Channing Cooke: Cooking Up the Commercial Competition
“My career goals thus far are to be in commercials and tour with artists such as Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, etc,” says Channing Cooke, a talented up-and-comer I had the pleasure of judging a couple of years ago.
With her long, blonde hair, pretty face and sunny disposition, it seems like the logical next step for the 17-year-old who trains at Karla Pattavina's Dance Academy in Bradford, MA. But for Cooke, it’s more than just having the right look. Her experiences on the competition circuit have proven pivotal in her transition from East Coast student to West Coast professional.
Recently, many competition dancers have been taking that same road. The competition world and the commercial world, once separate and incompatible, are now merging and finding common ground. In the past decade, competitions have shifted from focusing mostly on “tricks” to emphasizing artistry and choreography. As a result, they have become the perfect place for aspiring commercial dancers to train, network, and prepare for life as professionals.
“I believe that conventions [and competitions] have served as a way to sort of network myself to many different teachers and choreographers,” explains Cooke. “Having the teachers see you in class helps them to see what it would be like to work with you in a professional environment. I have definitely been presented with assistant opportunities that have come about from taking classes at conventions and working with certain people.”
For rising commercial dancers like Cooke, the benefits go beyond the opportunity to network. Many competitions and conventions award scholarships to train with some of the most cutting-edge teachers and choreographers in the industry. Recently, Cooke received a scholarship to train in Los Angeles, an opportunity that has helped her immensely as she prepares to pack up and relocate out west.
“Being awarded a scholarship and given the chance to improve your training in Los Angeles is amazing,” reveals Cooke. “It teaches you so much, to be in classes with more mature and experienced dancers. It really pushes you and your dancing to a whole new level.”
Although the long, hard hours of competing have helped Cooke prepare for life in L.A., she says that experiencing it firsthand is the only way to truly understand what it is all about. “Being a part of competitions has definitely in some ways prepared me for experiences like these,” she says of her time working in Los Angeles. “But I also think that you have to prepare yourself, and dancing in L.A. is a huge wake up call that there is more out there then you think there is.”
But before flying your students out to L.A. to take classes, you can start expanding their horizons right at home by exposing them to a variety of styles. “My teacher has definitely kept me well rounded in that you must take all technique classes,” reveals Cooke, who has been training with Karla Pattavina for 14 years. “Being well rounded is vital to being successful in the commercial dance industry. The dancers who can do it all are the ones who become most successful. You can't just be a ‘contemporary’ dancer or a ‘hip hop’ dancer. You have to have it all.”
After years of competing on the circuit, Cooke has certainly grown into a dancer who has it all. “I have been training and working up to this point in my life for a while,” she reveals. “Commercial work is definitely something that I would love to be a part of.”