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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]New to the conversation which is quite timely since DD who has been passionate about ballet since age 2 is a HS senior this year and deciding about how to pursue a possible professional ballet career. She, as most ballet dancers are, takes a challenging school load and is quite bright. She plans on college but wants a gap year and thinks a BFA isn't worth the debt load. She attends top summer programs and has done Suzanne Farrell etc. so is very well-trained.

I use Ballet Talk for Dancers and DanceMoms forums to gather information.  Here's what I gleaned - don't pursue a BFA unless you can graduate without any debt or very little.  Most ballet companies hire 19+ now unless you are a prodigy or a well-developed male.  Aside from grads from IU or being a male in a top 3 college ballet program, you will most likely not get hired at a top company - perhaps at a regional company for the corps.  Unless you are an award winning female dancer with amazing stage presence and technique at age 16-18, you will not be hired until you have another 2-3 years as a trainee/apprentice - where you pay tuition/shoes or maybe get a stipend for shoes.

The dance world has figured out parents are the cash cow and they can now string dancers along for years as tuition paying students while parents also pay for living expenses in another city.  Dancers have no extra time for part-time jobs - as they are often used as free labor in the corp for company performances.

Frankly it's so depressing and hard to figure out what to advise DD in this situation.  Salaries are unsustainable in the smaller companies - if there is a pit orchestra, they are paid way more than those dancers on stage! It's pretty crazy.[/quote]

This. This post sums it up. [/quote]

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