College dance leads to dead end

Dancers live for their art, but the clock runs out on their time

By Antonia Nunes

Muscles strain in time to music; feet ache and point while flexibility, strength and control are tested for just a split second in one rotation of a fouette.

Translated from French foutte literally means "whipped," as a dancers body turns on one supporting leg jutting the opposite leg out, around and back into the body. This term is one of thousands of movements that dancers train their bodies to memorize from a young age.

In the cut-throat world of competitive dance, not only is age a commodity, it's a requirement, and Chico is no exception.

Across college campuses dance is revered as an art form and as a sport. There are university dance teams, studios with college-aged competitive groups and companies who perform on a regular basis.

But in a dance world where youth is priceless and necessary for success, what is the point of college teams or companies? Most of them will go on after graduation never to dance semi-professionally ever again. . .unlike other art forms.

Painters paint, and with only arthritis or poor eye-sight to stop them age makes no difference to their art. Like fine wine, their expertise simply grows with age. All the same, musicians, singers and actors all pursue their craft knowing that regardless of age they will continue their art throughout life.

But dance is a different story, because with age comes less chances of "making it" in the business; not only because dance is the only art form that is considered a sport, it is also an art form with a time limit.

At a single professional dance convention in Sacramento, studios will ravel from across the West Coast to take classes from California's top choreographers, as well as participate in a competition at the end of the weekend.

As a college student dancing and competing at conventions, it is a little unnerving to dance next to talented 13-and 14-year-olds in the advanced rooms. Not just because these pre-pubescent teen diva's have better technique than I did four years ago, but because most of them will probably not go on to the professional dance world and most of them don't see time running out.

But let me put this in perspective. Most dancers who go to these conventions have been dancing since the time they could walk. Since the age of three they have been dancing nearly everyday with sincere dedication. But they also will end their dancing career sometime after high school, maybe college, if they are lucky.

So it begs the question, is dance a dead-end sport?

Senior Jaqueline Carambat is one of those dancers at Chico State who has been dancing since she could walk; for over 17 years. She was lucky enough to continue her career throughout college because Chico has a dedicated dance community with long running shows such as Keeping Dance Alive and Chico Dance Theatre and teams such as Expressions and studios such as Hype and Chico Dance Creek.

Currently, Carambat dedicates at least twenty hours to dance a week voluntarily, including practices, meeting and choreography, she said. But after she graduates, all of that will stop and for her, it "hasn't sunk in yet."

Despite avenues that might lead to a career in dance, like teaching, money has never been a consideration, Carambat said. Her "desire to dance overwhelmed her desire of doing something for money."

But she recognizes her dance path has a time limit, and hopes that other young dancers are in it for the love of the art, not so they can be on top reality TV shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" because, let's face it, "most of them won't," Carambat said.

It's hard to say what drives a dancer; the competition aspect or the movement of the body to form physical art. But I would say, as a dancer, it isn't either. It is instinct and necessity-like breathing. Any flat surface can be danced on, any musical sound can be danced to and even if the clock runs out a dancer will always have that.

HYPE Dance