Is FaceNation the new improved MySpace for music?
Hi there,
I've seen it time and time again from other acts in the last year but now it's happened to me - a show is pulled by a venue because there are not enough pre-bookings - ouch! Is that fair? I understand the venue doesn't want to lose money, but surely there should be a certain amount of faith and trust in the act they've booked too? With the gig I was part of, stacks of people said: 'But I was just about to book tickets!' or 'I was going to buy tickets at the door!'. How many of us are organised enough to book tickets to an event more than eight days before - because in our case the venue pulled the plug a whole week and a day before?
Three years ago I would commonly get booked for Christmas events and weddings at least a year before the big day. Nowadays it is no surprise to get a request for a booking two to three weeks before a function. What is going on? Is the ability to get a message out to people in seconds putting an end to pre planning? We cherry pick our tunes and don't like to commit to buying an entire album from our music artists. Even our retailers are popping up instead of instead planting roots. Are we always looking over our shoulders for the coolest way to fill every inch of our lives and refusing to pledge our time until we're sure we have the best possible date secured in our hectic event-filled lives?
Well I'm way more full of questions today than answers, but I'd love to hear what you think. Are we turning into a bunch of commitment phobes?
So, 'till next time, whenever that may be (maybe I'll text you),
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi folks,
This blog comes from a professional dancer in the US, via Aussie
muso Lloyd Gyi - just replace 'dancer' with 'singer' and it is spot
on! I couldn't have said it better myself, so I didn't try:
"15 Truths About Being a Professional Dancer"
written by Melanie Doskocil, original post found at her
blog, Ballet Pages
1. Dance is hard. – No dancer ever became successful riding
on their natural born talents only. Dancers are artists and athletes.
The world of dance today is akin to an extreme sport. Natural ability
and talent will only get us so far. Dancers must work hard and
persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears
and sometimes blood to have the honor and pleasure of performing on
stage.
2. You won’t always get what you want. – We don’t
always get the role we wanted, go on pointe when we want, get the job
we want, hear the compliments we want, make the money we want, see
companies run the way we want, etc, etc. This teaches us
humility and respect for the process, the art form and the masters we
have chosen to teach us. The faster we accept this, the faster we can
get on with being brilliant. We’ll never be 100% sure it will
work, but we can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.
3. There’s a lot you don’t know. – There is always
more a dancer can learn. Even our least favorite teachers,
choreographers and directors can teach us something. The minute we
think we know it all, we stop being a valuable asset.
4. There may not be a tomorrow. – A dancer never knows
when their dance career will suddenly vanish: a company folds, career
ending injury, car accident, death…Dance every day as if it is the
final performance. Don’t save the joy of dance for the stage.
Infuse even your routine classroom exercises with passion!
5. There’s a lot you can’t control. – You can’t
control who hires you, who fires you, who likes your work, who
doesn’t, the politics of being in a company. Don’t waste your
talent and energy worrying about things you can’t control. Focus on
honing your craft, being the best dancer you can be. Keep an open
mind and a positive attitude.
6. Information is not true knowledge. – Knowledge
comes from experience. You can discuss a task a hundred times,
go to 1000 classes, but unless we get out there and perform we will
only have a philosophical understanding of dance. Find opportunities
to get on stage. You must experience performance firsthand to
call yourself a professional dancer.
7. If you want to be successful, prove you are valuable. –
The fastest way out of a job is to prove to your employer they don’t
need you. Instead, be indispensable. Show up early, know your
material, be prepared, keep your opinions to yourself unless they are
solicited and above all be willing to work hard.
8. Someone else will always have more than you/be better than
you. – Whether it’s jobs or money or roles or trophies, it
does not matter. Rather than get caught up in the drama about what
others are doing around you, focus on the things you are good at, the
things you need to work on and the things that make you happiest as a
dancer.
9. You can’t change the past. – Everyone has a past.
Everyone has made mistakes, and everyone has glorious moments they
want to savor. “Would you keep a chive in your tooth just because
you enjoyed last night’s potato?” Boston Common TV
Series. Dance is an art form that forces us to concentrate
on the present. To be a master at dance we have be in the moment; the
minute the mind wanders, injuries happen. If they do, see #12.
10. The only person who can make you happy is you. –
Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy. The root of our
happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves, not from how
much money we make, what part we were given, what company we dance
for, or how many competitions we won. Sure these things
can have effects on our mood, but in the long run it’s who we are
on the inside that makes us happy.
11. There will always be people who don’t like you. –
Dancers are on public display when they perform and especially in
this internet world, critics abound. You can’t be everything to
everyone. No matter what you do, there will always be someone
who thinks differently. So concentrate on doing what you know
in your heart is right. What others think and say about you
isn’t all that important. What is important is how you feel
about yourself.
12.Sometimes you will fail. – Sometimes, despite our best
efforts, following the best advice, being in the right place at the
right time, we still fail. Failure is a part of life. Failure can be
the catalyst to some of our greatest growth and learning experiences.
If we never failed, we would never value our successes. Be willing to
fail. When it happens to you (because it will happen to you), embrace
the lesson that comes with the failure.
13. Sometimes you will have to work for free. – Every
professional dancer has at one time or another had to work without
pay. If you are asked to work for free, be sure that you are really
ok with it. There are many good reasons to work for free, and there
are just as many reasons not to work for free. Ask yourself if the
cause is worthy, if the experience is worth it, if it will bring you
joy. Go into the situation fully aware of the financial agreement and
don’t expect a hand out later.
14. Repetition is good. Doing the same thing over and over
expecting a different result is insane. – If you keep doing
what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
If you keep doing the bare minimum of required classes, don’t
complain to your teacher when you don’t move up to the next level.
If you only give the bare minimum in your company, be happy staying
in the corps. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must
push yourself beyond your self-imposed limitations.
15. You will never feel 100% ready. – Nobody ever feels
100% ready when an opportunity arises. Dancers have to be
willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to
balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from
trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must
have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest
opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones,
which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it."
See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
