I just read an interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about a college that tailored a program to fit the needs of professional dancers with the idea that dancers need a BA when they retire from dancing and most don't have one. Basically the article says that not every retired teacher can (or wants) to become a teacher/coreographer etc., and without a college degree dancers are like anyone else and have limited professional options. I'm interested in learning more about this - do companies help their retirees to transition into other careers, or are dancers pretty much on their own? What happens to people who's careers end early due to injuries etc.?<BR>I'd like to post a link to the article, but the site is a subscription service and is password protected.

It varies greatly, since dancers have a variety of non-dance interests. The range of jobs held by ex-dancers is incredibly diverse.<P>Not all dancers get BA degrees; some get a BS. I know one ex-dancer who is now an undergraduate at MIT.<P>Some dancers attain college-level education and beyond while still dancing. When their dance career ends, they need little or no additional education.<P>For these reasons, in my opinion, it is best not to tie the needs of the ex-dancer to one university; that university might be appropriate only for a small number of ex-dancers.<P>Career Transitions for Dancers, in New York City, is the best-known organization helping the transition you mentioned.<BR>

There is also the LEAP program provided to dancers in the Bay Area through St. Mary's College. One graduate of that program is writing a book on dancer's nutritional needs while continuing his career at SF Ballet.

Matthew posted this in the Rewards for Givers thread and I thought it would be good to talk about this here:

Wasn't it a tradition with the old Mariinsky (Kirov) and Bolshoi to give a retiring dancer a gala evening? All the dancers would contribute and the ticket sales for the evening would go to the retiring dancer.

I don't know if this is still done. And, I am not sure if it was done for every dancer. But there is referral to such events in several biographies of the great dancers of the past.

In English football, they have testimonials, where the football/soccer player's team plays against another, popular team or against an all-star team. Traditionally the money goes to the footballer's retirement but in the top clubs where players get paid lots of money, the proceeds are awarded to a favorite charity.

For the larger companies, what is the usual practice for things like medical/dental insurance, 401Ks etc?

I believe it depends upon the contract that was negotiated between the company and the union - if it is a union company. Contracts also often specify - especialy in the case of principal dancers - how much they will be dancing and what ballets they will be cast in.

Another perk that is usually considered is the company pays for the dancers shoes. This isn't a side barre (pardon the pun) issue as the women go through umteen dozens of pointe shoes at about $50-$75.00 a pair.

One contemporary dancer in the UK is now in medical school:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4274272.stm

Kate

My friend Lisa LeAnn Dalton, a former STREB, Pilobolus, Dendy, Martha Clark, Taymor dancer, is now (at 45 yrs old) a champion professional bareback bronc rider and stables manager in Texas.

Now that's a transition....

In both Toronto and Vancouver, CANADA, there is the DTRC (Dancers in Transition Resource Centre). Members can gain financial support in the future with going back to school for training something else.

They also host a fantastic conference for dancers transitioning INTO professional dance from their training and I went to this last year. In it, one suggestion was to keep training in a parallel career while you train in dance.

Check them out:
Google DTRC or visit www.dtrc.ca