While I've known it to be true for a long time, I've recently been reminded of the fact that he NYC dance community is so incredibly interconnected that it's really ignorant to imagine that its just YOU versus the industry. I encounter this mentality on a weekly basis from dancers, who seem to think that the business is biased against them, or harbors a personal vendetta. Unless you have done some serious bridge burning(and I mean SERIOUS), your lack of work probably has more to do with "networking neglect"...I actually ought to coin that phrase!! Your circle of dancer friends and contacts are a far more effective means of finding gigs than any cattle call you'll find on Craig's list or elsewhere. The subscription price to this valuable info, is you being just as vigilant about helping the dancers YOU know get work. The more you help other people survive in the city, the more surprise opportunities will appear at your door. I guess its just the Golden Rule of Showbiz, if you want others to think of you when a gig comes up...well then, you better start doing the same. I know I've harped on this one before, but it comes up frequently in response to a comment I hear from people A LOT. People always say to me, "damn, you know everybody!" Actually, this statement is far from true, and yet, at the same time, it does illustrate an important fact. I do have friends who are amazing breakdancers, classical ballerinas, and crunchy moderns LOL...but I ALSO keep the company of lawyers, artists, actors, producers, casting agents and composers. My point is, I might get a call from my lawyer friend who wants to talk to a producer...and I hook it up. There might be an aspiring director who needs to film breakdancers in a scene...and I can set it up. And etc, etc, etc...but all this would be impossible if I just isolated myself in my own little commercial dance world, and only worried about what auditions I needed to go to, or what gigs I was right for. These things are important, but they don't help you build the kind of connections that can really help propel your career forward...OK, I'm out for now
Peace and Love,
R
