The start of Chloe Paix’s professional dancing career has been far from smooth sailing, but she has found a new and rewarding role close to home.
Having danced since the age of three, the 18-year-old had planned to perform on cruise ships after training fulltime at Conroy Performing Arts in Brisbane from 2019 to 2020.
Cruises are a popular entry into the industry for young dancers, but they have been put on hold due to COVID-19.
Chloe said the pandemic had been difficult for her as she had dedicated most of her life to dancing.
However, the job crisis had a silver lining as she was able to team up with her mother Leanne to teach Jazzercise at Nambour and Cooroy, where they share their passion for dance with locals.
“After doing fulltime training, cruise ship entertainment was supposed to be the first stop in a lengthy and established career in dance and the performing arts,” Chloe said.
“In the initial stages of lockdown, it was fun to do your 12-hour training days in the living room where you could just walk to the fridge for a snack and return to class.
“But as the weeks turned into months, I started to question whether all the time was worth it if there was nothing to return to.
“It’s hard to keep wanting something that currently doesn’t exist.
“I have trained for this career since I was three, so for it to then collapse and watch it sink, after working for a job for 16 years, to say it’s hard is an understatement.”
Chloe said working for her mum had been her saviour during the career pause.
“My saving grace in all of this has been jazzercise as it has kept me moving and surrounded me with the most amazing and inspiring women ever but also my creative works.”
Leanne said her daughter was one of many dancers forced to look for other work options.
“A lot of dancers are out of work and they are all going into do fitness because it is the next best thing for them.
“The dance world is populated with teachers so it can be hard to find somewhere to work.”
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Chloe has also been lucky enough to secure a job teaching at Studio 2 Dance in Nambour in the afternoons and works for her mum in the mornings.
Leanne has been in the industry for more than 30 years and teaching jazzercise for most of that time.
She said she had worked to break down the barriers and prove this style of dance was not “old fashioned”.
“A lot of people haven’t heard about (Jazzercise) and a lot of people still think it is in the generation of 100 years ago,” she said.
“It is dance fitness; it is based on jazz dance.”
Leanne said jazzercise routines were constructed by teaching different blocks of choreography and using repetition.
“We do strength, we do cardio, we do strike, we do interval fusion, we do everything. It is a lot of fun.”
Internationally, jazzercise is celebrating 51 years, after it was founded in Chicago by professional dancer Judi Sheppard.
For more information visit the Jazzercise Nambour and Cooroy Facebook page.
