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Professional dance is often discussed as entertainment or art. Scott Forsyth believes that description leaves out a major part of the work.
As captain of Brotherhood, one of the six founding teams competing in the International Dance League, Forsyth prepares for competition with the structure, physical demands, and strategic planning expected from a professional athlete.
Brotherhood entered the middle of the International Dance League season with three consecutive event victories. Maintaining that position requires the team to create two new routines for each international competition while training together for approximately four to five hours per day, Monday through Friday.
That rehearsal schedule does not include the physical training dancers complete outside the studio.
“It is pretty intense every single day,” Forsyth says.
What It Takes to Compete at the Highest Level
According to Forsyth, elite dance requires a combination of physical qualities that are often trained separately in traditional sports.
A dancer must possess strength, mobility, flexibility, muscular control, cardiovascular fitness, and the endurance to execute precise movements while fatigued. During competition, Brotherhood may perform two routines lasting approximately three minutes each, with only about 30 minutes of recovery between them.
Those minutes onstage demand complete effort.
“You have to perform at your highest level for both sets,” Forsyth says. “Your body needs to be able to step up to that challenge.”
Muscular development also affects how clearly certain movements appear. Forsyth points to popping, a street dance style that involves rapidly contracting and relaxing muscles. Without sufficient muscular control and definition, those movements can appear flat when performed onstage.
The strongest dancers are not necessarily the people doing the most work. Forsyth believes the best performers understand how to train efficiently and time their preparation so they can reach their peak on competition day.
“It is not just about who works harder,” he says. “It is who is working smarter and more efficiently.”
Why Recovery Has Become Nonnegotiable
At 34, Forsyth says he is in the best condition of his career. He attributes that progress partly to taking recovery more seriously than he did earlier in life.
Sleep is the foundation. Forsyth aims for at least eight hours whenever his schedule and family responsibilities allow. He also incorporates sauna sessions, cold plunges, massage guns, compression boots, and periods of complete rest.
Nutrition has become equally important. Rather than relying on sugar for a temporary energy increase, he prioritizes adequate protein and carbohydrates to support repeated rehearsals and performances.
“Recovery is literally just as important as training and preparing,” he says.
Mental recovery requires a different approach. Forsyth spends time outside, walks through Vancouver, disconnects from social media, and allows new ideas to develop without forcing them.
Dance places simultaneous demands on the body, mind, and creative instincts. A performer must remember choreography, remain synchronized with the team, express emotion, and execute physically difficult movements under pressure.
“It is art and sport,” Forsyth says. “Two things can be true at once.”
How Brotherhood Built a Championship Team
The International Dance League brings together established teams including Brotherhood, Quick Style, Jam Republic, GRV, Royal Family, and 1MILLION. These are not newly assembled groups. Many have spent more than a decade competing, performing, and developing talent internationally.
Forsyth founded Brotherhood in 2011 and has led the team throughout its rise. He believes its continued success comes from experience, consistency, and relationships built over years of training together.
The team does not revolve around one performer. Members share opportunities to lead, take the center position, and receive attention.
“There is no fight for the spotlight,” Forsyth says. “Everyone is cool with sharing it.”
That lack of ego strengthens the group’s chemistry. Some Brotherhood members have danced together for approximately 15 years, allowing them to anticipate one another’s timing and movement.
Forsyth says their connection extends beyond rehearsals. Members help each other through family responsibilities, health concerns, financial challenges, and everyday life.
That culture is also central to Forsyth’s leadership philosophy.
“I genuinely care about the guys inside the studio and outside the studio,” he says. “Any good leader needs to care about their athletes.”
The Future of Professional Dance
The International Dance League was created to give professional dancers the team structure, competition schedule, compensation, and long term career opportunities available in other sports.
Forsyth believes dance is positioned to attract a wide audience because viewers do not need an advanced understanding of rules or strategy to appreciate a great performance.
Dance is already connected to music, fashion, film, live entertainment, and social media. The league is now attempting to turn that cultural influence into a sustainable professional sport.
Forsyth envisions a future in which International Dance League competitors appear in major advertising campaigns and young dancers can pursue competition as a legitimate career.
“We are opening the door for dance to be an actual viable career path,” he says. “I am looking forward to the day when we see International Dance League athletes on billboards.”
For Brotherhood, that future begins with continuing to train, create, and defend its position at the top of the league. After three straight victories, Forsyth knows every competing team is becoming more prepared.
Brotherhood has the advantage for now, but the captain has no intention of becoming comfortable.
“We know we have a target on our backs,” he says. “We are not taking our foot off the gas.”
