N.Y. OR L.A?
WHICH IS BETTER?

Getting the feel for which city meets the needs of dancers has always fascinated us.  When we talked to entry-level dancers in N.Y.C., we got some surprising answers. Out of 30 respondents, 3 plan to move to L.A. within a year and 6 were considering it but needed more info before making a decision.  Here are the comments:

THE UPSIDE OF DANCING IN N.Y. IS:

1. Bway Dance Center and the amazing teacher/choreographers.
2. City is home to top talent and Broadway opportunities.
3. Lots of chances to show my talent.
4. Dancing with the legends of dance.  Goes deeper than L.A.
5. Competing against some of the best dancers in the world.
6. Being in an exciting environment.

THE DOWNSIDE OF DANCING IN N.Y. IS:

1. Being away from family.
2. Fewer opportunities than L.A.
3. Auditions are hard to come by.
4. Dirty subways.
5. Too much competition.
6. High cost of living.
7. Narrowmindedness about body types.
8. Too many distractions to get caught up in.
9. Commuting into NYC from N.J.
10. Not having agent representation.

HERE’S WHAT I HEAR ABOUT L.A. THAT APPEALS TO ME:

1. More commercial opportunities.  Great lifestyle.
2. So cool.
3. More styles of hip hop.
4. The classes are the best in the world.
5. More contemporary choreographers seem to live in L.A.
6. It’s a step up from N.Y.
7. Easy to make connections.

HERE’S WHAT I HEAR ABOUT L.A. THAT WORRIES ME:

1. Earthquakes.  Fans of celebs.
2. Too many people trying to do the same thing.
3. More focus on the “look” instead of talent.
4. Stereotyping of artists.  Superficiality.
5. Dance community is very small.  You only move there for commercial reasons.
6. Cut throat.  Only the strong survive.
7. Not good for beginners.
8. Traffic.  Fakeness of people.
9. Most jobs are geared towards hip hop.
10. Everything is too spread out.

COMING HERE SOON: FEEDBACK FROM DANCERS IN L.A.

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