I am extremely interested in modern dance and choreography. I have no experience so I was wondering if you had any advice on how to get into choroeography and to get noticed. My problem is, even though I'm a good dancer and have choreographed several of my own routines, I have no qualifications.

Yes, getting a foot in the door is always a tricky proposition. I don't know the specifics about where you live (in cities there tend to be more opportunities, for instance) but maybe by sharing what I did you'll find some ideas that apply to your situation.

I was dancing in a small ballet company when I decided to choreograph my own works. My ballet partner was interested in working with me (which was good since she had good ballet technique and was interested in exploring modern styles) so we started working on several duets.

Many of the dance studios in the area would host small performances. You had to apply to be included in them, but few required a fee to participate. Some even paid small fees to us. This was the first step in getting recognized as a choreographer. Naturally one hopes for press coverage because when you can point to your name in a publication, it lends a certain credibility to your professional stature. But often critics do not attend small shows like these.

My next step was to pick up a few other dancers and produce my own show in a small theater. This was very expensive! If you invest in this kind of self-promotion, be sure to document it as much as possible so you have more to show for it afterwords than just the debt. And this will mean still more money to be spent, but it's worth it: get the show videotaped by an experienced videographer, and have still pictures taken by a photographer who understands dance. Performance pictures in a press kit make a big difference when you're getting started. Too many beginners will have only studio shots which leave one wondering if they've ever really performed or if they just hired a photographer and a studio to do some shots. Do try to get critics to come, and target every relevant publication you can find, not just the big ones.

Then I made press kits, offered sample videos, and sent these packets out to dance companies. Most of my paying work came through connections, but when I got an engagement in Florence, Italy, it was my press kit that opened the door. Be sure that everything you put forth about yourself looks very professional: business cards should look classy; sample videos should be well edited and labeled; no typos in your biography or c.v. or press clippings; label the backs of your 8x10 photographs with the name of the dance, the dancers pictured there, and the photographer to credit. How you present yourself in these ways is an assurance to a presenter that you will present yourself in an equally polished way on stage.

Of course these steps didn't happen all at once. This happened over the course of about 20 years and I'm still at it.

Do you have any tips on how to make things look more professional on and off stage?

Very astute of you to be concerned with how to make things look professional both on and off stage. Most folks only think about looking professional on stage (which is good, one certainly needs to do this) but forget that the audience's experience of the concert includes a lot of other factors. Let's begin with some on-stage considerations…

ON STAGE
One can never over-emphasize rehearsal. Your dancers should be able to do the dance in their sleep. Only then, when the steps are so ingrained, can they face the distraction of a live audience, stage jitters, stage lights in the eyes, etc., etc. and still be able to focus on really dancing the steps and not just "getting through them without messing up."

Costumes are another concern when looking professional on stage. They need to be really nice, or if you don't have the budget for really nice, then really simple so people can focus on the dancing. There's nothing worse than amateur-looking costumes that look like they're made from poor material, aren't cut well, don't fit well, interfere with the dancing, and all the other things that are bothersome. Trust me, people would rather see simple dancewear or street clothes than a costume that's trying to be more than it is.

Do try to rehearse in your costumes before the show to be sure they work without problems. Things to watch out for: partnering work may be different if the costumes are slippery but your practice clothes provided more friction; some garments can restrict range of motion, for example, I once ended up in a Nutcracker jacket that made it very hard to raise my arms! Very hard to sit the girl on my shoulder when I couldn't get my arms up. And watch out for flowing scarves or such that might get stepped on or tangled up in the course of a dance.

Flow of the program-- are you showing a number of pieces? Will the audience have a long wait between pieces while dancers change costumes? If you're not having an actual intermission, you'll want to minimize the delay as much as possible. Think also about how hair will be worn. Perhaps you already have... we used to start with the hair up, and then it could come down to help provide a different look between pieces. The point here being that putting hair up takes longer than letting it down and we didn't want to keep the audience waiting.

OFF STAGE
Pretend you're an audience member and imagine what would make this a perfect evening at a dance concert (some of this may not apply to your situation.)…

1) When you got to the box office, were your tickets/reservations handled correctly? Was the box office person courteous? Did they have enough small bills for change?

2) Was the theater or performance hall clean with seating arranged in such a way that sight lines to the stage allowed you to see the show?

3) Were the ushers pleasant? Did they hand you a program? Was the program booklet clear, well-designed, informative? Was it so nice that you'd take it home and keep it as a memento of the show? (This is key for future engagements: getting people to remember you!) Was it clear when intermissions were and when you were supposed to stay seated and wait for the next piece? (e.g., "10 minute Intermission" is good so people know how long they have to get up and stretch. "2-minute pause" is good so people know to stay seated and they have a sense of how long they'll have to wait. They'll be a lot more patient if they know what's going on.)

4) Were refreshments available during intermission? Were they good? (Think the same way you do about costumes: if they're not going to be special and really nice, it's better not to have them, or just keep them very, very simple.) Was there any other merchandising? (i.e., nice t-shirts with the company logo? posters? reasonably priced?-- again, do them all to the hilt, or skip them. Don't present anything shoddy.)

5) Was the show too long? Too short? Such judgements are usually based on the ticket price and the number of intermissions.

6) If there was a photographer or videographer present at the show, were they inobtrusive? Were latecomers seated during the show or were they asked to wait for the next break between dances to be seated?

7) If you are a business or individual who donated money or time or products to help the show happen, did you receive a thank you after the performances? A phone call, a letter, a small gift? This is key in building up supporters who can help you do another performance. Let donors know they're appreciated.

Where can I find scholarships to study dance?

You might try the following Web site:
http://fdncenter.org/
This is a library which deals entirely with grants: you can find grants to study different kinds of dance, to study dance in other countries, and so forth, but it will take some research on your part to find which foundation guidelines match your situation.

I have just started ballet again after about 10 years. Not doing ballet for so long has left the muscles in my legs out of shape: I'm now finding it hard to turn out. Do you have any tips on how I can improve this for my lessons?

Here are two things which may help:

1) Be sure not to force your turn out— your knees should always be in line with your feet. If your feet angle out further than where your kneecaps are pointing, you’re doing damage to the joints. Maybe only slightly, but it usually catches up with one.

It’s my understanding that the hip sockets allow only a certain amount of turn out and for most of us it’s far from the ideal demanded by ballet. The best thing to do is to work well, within the range you have, for the best possible placement. The idea of being able to increase the amount of one’s turnout is a fallacy; all you can do is use what you have to the fullest.

2) Turning out the legs can happen by clenching the buttocks together, but rotating the legs outward is best done by the muscles you can feel at the top of the back of the thigh, just below the buttocks. It’s hard to isolate these and learn to use only them and not bunch up the larger gluteal muscles. Here's the trick that helped me find them.