Life as a professional dancer is tough, so to help keep you motivated we asked Prue Skene for a few encouraging words. Awarded a CBE in 2000 for her services to dance, Prue is an experienced arts manager and has had a long association with Rambert Dance Company.





“Anyone on the threshold of a career in dance must be hugely talented and know that they can do nothing else. The years of training, the hours of hard work and the pain won’t have put you off and you will be determined to succeed. To have such certainty about what you want to do in life seems a true gift to the rest of us who flaff about wondering how to earn a living, and you wouldn’t have come through the years of dance school unless you were able to accomplish it.



So think of yourself with confidence and don’t be deflected by doubters. Go to each audition determined to get the job, but pick yourself up quickly if it doesn’t happen. Something, somewhere will happen in the end.



If I had to give just two tips to dancers they would be:



Remember the old adage about being nice to people on the way up because you’re going to meet them on the way down. Even if there is no downward slide – but it is a precarious career – being nice is always preferable to being horrible!



Show an interest in life in general. However consuming your dance career is, it will end relatively early and you may want to retrain. In any case the more rounded a person you are the more your own creativity will benefit. Go to the theatre, visit art galleries, read books, keep up to date with current affairs. The best artists are the most curious ones.



Good luck!”

Known for intercultural and interdisciplinary collaborations, Akram Khan Dance Company is challenging ideas about traditional dance around the world. Rooted in both classical Kathak and modern dance training, the company strives to communicate ideas that are intelligent, courageous and new.

We caught up with co-founder and company producer Farooq Chaudhry for his thoughts on what qualities and abilities you need to become a better producer or artistic director.

Photo: Liang Xunke

Here's what he said you need:



Love/passion

Being a bit of a maverick

Work unbelievably hard

Endurance

Will power

Strength

Grace

Patience

Flexibility

Consistency

Perseverance

Optimism

Curiosity

The need for high achievement

The ability to recognise and admit to mistakes

Enjoy risk

No fear of change

A good listener

A good communicator

A fighter

Charm

Luck

Good taste

Precision

Good instincts

Good judgment

Logical thinking

Lateral thinking

Honesty

Sense of fairness

Integrity

Generosity

Clarity

Humility

Sense of humour

Not to panic in a crisis

Authenticity

Pride

Openness

A good imagination

Knowing that not all decisions will make you popular

To be able to command respect at the moment when you are not popular

Curiosity

A sense of adventure

Fearlessness

Empathy

Be grateful

Avoid ownership





And if you don't have all these then try to find them in your team.

Stuart Barr, Musical Director & Singing Coach, worked with a chorus of Performing Arts Fund grant winners in 2010 as they prepared to perform as part of a BBC Prom celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday. Here Stuart shares his perspective on life in a professional chorus line and how to make the most of the opportunity.



"There is no such thing as luck in this world. It’s all about making the most out of any opportunity thrown at you.



That’s as true for musical theatre as it is for any other walk of life! As far as I’m concerned any chorus singer should make sure they know the principal roles, even if they’re not an official understudy. Why? Because when, on occasion, disaster strikes, illness intervenes or transport breaks down, it’s you who could save the day.



Witness the story of Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story composer). He was an assistant conductor in his early 20s, which meant doing little more than carrying scores to the podium. But one day the booked conductor was taken ill shortly before a performance to be broadcast live to the nation. Disaster was averted because Bernstein said that he knew the pieces well and could conduct the concert. He did just that, became a household name overnight, and went on to become perhaps the greatest American conductor and composer of the last century.



Was he lucky? No. Because he’d practised and memorised those pieces in case he ever got the chance to conduct them.



Moving bang up to date, freelance arts producer Kate Jones and I were in charge of the St George’s Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square again this year, with a brief to celebrate English musical theatre. We created a fabulous line-up of established professionals (Alfie Boe, Lara Pulver, Matt Rawle, Annalene Beechey and Tam Mutu) and a chorus of students from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) musical theatre course, singing all my favourite songs from Lionel Bart to Lloyd Webber.

Alfie Boe wasn’t able to do the soundcheck, so I asked the RAM chorus if anyone could sing in Bring Him Home. I was thrilled to see several hands shoot up, and I had to choose who got to sing it with the orchestra in Trafalgar Square before a few hundred bystanders prior to the concert! A student called Leo took the moment and just went for it, gaining spontaneous applause and wolf-whistles from the audience. I found it very moving, for he seemed to grow as a performer at that moment as it dawned on him he was singing live with an orchestra in Trafalgar Square!



Fortunately for us, none of our soloists were taken ill. But if anything had gone wrong and there was a chorus member who’d shrewdly learned the songs and studied the performances, then London could just have witnessed the birth of a new star...



So, the moral of the story is to make the most out of every situation you’re in, including when you’re in the chorus. Make sure you are that person that could save everyone else’s day. Even if the opportunity never arises to show off what you’ve learned, at the least you’ll have learned massively out of watching and listening to those more experienced than you!"