for starters, Canada's Dancer Transition Resource Center - a dry looking site, but all the important info seems to be there...
http://www.interlog.com/~dtrc/
<img src="http://www.interlog.com/~dtrc/Graphics/kkain.gif" alt="" /> karen kain, founding president

[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited February 23, 2001).]

<small>[ 11 September 2003, 01:32 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

This is an awesome program....I attended one of their weekend workshops in Seattle last year, and I believe they're doing another one this Fall, which unfortunately, I can't make! Their whole "mission" is to help dancers discover all their hidden skills, hobbies and interests, in an effort to help them transition from active performing into other careers. It was a transformative, enlightening, emotional weekend. So great to discover that so many other friends and colleagues were going through the same emotional whirlwind I was. It helped me to see my life and career path in a different light. Realized that your life can be an artistic creation, which you can mold and shape.

Hmm, Trina. I think I would enjoy attending one of their programs. Not as a dancer transitioning, but as an example. I've certainly encompassed that whole process, including the emotional aspects. I think this is an excellent program for many people who may not have considered what to do "after dance" or are not sure what they can do. Many summer programs are now offering a seminar to their students addressing this. I spoke at one, and the young dancers were extremely interested and very astute.<BR> I would love to know what some of our members who still dance are thinking of doing after dance, or hear from members that have moved on from dance into other careers.

Very interesting site and sounds like a great opportunity...<P>Although I am merely the mother of a would be dancer, I am very interested in this topic...plus I do know professional dancers who are going thru this now.<P>Thank you for posting this info. I have passed it on.

The main website in the US is:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.careertransition.org" TARGET=_blank>www.careertransition.org</A> <BR>Check it out!

For news of Career Transition for Dancers' Next Step Gala, go to this tread: Next Step Gala.

<small>[ 08-10-2002, 15:21: Message edited by: salzberg ]</small>

Reminder: the next free seminar is Wed., Nov. 14, 2001, at 5:30pm at the Actors' Equity Building, 165 West 46th Street (at Broadway), 14th Floor, Council Room. Reservations: 212-581-7043.

An interview with Suzie Jary:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Giving a Lift to Dancers Moving On After Dance<P>SUKI JOHN, NY Times<P>WE'RE dancers, we need to move," said Suzie Jary, the director of client services for Career Transition for Dancers. She was encouraging an intergenerational group of men and women to arrange themselves along an unusual chorus line. At one end stood those just starting to think about life after dance, at the other those who felt confident in new careers. She called this lineup a "human spectrogram," one of many tools she uses to guide former, current and soon-to-be-ex dancers through the forward-and-back tango of moving on.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/25/arts/dance/25JOHN.html target=_blank>More</a>

Suzie Jary is an awesome person! She rocks! I've taken a weekend workshop with her. And Paulette Fried with "Career Transitions for Dancers". This article makes the whole thing sound a bit more "crunchy granola, touchy feely" than I remember it. But I think they've done wonderful things for dancers.I felt very empowered and positive about myself and my life when that weekend was over!!

CHANGE @ WORK - Making a Graceful Career Move
By Patricia Kitchen for Newsweek

Thirteen years ago, when Suzie Jary headed to the Broadway theater where "42nd Street" was playing, she was one of its dancers. The other day, when she went to the revival, she was an audience member. What lies in-between is the story of how she, like others equally immersed in their professions, learned to let go of a big part of her identity - the work she loved.

Jary, who took her first ballet lesson at age 5 in Texas, went on to appear in summer stock, musical dinner theater and a Broadway production of "Oklahoma." But in 1986, with an aching back and 11 years of dancing under her belt, she decided it was time to look into another profession. It took seven years, she says, to accomplish that transition into a counseling career. And it didn't happen without fits, starts, much confusion and "a lot of tears." But, it wasn't something she went though alone.

click for more

In singapore, this is the most probable career transition for gymnasts:
0-12 years: basic gymnastics or none
12-16 years: competitive, school level
16-18: competitive, school level, not so committed, due to school work, some make it to national or regional level
18-20: retire from competitive gymnastics, take up coaching or forget about acrobatics or do some other acrobatics sports
20 and above: retire from acrobatics, coaches will continue to practice gymnastics or acrobatics sports as a hobby

Future of gymnastics here is not bright.

<small>[ 19 February 2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: hermanchauw ]</small>

The thrills of chasing your dream
By Nancy Dunne for The Financial Times


Sonia Hamlin was reciting poetry at the age of three, studying piano at New York's Juilliard School at five and learning modern dance at 12. She studied with Martha Graham and graduated from New York University with a BA and a Master's in dance and the humanities.

Her career has been just as varied, taking unexpected twists and driven by her zeal for arts and education. She has an undimmed creativity and a need for new challenges when a job grows stale.

Beginning as a performer, Ms Hamlin married and moved to Marblehead, Massachusetts, where she directed the dance programme at Radcliffe College. She then started to produce arts documentaries, reporteded on culture on Boston television and became host and producer of the first women's talk show in the US, winning two Emmy awards along the way.

click for more

Extra Credit
Some ambitious dancers manage to balance busy performance schedules with the demands of college.
By Deanna McBrearty for Pointe Magazine

Life as a ballet dancer demands a certain focus. For most, the eternal pursuit of perfection onstage leaves little time for outside endeavors. For a few, the focus extends beyond the stage to prepare for a life after the glitter and curtain calls. These dancers have found a way to master the art of dedication and focus by pursuing a college education.

Some dancers may choose to focus solely on their dance careers because they do not want to disrupt their concentration or spread themselves too thin; others may not want to take on the debt or commitment required for a part-time student to make it to graduation day.

click for more

Another review! Wow, what an event....

GOTTA DANCE! A Dance Tribute to Hollywood