How To Use YouTube To Showcase Your Talent
Happy Saturday happy people. Yesterday was the season 4 premiere of the web-series Dance Showdown. For those who aren't too familiar, a web series is pretty much a show that airs on YouTube. YouTube has grown so much, beyond a place to simply post your home videos (although there's still a place for that, and you should start there if you're trying to make a name for yourself). It is the home of full fledged productions that can lead to opportunities on traditional TV if that's your goal.
I've mentioned on a number of occasions (here, here, and here) that using social media to your advantage to make a name for yourself is certainly the way of the future. Just imagine the number of applications that 'So You Think You Can Dance' gets (doesn't mean you shouldn't try), but you owe it to yourself to research all the other opportunities and platforms where you can showcase your talent and potentially boost your dream career.
Dance Showdown this season is somewhat like 'Dancing With The Stars', however the stars are that of the digital kind, aka YouTube sensations. What does that tell you? Get your behind on YouTube. Seriously, get over the nerves, the nitty gritty, and just start. Everyone starts somewhere. So what if you don't have the latest Canon Rebel camera that a lot of YouTubers utilize (retails for about $800!!), use what you have, and once you start gaining traction, see some AdSense dollars rolling in, then you can invest further.
One of the judges on Dance Showdown is the Canadian choreographer Laurieann Gibson. most notably known from P Diddy's reality show, 'Making The Band', where she was a coach. She also choreographed for the movie 'Beyond The Lights' which I talk more about here. She also shared some encouraging words with Debbie Allen's students at her Dance Academy Hip Hip Intensive Master class, which included, your gift is what will allow you to take over the world and be huge. This of course entails that you use your gift. To see Gibson teach the class, watch the video below.
In a recent interview with Essence Gibson discloses that her everyday mantra is "Dream Warriors, we don't budge." Isn't that what life is about? Pursuing your dreams? Once you attain one goal, you stretch yourself and set a newer higher goal. This is how we grow. And be relentless about it. Don't budge or be easily defeated. Defeat is a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. So don't give up. Be encouraged, and as always,
Be blessed!