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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not paid. You also have to sign a contract before the audition that your child will attend all rehearsals and performances. This is how some families ended up bound to 7-8 weekends of 12 hours of rehearsals every weeks, plus 20+ shows. No pay, and just a small discount on tickets. It was way too much, and many families will not participate this year.[/quote]

Is that a change from before?
What was the commitment before?[/quote]

This is no change from the past. DD danced for years including in HS at TWBS and this is the way it works - EVERYWHERE. This is endemic to the ballet system. Even professionals are barely paid and trainees and second company dancers pay tuition (usually just trainees) while second company dancers are sometimes paid in pointe shoes or a few hundred (eg $400 a month for 6-9 months a year).  It's amazing any companies can stay afloat. [b]Parents have to subsidize dancers, especially female dancers. Men are scarce and are paid more/rise faster through the ranks. Stagehands in NYC get paid more than dancers there - it's a terrible system.[/b] Only dance superstars make a living wage. Unions are helpful but many companies don't have them. Men in charge while women make up the bulk of the company. [/quote]

Do you think this is something most parents are aware of when their daughters are in MS and HS and they are making the decision that they are going to try to purse a professional ballet career?  In my experience, most parents of serious ballet students don't seem to realize that the dancers don't make a living wage.  They realize that it's not much, but I get the impression that most parents have no idea that they would need to basically support their daughters during their entire professional ballet careers.  Or maybe, the parents at my daughter's studio are unusually naive. [/quote]

What is the average salary for a professional ballet dancer in DC? [/quote]

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