Singing: Why it Can be a Dancer's Best Friend

You may be focused on your dance career and care about nothing else right now, but you may be missing out on a secret weapon. If you haven’t thought about learning to sing, now is the time to put it on your “to do” list, especially if you love musical theater.


Benefits of Being Vocal

More Audition Opportunities.

There are a lot of other men and women out there who want to dance professionally. The competition is fierce, and there are only so many parts each year for all of the dancers out there. Once you know how to sing, you can go to all of the musical theater, theme park, cruise, and other auditions that call for “dancers who sing.” This opens up your audition opportunities by the hundreds.  Radio personality Elaine Paige interviewed dance choreographer Anthony Van Laast, the choreographer in the stage and film versions of Mama Mia to name just one of the many hit shows credited to his name.

Anthony told Elaine how important it is nowadays for musical theatre dancers to be able to sing as well as dance and also for singers to be able to dance. He went on to explain that with the tight budgets nowadays in the theatre and film industry, producers can no longer afford to employ dancers and singers and it is easier to get a job if you can do both.


Make More Money

Once you land a job as a dancer and a singer, you will make more money. Not only do the unions usually call for you to be paid more when you provide several talents on the set of professional productions, but there are also separate recordings that go on while you are dancing. You’ll get paid for your dancing AND your recorded voice.

 Opportunity to Travel

Think about all of the great musicals and performances going on across the world. If you can sing and dance, you may find yourself doing a European tour, performing on a cruise to Greece, on location for a movie musical or television commercial, and more. While being in a dance company gives you the opportunity to perform worldwide, why not increase your chances of having more travel opportunities by learning to sing?

Express Yourself in a New Way

Sing in church, participate in holiday caroling, sing a baby to sleep, sing to music while you drive. Have fun. 
And who knows? You may find that you have a fantastic voice and end up getting more work singing than dancing! Give singing a shot. You have nothing to lose, and many, many benefits to gain.