Photo: Lee Gumbs
Tadario
PEOPLE: Where are you originally from and how old were you when you started dancing?I’m from Lisbon, Portugal, and I started dancing around 14 years old.
When did you realize that you wanted to dance professionally?About three to four years after I started. I was really young, but once I auditioned for a company in Portugal and started training with them, I understood that dancing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I worked with Jessie J and Nicole Scherzinger, and I started teaching a lot. I taught workshops internationally, which is huge for us dancers and choreographers. Then in 2013, I decided to move to the United States but I had to get an artist visa first. In order for me to afford it, I performed in a musical in Copenhagen for a year. I saved all my money from that year and paid for the visa and moved to the U.S. in 2014.
Diana Matos/Instagram
How old were you in 2014?I was 27, which is super late to move to L.A.
What’s the best advice you got early on that you still adhere to today?You only need a little bit of talent combined with an impeccable work ethic to succeed in this industry. Working in Europe taught me a different level of respect and work ethic, which has made me a better dancer. I’m very much that person in rehearsal that is super attentive, no matter what’s happening. If I hear the choreographer’s voice, everything stops. I really, really believe that has kept me booked throughout these years because I know I have talent but on top of that, I work really hard.
What did your schedule look like when you were first starting out?I would wake up super early and go to two or three castings, and maybe one audition. Then I would go to the studio and take all of the classes I could take, and get in everybody’s faces as much as possible. I would also try to get featured in dancing videos so I could get myself more out there. Then I would go to this bar and bartend for the rest of the night to make money to pay my rent. Early on, you’re not going to book jobs consistently. It was definitely a rough time.
Fast forward to today — this week: What does your schedule look like?Absolutely insane. I have eight-hour rehearsals for the job I’m assisting right now. I usually wake up around 7 or 8 a.m. I do an hour of yoga and then I sit down and answer emails. I get in my car, go to my rehearsal and once we’re finished, I still have to save about 45 minutes with the choreographer to make sure everything’s fine. I send call sheets and everything before I come back home and sleep. Six days straight of working wears you out. It’s been really busy this past month.
You were featured inCardi B’s music video for her song “Up.” What was that audition process like?Sean Bankhead, the choreographer, reached out to my agency to ask for the availabilities of different dancers and I was one of them. Years ago, I had auditioned for Sean for a Fifth Harmony project, and he’s been great. He’s been including me in his projects since then.
Would you say for top-tier artists, choreographers will choose the dancers they want versus holding auditions?For the most part. Holding really big auditions is kind of old school. What usually happens now is that you land an audition for perhaps a smaller artist, and if that choreographer likes you, then he or she will keep you for a few more years. Then, when a big job comes along and you’ve been consistent with your work and remained a good person to work with, the same choreographer will select you for these big gigs.
Once you get booked on a music video, what happens then? Do you get your schedule right away? Are you put in fittings? How long are the days?We get sent the days that we need to be available, and that’s what determines if you’re available or not to do the job. Once rehearsal starts, we get a little bit more information about fittings and we head to set to work on spacing for the shoot. We tend to get more information as time goes on.
How long does it usually take to shoot a music video?It depends on the project. If it’s really complex, it obviously takes longer but typically for a really good music video with high-level dancing, I would say two weeks minimum.
A lot of people are curious about how dancers get paid. Is it usually per job or can a dancer be on salary?Typically we get paid per day, but there’s a million things that can come into play that may affect how you get paid. If, for example, you’re dancing on a high platform — you would get hazard pay. Your rate can go up or down, depending on the conditions you are dancing in. Now, if we’re talking about a tour, you usually have a weekly rate and that’s something you agree to from the beginning.
How long do tours usually last and what do you pack?Tours depend on how big the artist is and how they want to do it. There are some tours where the artist will want to go for a month, come back for a while and then go back on the road for another month. ForJustin Timberlake, we were gone most of the time, so I got out of my apartment. I put my stuff in storage because it wasn’t worth paying rent for a whole year without being home.
Packing is the hardest thing ever, especially when you wear the same thing you have in your suitcase for the first few months and then you end up shopping. I would say, I typically pack two big suitcases for the first leg of a tour, which can be up to four or five months long.
How do you do laundry?It depends on the tour and how organized they are. With Justin, which to me was the most put-together tour ever, we had a system. We had these big laundry bags with our names and, depending on where we were staying, we would drop them off at reception in the morning. The tour manager would come, put it in a van and a runner would go do all of our laundry. By the time we would get to the venue to get ready for the show, we would have our bags back.
What’s a typical night on tour?With pop artists, it’s usually one show a night. If you’re doing a musical on Broadway or even a touring musical, you might do two shows a day. I’ve done that before, but a long time ago.
With big artists, it’s usually one show and you get to the venue around 5 p.m. You start getting ready, you eat, you come back, you get your makeup done, stretch and get dressed. Once the artists comes, we’ll do a prayer and then we start the show.
Alissa Rose
Right, like focus on growing, and you can use social media to show your progress.Absolutely. The reason why I’m saying this is because, in a lot of workshops and seminars, many choreographers are telling dancers to absolutely focus on social media. Now we have kids thinking that every day, all they have to do is create content. But meanwhile, you’re not even training to become a better dancer. By the time you get a job off of your social media, you’re not even ready for it. You have to strike a balance, but focusing on getting better should always come first.
How have you had to think about the longevity of your career? Dancing for so many years has to be really hard on your body.It is tough. You get to your mid-30s and it becomes really, really hard for you to continue to do jobs. I would say that 80 percent of dancers end up changing careers and doing something completely different, which is also pretty tough.
For me, because I’ve taught for so many years and I love to choreograph, my interest is to start assisting, which is what I’m doing right now. I’m transitioning at the moment, and within the next few years, I will hopefully start choreographing for the same jobs I did as a dancer. But there’s really no longevity or no way to plan this. We’re not supported enough. There’s no structure for us to work for 20, 30 years in the dance industry and just retire like an athlete, for example. So, people end up doing something completely different or you become a director, videographer, producer or stylist within the industry. Using the contacts you’ve hopefully made throughout your career, you can finagle an opportunity or two and then go from there.
If you want a career in dance, is important to move to L.A.?I don’t think it’s for everybody, but if it’s for you and you want the biggest opportunities in the dance industry, then I would say, yes. You have to move to L.A.
What makes a good dancer great?How unique you are, how trained you are and the type of energy you bring in the room.
Can you describe a moment where you really just wanted to quit?When we’re really belittled or we’re treated as just “background dancers.” When we’re not being respected on set, or we’re told to be on set at 10 p.m. but we don’t start shooting until 5 a.m.
As dancers, we’ve added so much value to people’s artistry, so to be belittled to this day is frustrating. I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress but when those types of situations happen, it can feel really disappointing.
Most surreal moment in your career?I would say two things: traveling to so many amazing places, like Africa and India, and dancing in big arenas, like Madison Square Garden. Seeing everyone in the crowd singing, dancing and feeling the exchange of that energy … those moments are the most precious to me.
What’s the best advice you can give to a young dancer today?Figure out what’s for you. Really go on a journey and understand who you are, who you want to be and what you have to add to the industry, so you can head toward a path that’s more uniquely yours. You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches and you’ll be able to succeed a lot faster that way.
source: people.com
