An Opinion Article

As a competition dancer born in the early 2000s, I have come to notice some patterns within the dance world and I am honestly unsure where they originate from. I have always noticed that my generation of dancers is on another level. They can do more turns, and higher leaps, and incorporate insane tumble tricks that have never been seen. 

Why the early 2000s?

Of course, the level of dance increases with each generation but I see an even sharper and more dramatic talent increase in dancers who were born in the early 2000s age. Why is this? I believe social media plays a large part. 

I was born at a time when the internet and social media were just beginning to boom. The first iPhone came out in 2007 and Facebook began in 2004. Social media changed many parts of life and dance is no exception. I believe teachers and students sharing themselves and their techniques caused this huge improvement across dancers in the early 2000s generation. Before this, dance information stayed within a studio or a town, now students of all ages could see all the new tricks and tips. 

Dance Moms?

Then, Dance Moms aired in 2011. A regular Junior age (9-11) team can do a mix of tumbling, acrobatics, turning, jumping, etc., learn their dances within a week, and win. Those born in the early 2000s were the same age as these kids and could watch them live every week. Dance competitions were booming and the show was just the cherry on top of a vastly growing dance industry. 

Now, these early 2000s-born dancers are moving into the dance industry, bringing their new style of high-caliber tricks. These dancers are now inspiring the younger generations and accelerating their improvement. Now, dance is so much harder and you have to start training younger and younger to be successful. The level of dance continues to increase at a more rapid rate than before, and I believe social media is the catalyst of this. How will social media continue to affect young dancers? Is this a positive or negative for the dance community? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!