WHAT DOES A DEGREE IN DANCE GET YOU?
With Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s 4th annual “See and Be Seen” event taking place on Sunday, October 6th, we sat down with Executive Director, Anne Bak Marine, to dive into why she thinks getting a degree in dance makes sense. See and Be Seen provides dancers in 9th-12th grade, and their families, with the opportunity to explore all of the college dance programs in Michigan, audition for program placement and scholarships, and participate in panel discussions about careers in dance and how to maintain positive mental health.
When did you decide that you wanted to have a career in dance?
When I was in middle school, I decided that I was either going to be a professional dancer or the President of the United States. And believe it or not, there are many similarities in the skill sets needed for both jobs. You must be disciplined, incredibly hard-working, resilient in the face of criticism and adversity, and a creative thinker.
Were your parents on board with your career plans in dance?
My dad’s famous last words were “many are called but few are chosen.” I took that to mean that I was going to be one of the chosen few! That statement made me work very hard to achieve my goals. My dad was a talented baseball pitcher who played for the University of Detroit. He was invited to attend spring training for the MLB’s Detroit Tigers but never got to go. He was needed in the family hardware business when his dad suffered a health crisis. I think because he missed his chance and knew how bad it felt to fall short of your dream, he didn’t want me to experience the same thing. But, resilience, remember?! Dancers know how to bounce back. I was fortunate, though, to be offered a contract with Eisenhower Dance Detroit right out of college. I danced with the company for 10 years! It was great, and I was living my dream. I seriously couldn’t wait to get out of bed every morning to get to the studio to work with my colleagues to create great art!
Where did you go to college? How did you get there?
I credit my dance classes with giving me the discipline to be a good student in high school. I competed in Western Michigan University’s Medallion Scholarship Program and received a Board of Trustees scholarship which covered all of my tuition for four years of college. I would be lying if I told you that my parents didn’t have serious concerns about my decision to major in dance. But since I earned the scholarship, I chose the major. I had an incredible experience at WMU and am so grateful to have landed there for my BFA. It was absolutely the right fit for me.
Can you connect the dots on the timeline between your role as a dancer with EDD and your current position as Executive Director?
Absolutely. As a young dancer in the company, I had an interest in arts administration and asked Laurie Eisenhower, EDD’s founder and Artistic Director at the time, if I could help her out in the office. I worked as her Administrative Assistant then moved into serving as the founding Director for the School of EDD. Then I moved into the role of Company Manager then Director of Operations. After taking a few years off to focus on my family, when my kids were little, I ran into Stephanie Pizzo in a yoga class. She and I had danced together during my entire career with EDD. She had just taken over as the company’s Artistic Director and was interviewing Executive Director candidates. The rest is history. I’ve been working in this role for 5 years now. I was incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside two outstanding mentors, Laurie, and EDD’s Executive Director, Maury Okun.
What do you tell concerned parents who want their young dancers to have a “back up plan”?
Well, my backup plan is still to become the President of the United States…just kidding. I am convinced that any young dancer who goes on to college or university to study dance is acquiring the skills necessary to be successful in a wide array of fields. It’s hard to land a job as a performing dancer, but dancers are resourceful and are able to parlay their skills into other jobs in dance…of which there are MANY! Or use those skills to become wildly successful in another career field. The bottom line is that many college students graduate with degrees in a certain field and end up with a career doing something else. Dancers are not unique in sometimes choosing to pivot (we do that really well…it’s a dance step!) to other careers. For example, the co-founder and CEO of Apolla Performance Wear, Brianne Zborowski, had a great dance career performing in LA for many years. She founded her company to provide specialty socks for dancers but expanded her company’s offerings during Covid to “everyone with feet.” She appeared on the TV show, Shark Tank, and won! EDD and Apolla began a partnership together just this season.
So, what does a degree in dance get you?
It prepares you for a career in the dance ecosystem. It also provides you with the skills necessary to be successful not only in dance but in just about any other career path you may choose to take. I don’t like calling these “soft” skills. I think they should be called “foundational” skills because these skills lay the groundwork for technical skills, in dance or another field, to be layered upon. These foundational skills include:
Teamwork
Persistence
Creative Problem Solving
Work Ethic
Time management
Resourcefulness
Adaptability
Resolve
Dedication…and the list goes on!