Over Thanksgiving break, I, like many others, watched the Macy's parade. Ever since I was young, I have always watched for one specific performance: the Radio City Rockettes. Famous for their precision dancing, it's safe to say that their annual Christmas Spectacular is a NYC staple. Having danced from a young age, I've done my fair share of research on them and the road to become one of the famous Rockettes. (For clarification purposes, the road ended when I realized that the average height is 5'8 and you need to be 5'6 to even audition).
While finding a job is a difficult and grueling process for most, I was especially reminded of the resources that dancers spend in finding a job as a pro. The very selective nature of the dance industry is a classic example of rent-seeking: dancers spend thousands of dollars and hours over their life in order to audition for a limited number of roles - with costs, of course. (For reference, the average estimated cost of putting a child through 15 years of ballet training is over $120,000). While the Rockettes have contracts that are longer than some (one-off contracts for some dancers can be stressful while they hop between gigs), just getting into a company is incredibly competitive. There are many specific requirements, starting with just physical requirements (such as height), but once you've cleared those, you still have to exhibit the best technique (which comes from training with the best, and training the most, with the best equipment), and have the right connections in order to get to the audition in the first place.
If we think about this like the college admissions process and Katie's post on how the resources spent on applying to college is an example of rent-seeking, perhaps there is a way to address some of the inefficiencies. While the Common App for colleges can reduce some administrative inefficiencies, the dance world lacks a "common" platform for the basic information on dancer training and statistics (maybe even a standard video of their technique?). Of course each company and agency has their own database, but putting out standard requirements for specific auditions can eliminate the dancers who see that they simply don't "make the cut," reducing the resources spent on transportation and audition fees.
In any case, the dancers who do make it have truly expended their resources to get where they are, so that viewers like us can enjoy their work - either live at a theater, or on a TV from the comfort of our own home.
