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3 steps to becoming a professional dancer

A famous film choreographer explains what it takes to excel as a professional dancer and the steps needed to get there.
Longinus Fernandes .by Longinus Fernandes

Do you know what it takes to excel as a professional dancer?

To begin with, professional dancers display choreographed body movements and can appear either in theatre productions, TV shows, movies or dance recitals. Every dancer must be able to tell stories and display emotions with their bodies through various styles like ballet, hip hop and modern dance.

Dancers are also likely to pursue other dance-related professions after they can no longer perform professionally.

Fierce competition exists among professional dancers for available jobs. There is always a risk of injury in this career, as it is a very demanding one. Your working hours are highly irregular and may include days of rehearsals and evenings of performance, seven days a week. Travel is often required as a professional dancer, sometimes to exotic destinations. Tours may last for months on end away from home.

What do you need?

For starters, you must begin your dance training in childhood, which can continue throughout one’s life. Training usually starts as early as the age of five years in order for the dancer to gain enough experience to find professional work.

As a professional dancer, you must be creative, understand team work and have tremendous confidence in yourself. Apart from learning dance, one must also record high levels of mental stamina and physical endurance.

The 3 steps to turning pro

Step 1: Begin training

Most dancers start their training before they become adolescents and audition for full time work by the tender age of 16. Even after a dancer finds employment, training must continue throughout the dancer’s entire life.

Many students attend dance training programmes in their teens. Private dance or performing arts schools and institutes can provide the experience needed to gain acceptance into an advanced dance school. It is important to periodically enrol in workshops to get the added advantage of different perspectives.

Step 2: Acquire knowledge

Although post-secondary education is not required for a dancing career, specific dance styles or programmes can allow students to explore various dance genres, or concentrate on a specific discipline. Performance opportunities are often available to give students practical experience.

Step 3: Stay contented, conditioned and strong

A dancer’s job is physically demanding and requires long and irregular hours. Dancers typically must stay in top physical condition through regular exercise and training. Dancing is extremely taxing on the body, and a dancer may spend 8 hours or more in class or practicing.

Dancers have one of the most or the highest numbers of on-job injuries, so it is important to keep the body healthy and strong in order to continue working. Dance is the best way to feel that you are working without actually doing so! I always tell my students: “Always do what you love and love what you do.”

Longinus Fernandes is a nationally and internationally acclaimed dancer who has choreographed such hit songs as the Academy Award winning ‘Jai Ho’ from the film Slumdog Millionaire.

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His first best dance experience

Choreographer Longinus Fernandes talks about directing the dances for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is earning rave reviews.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Longinus FernandesC​horeographer Longinus Fernandes is excited and happy – and with good reason, because his work in the just-released The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is being appreciated in all quarters. After working with the likes of Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and doing the choreography for a Chinese film My Amazing Trip To India, Longinus is really upbeat about his latest Hollywood outing.

In the sequel to John Madden’sThe Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Longinus has brought his unique style and fabulous moves for a special wedding sequence in the film. “What makes it so special is that I got to work with some of the best actors in the world, like Richard Gere, Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Lillette Dubey, and Dev Patel and got them to dance to the beats of the Hindi film song ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’,” Longinus grins.

He explains how he became a part of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. “Since I had done the choreography for Slumdog Millionaire, Eat Pray Love, Bollywood Hero and a couple of ad films for the India Take One Production house, I suppose they (the makers) were very comfortable with my working style. I personally feel blessed to be repeated for their projects again and again. I must mention Tabrez Noorani for being instrumental in shaping my career internationally. He actually makes it a point that I get on board for everything that demands choreography and this is what happened when the planning of this venture began. To my luck, I happened to be in Mumbai when they called me for a meeting and after that there was no turning back.”

The brief Longinus got from John Madden was a straightforward one. “All he said was, ‘This is a wedding sequence. There will be a few awkward jigs initially but ultimately I want it to look stunning.’ He said he was sure I would do my best to make it look special. I replied, ‘You got it,’” he says, adding that working with John Madden was simply fantastic.

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Creating a dance sequence is always a job by itself, especially when the choreographer has to work with various artists and numerous back up dancers. The entire cast and were so busy with their respective schedules that Longinus and his associates had to wait three weeks before they could see everybody together. “I had stand-ins for everybody and staged the act to perfection and displayed it to John, who loved it so much that he decided to extend the sound track by a minute. He made it a point to be present for almost every rehearsal and ensured that every artist would be present as well.”

​Longinus says he loved catching up with Dev Patel, who he knows since their time together on Slumdog Millionaire. “He has improved tremendously. When I first met him, he was so shy and now Longinus Fernandes and Dev Patelhe is so outspoken. I was very happy to watch the effort he took to get all the moves right…he has a peculiar style, which will surely catch on sooner or later. Tina Desai just loves dancing and enjoys every bit of it. She is also blessed with a wonderful body that compliments her dance moves.” But the biggest surprise was Richard Gere, who was very punctual and diligent with rehearsals.

He suggested the song ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ which Madden immediately liked, but took some time to get approvals for. “Honestly, working with him (Madden) has been a wonderful experience. Despite a challenging shoot, especially in the cold weather, he made sure everyone was very well taken care of with heaters, bonfires and hot coffee. The shoot went off very well under him,” Longinus says, adding that the unit was “stunned with how exuberantly Judi Dench and Maggie Smith danced.”

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Longinus goes the Hollywood way…again

Choreographer Longinus Fernandes is working on his next Hollywood project after two big hits – this time, with the Wachowski siblings.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It would seem like Hollywood can’t get enough of apna Longinus Fernandes, choreographer and overall great dancer.

After working with the likes of filmmakers Danny Boyle (on Slumdog Millionaire) and John Madden (on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2), Longinus choreographed a Chinese film. He is now back with another Hollywood venture with the well-known Wachowski siblings – Lana and Andy.

Longinus confesses to being “excited and thrilled” about his new Hollywood project. “The artists and the crews [in Hollywood] are always well prepared and exceptional [at their jobs]. Working with the Wachowski siblings was a dream come true for me. The couple of weeks that I worked on the venture gave me some of the best moments of my life,” he says.

Tabrez Noorani of India Take One Productions brought Longinus on board for the Wachowskis’ new project, the Netflix series Sense 8. The siblings are currently shooting the series at a number of locations in Mumbai. Bollywood actors Anupam Kher, Purab Kohli and Tena Desae are part of the cast.

Longinus says, “I was ecstatic when I was approached by the Wachowskis. I am lucky to have always been blessed with good work and good people. The song sequence [that I choreographed] is in English and Hindi and I have mixed Bollywood dance moves with some hip-hop and jazz. The makers wanted me to choreograph the song in such a way that it had a blend of both Indian and Western dance forms. They wanted typical Bollywood moves in the song sequence and so I included desi moves from bhangra and combined classical dances, too.”

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