From professional dancer to policing, British expat finds a new rhythm in Dubai

Dubai: It’s been just four months in Dubai, but for 30-year-old British expat Michael Danson, life in the city is quickly growing on him.

One of the key reasons he’s loving his latest move? Waking up to the sun.

“It might seem like a small thing, but in the UK at this time of the year, you go to work in the dark and come home from work in the dark, so waking up to the sun every morning in Dubai really does make life a lot better,” the sales manager told Emirates 24|7.

But his move to Dubai is just the latest chapter of a life that’s taken him to 63 countries across the world, and put on different hats, from professional dancer to policeman.

Growing up in Leicestershire, UK, Danson saw his mother working in the police force and the idea of one day being in the police force and helping people took root early.

But another thing Danson loved was dancing, and he began dance training from the age of eight.

“I started working as a professional dancer at 16 and did that for a good nine years,” he said.

The experience helped him travel the world, as Danson got the opportunity to work for a cruise company.

“I used to perform on cruise ships for a while and then I got asked to work at one of the cruise company’s studios on land, in Miami, US,” he said.

In 2020, Danson finally decided to hang up his dancing boots and returned to the UK.

With the idea of being in the police force still somewhere in his mind, he decided to apply to the police force.

“It took me around nine months to get in because it is quite a long process,” he said.

But once Danson began working in the police force, he felt like the job may not be the best fit for him, as he quickly realised that it involved more paperwork than policing.

“It wasn’t the longest stint and I was fortunate enough to get another role in the credit insurance industry. Just like policing, I have family within the credit insurance industry and they told me about the industry and the work. I applied for a role and was fortunate enough to get the job,” he said.

But while on the surface professional dancing, policework and credit insurance may seem worlds apart, Danson believes many of the skills he picked up through his work have helped him in each new role.

“I love being around people and all these roles require you to be surrounded by people. As a professional dancer you have to be super resilient, to be thick-skinned and put on a good show. Translate that into policing work, where you have to be able to switch the way you talk to one person from the person next to them, because people react differently to different styles of speaking. It also requires a lot of problem solving,” he said.

Today, working in the world of sales, he’s found all these skills to be highly transferrable.

“I found myself thinking about the people side of the business … I love to see my work having an impact on somebody. Just because I am selling you a product, does not mean I’m here just for the money. It is also about the journey we go through, and how I can help a business succeed,” he said.

His latest career move is also in an industry that has allowed him to grow, progressing into four roles in the past five years – starting off as an account handler and then moving into bigger roles, and most recently landing a job as a sales manager in Dubai, managing the Middle East and Africa market.

Being in Dubai has also helped Danson meet with people across different demographics, something that he has always enjoyed while travelling.

“I thrive off of embracing new cultures. Every time I go to a new country, it changes my perspective on life. It’s very interesting to meet people from different cultures and parts of the world and see how they live their lives,” he said.

Dubai, in many ways, can be a microcosm of the world, and Danson got an early glimpse of it during a ‘Cultural Diversity Day’ at his office, just a few weeks into his new role, which made him realise that the team in Dubai had people from 18 different nationalities.

Then there is the way Dubai works … pre-empting demand, instead of responding to it.

“It’s quite a cool way of looking at building infrastructure, where they are always building based on what’s going to happen in advance. You look around the corner and there’s a new building being constructed,” he said.

The way life in the city is built around convenience – from the seemingly endless food options, to the municipality worker on the road, trimming the bushes meticulously.

“Seeing how safe the city is, and just how much they focus on making the place aesthetically pleasing, and focusing on people and convenience, really makes you want to stay,” Danson said.

The one experience that, for him, sums up the ease and beauty of his new life in Dubai, is a simple dinner he happened to have with his best friend and wife a few weeks ago.

“My best friend flew down from the UK, and we were at a restaurant in Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel. I didn’t know that they had a turtle conservation programme there. Sea turtles are my favourite animals and to just be able to enjoy dinner with my wife and best friend, seeing the sea turtles there, so open to the public … it might seem like a really simple thing, but for me that was a real moment and one of the experiences that will always stay with me,” he said.

And while Danson and his wife Emily initially thought of moving to Dubai for just a couple of years, to see what the experience might be like, the city has grown on them quickly.

“It’s been a really nice journey. Neither of us have been to this region before and I’m in somewhat of a new role so it’s been a massive learning curve and very nice to meet people and learn the new culture,” he said.

And just like the dinner, it’s been the little everyday things that are now making the couple think that the move to Dubai may not be as short-term as they had initially planned.

“It has definitely opened our eyes to the idea of staying here long-term. Just in terms of personal growth but also, the idea that you can go to the beach Friday night after work … that’s just a really nice concept,” he said.