There are fields, arenas, diamonds, courts, tracks, and courses.
And then there are stages.
“Dance is just like any other kind of sport,” Allan Hancock College student Jowey Koltes told the Sun. “To play football, you always want to be dominant, you always want to get to the next level. It’s the same thing in dance. It might not look as aggressive, but it really is.”
Koltes trains year round, both in the studio and in the gym. Strength training plays an important role in a dancer’s regimen. It isn’t all cardio.
“I bench press for a lot of break dancing movements,” he explained. “I do a lot of push ups, crunches, that sort of stuff.”
One thing Koltes doesn’t have a lot of these days is free time, a drawback to having three routines in Hancock’s upcoming Dance Spectrum. The annual event will begin March 17. Though he’s been freestyling all his life, Koltes, 19, has only been involved in organized dancing for about 18 months. And he has no desire to slow down any time soon.
“I wish to pursue a career as a professional dancer,” he said. “I want to better myself, create contacts, network, and everything like that.”
As is the case in any sport, landing a career in dancing can be difficult and elusive. It requires countless hours of work, endless dedication, and a mastery of even the most tedious of movements, all while maintaining an artistic vision.
Dancing remains, above all, a vehicle for artistic expression.
“Our choreographers love it when we put our own flavor, style, and interpretation on the movements and make it something they haven’t even pictured,” Koltes said.
I’m sure Dancing with the Stars’ Carrie-Anne, Len, and Bruno would agree.
This article appears in Feb 3-10, 2011.