7 replies to this topic

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello Jasmine, and welcome to Ballet Alert Online!

We have a lot of very knowledgeable posters here who will be happy to talk to you and give you some input on various courses of study for work with a ballet company!  My suggestions would be: a)to definitely keep taking ballet classes because the more knowledge you have of the art, especially of what it takes to become a dancer, the more you will have to bring to whatever area you work in; B) look for a college program in the US which offers good ballet classes along with a program in dance history, criticism, arts management, or design; c) try to locate in a major city which would offer lots of performances to see, both by local companies and visiting companies; d)do some part time work, while you are in school, with a company, in any capacity that will help you learn about the workings of the company; e)get Dance Magazines College Guide, which will help you locate the programs.  

Hope this helps a bit!

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello Jasmine, and welcome to Ballet Alert Online!

We have a lot of very knowledgeable posters here who will be happy to talk to you and give you some input on various courses of study for work with a ballet company!  My suggestions would be: a)to definitely keep taking ballet classes because the more knowledge you have of the art, especially of what it takes to become a dancer, the more you will have to bring to whatever area you work in; B) look for a college program in the US which offers good ballet classes along with a program in dance history, criticism, arts management, or design; c) try to locate in a major city which would offer lots of performances to see, both by local companies and visiting companies; d)do some part time work, while you are in school, with a company, in any capacity that will help you learn about the workings of the company; e)get Dance Magazines College Guide, which will help you locate the programs.  

Hope this helps a bit!

[The Bard's Ballerina]

Barb's idea about an internship is a good one.  Definitely look into it -- arts organizations are always looking for cheap (or free) labor.  Many, many moons ago, a friend of my sister's interned with the Atlanta Ballet doing public relations.  It was, alas, an unpaid internship but she did get the inside view on how a ballet company works.  She also got to give away some tickets, so my sister and I got to see the ballet for free several times that summer!

[The Bard's Ballerina]

Barb's idea about an internship is a good one.  Definitely look into it -- arts organizations are always looking for cheap (or free) labor.  Many, many moons ago, a friend of my sister's interned with the Atlanta Ballet doing public relations.  It was, alas, an unpaid internship but she did get the inside view on how a ballet company works.  She also got to give away some tickets, so my sister and I got to see the ballet for free several times that summer!

[Victoria Leigh]

Barb, I'm pretty sure, from her original question, that Jasmine is thinking of some other kind of work with a ballet company, as she said she only started classes 2 years ago and knows she will not be a ballerina.  

Jasmine, I still think that you should get a copy of Dance Magazine's College Dance Guide. As to majoring in dance or not, I'm not sure if that would be the best way for you to get enough exposure to all the other areas available.  I would think maybe majoring in theatre arts might be better, because then you could take dance classes but also get a lot of other courses that would be helpful in deciding which way you want to go towards a major.

Barb, help us out here, please!  Would NYU be good for her, and what would be your recommendation for her to start with?