bart Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 In today's Links section, dirac has a link to some interesting statistics aboput ballet dancers, including some interesting comparisons with the rest of us. The size of the rate of smoking among dancers -- and of their pain thresholds -- were the big surprises for me. Any thoughts? * 45 the percentage of professional ballet dancers who are smokers * 110 lb (7 stone 12 pounds): the weight reached by prima ballerina Anastasia Volochkova which led to her firing from the Bolshoi Ballet * 12 the age at which most girls are considered old enough to go on pointe * 4350 the number of students at the Cuban National Ballet School in Havana, the biggest ballet school in the world * 80 per cent: the injury rate among professional dancers in Britain * 100kg/15 stone: the minimum weight requirement for ballerinas in the Big Ballet, a Russian dance company * 3 The pain threshold of ballerinas is 3 times higher than that of non-ballerinas * 7 Ballet dancers are 7 times more likely to suffer from anorexia than non-ballerinas * 22,000 the annual wage, in pounds, of second year corps de ballet dancers at the Royal Ballet * 29 average retirement age of professional ballerinas in the 1990s * 40 average retirement age of professional ballerinas in the 1980s * 71 the age that Charin Yuthasastrkosol was when she won the Guinness World Record for oldest performing ballerina P.S. At the bottom of the page, there was a link to another story: "THE SECRET LIVES OF DANCERS," which focuses on Royal Ballet dancers Lauren Cuthbertson, Rupert Pennefather, and Mara Galeazzi. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre...of-dancers.html There is lots of stuff about training, aches and pains, work conditions, etc., rather like you might find in Dance Magazine but a lot more detailed and (to be honest) more penetrating. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 * 4350 the number of students at the Cuban National Ballet School in Havana, the biggest ballet school in the world Link to comment
ami1436 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Regarding the second year corps wages at the RB -- London's expensive, but that's more than (okay, I'm basing this off two years ago) an annual entry-level departmental lectureship on Masters Programs in many Universities across Britain. Link to comment
bart Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 * 22,000 the annual wage, in pounds, of second year corps de ballet dancers at the Royal Ballet That's $ about $35,557 (U.S.) at current exchange rates. I wonder if they get a housing allowance for London. And let's not forget the cost of cigarettes. What about this?: * 29 average retirement age of professional ballerinas in the 1990s* 40 average retirement age of professional ballerinas in the 1980s This is a huge change, way out of wack, I should think, with 10-year patterns in other fields. Assuming this is accurate, I wonder what's causing it. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 In today's Links section, dirac has a link to some interesting statistics aboput ballet dancers, including some interesting comparisons with the rest of us. The size of the rate of smoking among dancers -- and of their pain thresholds -- were the big surprises for me. Any thoughts? * 3 The pain threshold of ballerinas is 3 times higher than that of non-ballerinas They wear pointe shoes. For me, enough said * 22,000 the annual wage, in pounds, of second year corps de ballet dancers at the Royal Ballet That's $ about $35,557 (U.S.) at current exchange rates. I wonder if they get a housing allowance for London. And let's not forget the cost of cigarettes. Unless they were lucky and found a very cheap apartment, $35K is not a lot of money in NYC, since most don't have the option of living far enough out of the city for reasonable rents. In London, though, that's like living on $22K/year in NYC, because unless you send the GBP to the US, the exchange rate doesn't much help. Link to comment
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