Would you mind terribly if I joined you in doing that. You've accomplished so much. For someone to try to take that from you is obscene, in my book.
Sure, you can join!
We have a symposium begun at the university that I'm a key element in, that takes graduating students into a forum atmosphere where myself and other professionals go over with the undergrads their goals and brainstorm, network, and plan with them where they can go and how they can keep building toward their goals. I'm SO excited to be a part of that, since this was the brainchild of the department director.
A few of the students have expressed a real interest in starting their own studios, and have taken some key roads into understanding the theoretical models of how to make their goals a reality....they've double majored in both Dance and Business Management, or in Dance and Marketing.
What gets me, though, is that all the students understand the reality of post-grad work, and that they will need to live in crowded apartments together, and start out for more years than their peers in other industries without a living wage. I know how hard that is. When we hear people who give us financial advice like buying a home or saving up $50,000 to invest or use as a down payment, we laugh until we cry. For a working professional in the arts, it's downright impossible to save that much, even when you have a solid gig.
Unless you're a trust fund kid. Then it's easier. But that would be applicable in all fields of interest, then.
Anyway, I keep thinking about what would have happened if working dancers (who are mostly non-union), earned minimum wage for a 40 hour work week. First, we would feel like we were living like royalty. Second, the bulk of opportunities likely would be gone since there is little money in the dance industry as a whole. At least back when I was depending on that income and serving food to survive.
That's the code I'd like to break for future dancers. A living wage for a substantial portion of the industry.
