How Two Young Dancers Made Their Own Ballet Festival

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon This week, it's just us! We're talking all things postgraduate ballet training. We spend some time going over our most recent iteration of the Ballet Help Desk Postgrad Directory, including some trends we've observed over the last few years. There are some new pieces of data we've added for this year and we discuss why we think it's important that this information be included. Finally, we talk about why dancers need to think much more strategically during their high school years if they have aspirations to dance professionally. Links:

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon There's one body type for ballet. We asked Peter LeBreton Merz, artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet and former director of Ballet West Academy, and Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet's Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company, whether that's true. In Part 2, they also answer your questions about competitions: are they the only way to earn summer intensive scholarships or get into top schools, does training for them give you the best training, and does it matter if your dancer never places? Then Peter and Racheal weigh in on when it makes sense to send a dancer to school in Europe, whether big donations lead to better treatment, and whether Vaganova is the only method that works. At the end, each of them addresses a myth we didn't ask about. Links: Online Workshop: Your Dancer's First "Away" Summer Intensive Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal Submit Ballet Competition Reviews Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon Turn down School of American Ballet once and you'll never get back in. Most ballet parents have heard some version of that, along with plenty of other myths. So we collected your questions and took them to Peter LeBreton Merz, artistic director of Eglevsky Ballet and former director of Ballet West Academy, as well as Racheal Nye, director of Oklahoma City Ballet's Yvonne Chouteau School and Studio Company. We talk about whether blacklists exist, the pressure to send 10-year-olds away for the summer, get them on pointe early and move them up a level fast, and what Peter and Racheal look for in a 12-year-old. They also get into why nearly every boy is on scholarship, how much seniority counts in casting, and what a school should be able to show before it calls itself pre-professional. Links: Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal Submit Ballet Competition Reviews Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We sit down with Ayisha McMillan Cravotta and Alicia Delgadillo of Charlotte Ballet to talk about what the road from trainee to professional looks like there. Alicia recently became associate director of CB2, the second company. The pre-professional trainee program is small, capped at 30 dancers, and starts at age 15, though the group skews older. Charlotte Ballet doesn't provide housing, which Ayisha says helps shape who enrolls. Once dancers move up to CB2, the focus shifts to preparing them for the job itself. Alicia explains how she mentors this small group of dancers, and why half of this year's new hires come from college programs. Both guests talk plainly about the job market and how they help dancers plan for it. Links: NEW! Ballet Competition Reviews Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We're back with part 2 of our conversation with former New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet soloist Kathryn Morgan. This half covers what happens behind the scenes of judging, including why some score sheets come back without comments and what judges actually talk about when they're not watching dancers. Kathryn also talks about why most company directors steer clear of hiring dancers with a big social media following, and the toll that chasing a following and a certain body image can take on young dancers. She ends with her take on why ballet companies are struggling to hold onto talent and audiences, and why she doesn't think the repertoire is the problem. Links: Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Support Ballet Help Desk Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI