Business Smarts: Altering Your Lifestyle

To conclude our series on Zulu Gremlin’s H4 business class, we’re touching on his insight on the need to alter your lifestyle. Any serious dancer knows that you have to make sacrifices in order to pursue dance professionally. Unfortunately, many aspiring dancers aren’t committed enough to commit. Their diets stay unhealthy. Their work ethic remains languid. As a result, their skill level plateaus. They will be less prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come their way. It’s sad to see these dancers frustrated.

The key is to persevere. This quality is at the heart of altering your lifestyle. According to Grem, alteration involves adding training, self-education, and a commitment to realign your abilities with business interests. An inspiring example of this concept in action are the poppers of the LXD as seen in the 2010 TED conference. There’s been much buzz about the group since they became exposed to a larger audience outside of the street dance world via the conference. Now, they’re poised to reach a global audience with their upcoming performance on the Oscars this Sunday, March 7, 2010. Madd Chadd, Jsmooth, Frantick, Aja, and Shonnie Solomon are just a few of the poppers who graced the TED stage. They exhibited some of the highest level of artistry in their individual styles in this TED perfomance. And they are a part of a larger movement to bring street dance outside of the usual context. We wouldn’t be surprised if each of these dancers have made significant alterations in their lifestyle to reach their current state.

Are we committed to pursuing our passion at all costs? That’s a question you have to ask yourself if you’re considering moving into becoming a professional dancer. For some, there are higher priorities whether they are education, families, relationships or a calling in another career. For those who feel called to dance professionally, then everything must be leveled towards this goal. The quicker you alter your lifestyle, the less personal resistance you’ll have from other areas of your life. You’ll be freer to take on opportunities that come your way. After all, it takes time for any dancer to grow, mature, and excel at their craft. The more you can free up your schedule to do this, the easier it will be to get closer to supporting yourself financially through dance.

One final note. Altering your lifestyle doesn’t mean changing who you are at your core. You’re simply changing circumstances and schedules to maximize your potential as a dancer. It doesn’t require removing good, worthwhile qualities in your character. In fact, taking this step can only help build perseverance, patience, and confidence in yourself as you commit to a potentially life-changing decision.