Be Interesting

In one of the last classes I taught in a studio before the pandemic shut everything down, I said to the pre-professional dancers in front of me “You have to be interesting.” This is a variation on a theme of mine, particularly when I teach dancers that are aiming for a professional contract. Often I couch it in terms of being more expressive or sending energy beyond the physical self, but really, I’m talking about that special something that makes people take notice – a certain je ne sais quoi, the ‘it’ factor.

Quite often when I start to talk about this in front of a class, in terms of the way the students are working, they look at me like they don’t understand. Ballet is so difficult, to attain proper form alone takes years of single-minded devotion. Technique – which I quite prize as well – is the focus of most serious young dancers, because there is a certain level of proficiency that must be reached before a professional career can even be considered. And in this age of competition dance, Instagram, and YouTube, a student’s understanding (and I would argue some teachers’ as well) of what technique is can become quantified into things like how high you can lift your leg or how many pirouettes you can do.

When the “tricks” get all the attention, a couple of things happen. The first is that transitions and details – where dancing actually lives – don’t get proper care. The second is that artistry isn’t addressed, or is considered something that can be added later, “when I get on stage.” The emphasis is on the what, not on the how or the why. But it takes understanding and synthesizing all three to make a true dancer.

Dancers are, by nature, perfectionists. And dancers are made through correction and critique, through being told what they are doing wrong more than what they are doing right. Sometimes this leads to a self-protective, cautious way of working that is turned inward. The dancer is not expressing themselves through the movement, they are merely doing steps. But dance is a performing art, and the idea is to catch the audience’s attention. So that’s when I say things like “You have to be interesting.”

As I’ve been working on this post, I’ve been pondering what it means to “be interesting,” both from a dance perspective and beyond. And the more I think about the interesting dancers and interesting people I know, the more I am convinced it’s about being fully yourself.

Being authentic.

Being willing to show vulnerability.

Owning your weaknesses as well as honoring your strengths.

Being honest, with yourself and others.

Being courageous enough to try, even if you know you might fail.