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Apprentice did not progress?


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Moderators please feel free to delete this if it is not right for the forum!

I'm located in the UK but I was having a look at the dancers page on the NYCB page and noticed Daniela Aldrich is not present on the page. I was wondering if anyone knew what happened as to why she did not progress to corp member?

Her name seemed to pop up again and again as doing very well so I was surprised to not see her there.

Hopefully she just decided to move in a different direction and it wasn't an injury or the like?

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Jordan Miller also became an apprentice at the same time and did not seem to progress, so I did some searching. Both Miller and Aldrich's Facebook profiles publicly state that their apprenticeships ended in January of this year. Jordan Miller's lists Ballet Next as a place of employment, but previously listed beginning college this fall. Daniela Aldrich is apparently going to be beginning college this fall.

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No one has to kill anyone's dreams: it can be a physical issue or personal realization.

I don't claim this speaks for Miller or Aldrich, but Barry Kerollis has interviewed former NYCB dancer Lauren Fadeley for his Core-ography project, and there's a preview video on his blog in which she begins to discuss her decision to leave:

http://lifeofafreelancedancer.blogspot.ca/2015/09/core-ography-global-dance-storytelling.html

(She made her way back.)

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Going from school to company is a big change. That's why an apprentice time is actually a good idea for all. Learning ballets, the schedule, seeing the demands of the corps up close, feeling the reality of the expectations. I see many reasons why an apprenticeship might not work out, that have nothing to do with anyone killing dreams.

As far as dancers changing careers. Again, there are lots of reasons. Having children is one. I was a dancer and when I had my first child I decided it was time to teach. I personally was not up to getting back into shape and juggling rehearsal schedules etc. The simple fact of interests changing is another reason. It doesn't mean hating ballet, or being crushed by negativity (yes this happens) but sometimes it's a matter of being drawn to another interest.

I guess I'm saying that sometimes it doesn't take the body breaking down or getting too old to dance to cause a career change. BYW I would't trade my years as a dancer for anything.

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Going from school to company is a big change. That's why an apprentice time is actually a good idea for all. Learning ballets, the schedule, seeing the demands of the corps up close, feeling the reality of the expectations. I see many reasons why an apprenticeship might not work out, that have nothing to do with anyone killing dreams.

As far as dancers changing careers. Again, there are lots of reasons. Having children is one. I was a dancer and when I had my first child I decided it was time to teach. I personally was not up to getting back into shape and juggling rehearsal schedules etc. The simple fact of interests changing is another reason. It doesn't mean hating ballet, or being crushed by negativity (yes this happens) but sometimes it's a matter of being drawn to another interest.

I guess I'm saying that sometimes it doesn't take the body breaking down or getting too old to dance to cause a career change. BYW I would't trade my years as a dancer for anything.

I agree. I too would not trade my years as a dancer (and now also a teacher) for anything. Dancing can prepare one for any number of things in life. The discipline, hard work, accountability and yes, even the disappointments can be so valuable to someone moving on to something else in life. A dancer's life can be hard and heart breaking, but also so wonderful. It may define us for a portion of time, but it should never put a noose around our necks and prevent us from becoming whatever and whomever we wish to be. For many, leaving can be a liberating move. I always thought that being a dancer was just another tool in my toolbox that I could draw on as my life progressed. And because we live so long now, having three or four separate careers is not unheard of!

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I would love to hear more reasons for leaving ballet based on anything other than negative feedback! Because, I know of none....sad, but true in my world!

Negative feedback is inevitable both in and outside of the world of ballet, so you just have to brace yourself for it. You need to check out some of the reviews about dancers on BA and consider how you would feel if you were in their pointe shoes. But in general this is how you handle negative feedback. You look into the mirror and ask yourself whether what is being said about you is true. If it is, then you must accept it and try --if at all possible-- to improve yourself. If it is not, then you have absolutely no reason or excuse to allow it to rattle you.

Personally, if I were a dancer I would consider any negative feedback I got more as a reason for remaining in the world of ballet rather than leaving it. Why else would anyone leave, you ask? For as many reasons as there are grains of sand at the beach, blades of grass and flowers in the countryside, books in all the libraries and bookstores of the world, fish in the sea, stars in the universe ....Ballet is very beautiful and rewarding, but we must always keep things in perspective: ballet is part of the world; the world is not part of ballet. A ballerina who never, ever wants to leave the world of ballet is like a Princess Odette who never wants to leave the lake or a Princess Aurora who wishes to never, ever wake up!

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The ballet dancer in my life left the ballet world to move over to contemporary dance largely because she was able to have a much bigger part in the choreographic process along with much greater touring opportunities. It helped that full benefits were included along with salary. She had always told herself that she'd enter college full-time before she was 30, did so, graduated and is studying to be a doctor. She grew up with the double passions of dance and science. Many of her ballet company friends have headed in a similar direction. Interestingly, it often seems to be medicine or journalism that comes afterward.

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Also, burn out is a real thing! I remember when Ian Thorpe stopped swimming and there was a weird resentment in the Australian Media. As an American reading about it at the time I thought "Australia doesn't own him, if he's psychologically done, that can't be changed". But Aussies are weird about their athletes. Sometimes the fire burns hot, but it also burns out.

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Just to add, DD gave up several offers from regional companies to pursue her education. She is so happy to be pursuing her degree in medicine too. She just finished her EMT training and, as for her college experience, "has never been in a more supportive environment in her life." This reflection is after attending an infamous U.S. ballet school since she was 14! Oh, and "it's great to be around people who eat three meals a day." She made the right choice -- for herself mentally, emotionally, and for her future! I think "burnout" was a good thing for her!

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Thanks. Dancer's route to college after dancing professionally till she was 26 was through a program affectionately nicknamed " Tutus and Uzis" because most of the students entering via that route were either ballet veterans or war veterans. Quite a few of the professional ballet dancers I've seen perform or whom I've read about on these boards have eventually landed there.

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