In the world of professional ballet today, there’s a structure that can leave dancers feeling stuck. Before you can get a paid company position, you often have to go through years of trainee programs, 2nd company positions, or other-named post pre-professional training programs. It’s a slow process.
This system has been created for a number of reasons. The positive: It gives dancers more time to grow and develop into artists. It can create space to support dancers in learning to cope with the stresses of professional dance. These post-grad years can also give dancers time to find a good fit. Rather than jumping into a high-stakes contract right out of school, trainees can observe how companies operate. They can then determine which environment suits them best.
The negatives: These programs are (at times) cash cows for companies where they collect high tuition without any intention to hire their trainees into the main company. Some provide little company experience or dancing. Finally, some offer little support in helping dancers take their next career steps.
There is a way to win at the trainee program game. You can break free from what can feel like an endless cycle of unpaid positions or roles where you’re actually paying to participate.
Avoid the hamster wheel: picking a trainee program that fits your goals
Consider your future goals and gather enough information before you choose a trainee program, or you may trap yourself in this cycle. Before we get to the decision making, a quick note on auditions: you need to plan ahead and cast as wide a net as possible.
The best outcome of audition season is one where you end up with at least a handful of options to choose from. Then you can align your traineeship decision with your goals. Do you hope to eventually dance with a bigger company? Is your main goal to get into a paid job as quickly as possible? What do you hope to gain, as a dancer and person, from these next couple of years?
With clarity on your goals, reach out to the trainee program directors and ask a lot of questions. Find out how often the company lets trainees dance, how frequently it promotes trainees into the 2nd company or main company, and what kind of career advancement resources or support it provides through the program.
Program size matters
Some trainee programs have grown to be 50 to 60 dancers. As far as career advancement goes, these are not usually great options. A program with 20 to 30 dancers max is a much-preferred scenario.
You have to consider that if the trainee numbers are huge, you have that much more competition, that much less opportunity to dance with the company, and that much lower a possibility that they’ll be able to really get to know you and support you in your next career steps.
If you’re in this situation, all is not lost. Finding support in career strategy and mindset can be key in finding your path in this challenging and competitive field. For audition support, click here.
4 ways to utilize your ballet company trainee program to the fullest benefit to you
- Request feedback
Hopefully your trainee program will provide you with annual or semiannual progress meetings. If not, it’s important to ask for a sit-down so you can get a more in-depth perspective on feedback and progress. Go into these meetings prepared with questions.
Ask if they think you’re at a professional level. If not, ask what can you do or improve in order to get there?
- Notice how you’re doing
There are signs. Beyond what they tell you in the day-to-day or in a sit-down meeting, you can gauge how you’re doing based on what’s happening. While casting isn’t the be-all, end-all, it can impact your potential to get to the next step within a given company. If you’re not being cast in main company productions while other dancers are, you need to consider that. This may not be the best fit or level of company for you.
Now, at the same time, I don’t want you to sell yourself short. Dance is so subjective that you might be loved at one company and not favored at all in the next. One of the biggest challenges in the early career years is finding your best fit.
- Asking for career development support
Get opinions from everyone around you about what companies or level of company they think you should aim for. They don’t have a crystal ball, and they can’t say for certain, but based on other dancers they’ve known or past experiences with certain companies, they may have suggestions.
Beyond their thoughts and suggestions, request references and letters of recommendation early. Don’t wait until they’re inundated with 30 requests. Ask early and ask when they can have a recommendation letter written by. Without a deadline, it’s easy for people to keep putting off your request.
- Truly leverage your new relationships
If your current trainee or 2nd company director has connections in the dance world (which they usually do), ask them to reach out to people for you. Consider your top companies and ask if they know anyone at each. Then, ask if they’d be okay with you CC’ing them on your submission emails or reaching out to someone directly.
A lot of times, these connections exist, but dancers are afraid to ask others to leverage them. Don’t let fear stop you from making a connection or having a respected person in the dance world give you a positive recommendation.
Taking the next step
Each year’s audition strategy should be influenced by the previous year’s outcomes or experiences. While video submissions are a helpful way to make company auditions more accessible, not everyone comes across strongly on video. If you’re a dancer whose energy is more palpable in person, make a commitment to save up to invest in your future with audition travel and in-person auditions.
You should also be improving your mental game each year. If you were super nervous in auditions and could barely move, work on your mindset and confidence now. If you felt insecure or judged your body, start working on your body image and self-perceptions now.
Every year that you go through the audition process, which might be 2 to 3 years in a row or more, you should feel better than you did last year. If you’re struggling to facilitate career advancing changes on your own, schedule a complimentary coaching consultation. It’s not easy to change your mindset, confidence, and career strategy in one fell swoop, but with support it is possible.
