliant everything and everyone was and I CANNOT wait until all of the summer dance shows to get here!

What inspires you to follow your passions? 

Steph x

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14001859/?claim=egx79rwrgz4">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>