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50. Finding Opportunities for High School Dancers
145 Plays1 month ago
In this solo episode, I’m diving into one of the most requested topics from my community: how high school dancers can find meaningful opportunities to grow in their dance training and career path.
I’m addressing your biggest challenges in finding opportunities including time, finances, and location. Tune in for practical (and inspiring!) advice for dancers who want to take the next step in their career.
Key “Pointes” in this Episode:
🩰How to set short-term and long-term goals to guide your search for opportunities
🩰Where to look to find opportunities within your local community
🩰How to prioritize opportunities for dancers who already feel like there’s not enough time
🩰How to seek financial assistance, scholarships, or create your own income stream
🩰Why owning your career path and articulating what you want is essential
Related Episodes
Episode 16: Realistic Time Management Strategies for Dancers
Episode 46: The 5 B’s of Building Your Professional Dance Network
Links & Resources
Get your copy of The Intentional Career Handbook – A guided workbook to help dancers think intentionally about their career goals
Join the Conversation
Head to my Instagram @TheBrainyBallerina and join my channel “Career Guidance for Dancers” to participate in future episode polls and get exclusive career tips straight to your inbox.
Let’s connect!
My WEBSITE: thebrainyballerina.com
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thebrainyballerina
1-1 Career Mentoring: book your complimentary career call
Questions/comments? Email me at caitlin@thebrainyballerina.com
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Transcript
Introduction to Caitlin and podcast goal
00:00:04
Speaker
I'm Caitlin, a former professional ballerina turned dance educator and career mentor, and this is the Brand New Ballerina podcast. I am here for the aspiring professional ballerina who wants to learn what it really takes to build a smart and sustainable career in the dance industry.
00:00:20
Speaker
I'm peeling back the curtain of professional dance world with open and honest conversations about the realities of becoming a professional dancer. Come along to gain the knowledge and inspiration you need to succeed in a dance career on your terms.
00:00:38
Speaker
Hello and
Opportunities for high school dancers
00:00:39
Speaker
welcome to the Brainy Ballerina podcast. Caitlin here with a solo episode today chatting all about finding opportunities for high school dancers. I recently posted a question box on my Instagram. I have a channel called Career Guidance for Dancers under the Brainy Ballerina Instagram.
00:00:57
Speaker
Go ahead and take a peek at the channel and join if you want to get information straight to your inbox. It can be so tricky with the algorithms on social media to know if you're seeing the information that you need. So I'll send out updates about the Brainy Ballerina, what I'm posting, ask questions, get input from you.
00:01:17
Speaker
So if you want to be a part of this conversation, definitely go join the channel. But I said to the community, I'm going to be recording a solo podcast episode. what do you want me to talk about? What is really on your mind? And the most voted for option was how to find opportunities for high school students.
00:01:34
Speaker
So let's get into it.
Setting and specifying dance goals
00:01:35
Speaker
First, let's start by looking at your goals. When you're thinking about opportunities, the opportunities that you should be pursuing are going to be dependent on the goals you're trying to reach.
00:01:46
Speaker
And I want you to break them up into more short-term goals and more long-term goals. So maybe your short-term goals could be something like improving your ballet technique. If you want to get even more granular and specific, it could be improving your point technique, improving your pirouettes,
00:02:01
Speaker
improving your balancing technique, like very specific. As you advance in your training, the more specific you can get with what you're trying to achieve, especially in these short-term goals, is going to really help you be able to hone in on what you need out of it.
00:02:17
Speaker
So maybe it's a technical aspect. Maybe you need to get more performance experience. Maybe you feel like you really shine in the studio. Your technique is really great. But then when you get stage,
00:02:28
Speaker
You lose your confidence. Things don't quite shine through the same way. So maybe you need to get on the stage more and get more of a performance experience, more exposure. Maybe you need to prepare for The audition process, maybe you need to prepare for the next stages of your career.
00:02:42
Speaker
Maybe you want to get stronger. Maybe you've had a lot of injuries and you want to be able to improve your strengths that you're not having issues in that way. There are so many different types of opportunities that you can be looking into.
00:02:56
Speaker
So when you say finding opportunities, that's such a broad statement. So hone in on those short-term goals. And then long-term goals, what is your long-term goal? do you want to answer a professional company? Are you looking to go to a college program?
00:03:08
Speaker
Are you looking to be a more of a freelancer, commercial dance? Do you want to teach? What are the long-term goals that you have for yourself as a dancer and in your career? Because again, that's going to help you hone in on what kind of opportunities that you need to get right now in your career.
00:03:25
Speaker
I also asked in the channel what your biggest challenges in finding opportunities were, and I got some really good responses. So one response that I got was the issue with finding opportunities near you. Maybe you don't live in ah huge dance hub like New York or LA or something like that. And so it can be more challenging to find opportunities near you.
00:03:48
Speaker
The first place I would start looking for opportunities is in your studio.
Exploring local and external dance opportunities
00:03:52
Speaker
Maybe there is a youth company that you can join in the studio. When I was growing up, My ah school had a youth company called Michigan Ballet Theater. It was a pre-pro company, and it functioned very much like a professional company in the sense that we had to audition.
00:04:06
Speaker
We had ranks of trainee, apprentice, company member. We had specific company classes. We did two full-length ballets a year plus other performances in the community. had to sign a contract. It really prepared us for what company life would be like.
00:04:22
Speaker
So maybe there is a youth company in your studio that you can join. Maybe there's a competition team. even if there's not a full competition team you could join, you could still ask your teachers to help you prepare to enter into ah ballet competition like YAGP, a twilight dance competition.
00:04:38
Speaker
Sometimes you can enter as an independent even if you feel like you want to go on your own. Just make sure you have that conversation with your instructors and you're on the same page about that. But that's a great way to get more stage time if you are looking to – get out there in front of new people and just kind of get more exposure to performing and get past some of those performance jitters.
00:04:59
Speaker
Finding competitions that come to your area and just even entering one solo could be a small thing that you can do that helps you get some big results. Looking outside of your studio, maybe there's a ballet company that tours and they are casting dancers to perform student roles.
00:05:16
Speaker
For instance, when I was a student, maybe 12 or 13, American Ballet Theater was touring to Detroit. I lived in the Detroit suburbs and they needed...
00:05:26
Speaker
youth dancers for their production of Le Corsaire to dance in the Jardin anime scene. And so auditioned and I got cast and I rehearsed with the children's cast on the weekends for a couple of months.
00:05:40
Speaker
And then I got to perform stage with ABT, which was amazing. For ah young dancer like me, a dream come true. I'll never forget there's one diagonal where all of the youth dancers lay down their garlands. We had garlands the whole scene.
00:05:57
Speaker
You lay down your garlands and the principal dancer steps into a susu. into each garland and for a 13-year-old dancer to see Julie Kent just stepping right into her garland in front of you, sharing the stage with these incredible dancers, that was a dream come true.
00:06:14
Speaker
And that was an opportunity that I was encouraged to take by my teacher, but it was outside of my school. And that was actually my very first paycheck as a dancer. And I didn't realize I was going to get paid, but I got paid $40.
00:06:25
Speaker
for being in that show at the very end, which was kind of exciting too. But just to say that there might be performances coming into town that need youth dancers, there might be other regional ballet companies that are casting for student roles and they're Nutcracker.
00:06:39
Speaker
So keeping an eye out for those types of opportunities. You could also look into your local community theater or musical theater productions and see if there's any opportunities for dancers, especially if performing is one of your goals.
00:06:54
Speaker
because it may not be if you're training as a ballet dancer, classical ballet that you're doing, but you're getting more performance experience, you're getting more well-rounded, you're going to be more versatile, you get to work in different styles. So it could be a really great opportunity to add something like that your repertoire.
00:07:10
Speaker
And going back to even within your own school, maybe you feel like you have joined the youth companies, you are a part of all these things, but you're still not getting as many opportunities as you want.
00:07:21
Speaker
In that case, What is the gap there? What are you missing? Maybe that is something you need to have a conversation with your teacher about. Maybe you need to take more technique classes. Maybe that is the gap, that your technique is not where they want it to be yet to put you in these roles.
00:07:35
Speaker
So maybe it does mean and getting in the studio more and getting the technique you need to be exposed to more opportunities for form. Asking to understudy is always a great idea if you want to get more experience and more opportunities.
00:07:50
Speaker
I can't tell you the number of times I have gone on stage as an understudy. I can't even count how many opportunities I've had because I knew the choreography, because I was ready. They always tell you this. But it really is so, so true that you will get to dance more if you are the person who can step in when something happens.
00:08:08
Speaker
So ask to understudy. Ask if you can come in the studio and learn more roles. Give yourself that chance. And even if you don't get on stage, you're still going to grow so much from the experience of getting to learn a new role, of getting to absorb more information from your teachers, from other dancers, by learning from other people.
00:08:26
Speaker
You will grow and get more opportunities from that. Another idea that I've seen in practice, I remember when I was in high school, we did a version of Stars and Stripes, not the Balanchine version, but the same music. And it was choreographed by my teacher.
00:08:42
Speaker
And there was a dancer in our youth company who had choreographed a solo to the song, I'm Proud to be an American. And she asked if she could do her solo as part of this Stars and Stripes ballet we were doing.
00:08:55
Speaker
And so my teacher said, well, let's see it. And she demonstrated it to her and she said, sure, they put it in the show. So she got to do a solo that she had choreographed in the show because she just took initiative. So sometimes you just have to try and maybe they'll say no.
00:09:09
Speaker
But again, you've still gained the experience of working on a process of choreographing something You've gained courage because you went out there and did something brave. Sometimes it takes taking a little bit extra initiative. Don't wait for somebody to come and give you an opportunity. Be the one to go out there and make it happen. And I like this example because it wasn't like she just said, oh, I really wish I got a solo. I think I deserve a solo. Why don't i have a solo?
00:09:35
Speaker
and getting in that negative place of like, why everyone else? Why not me? She said, I want to do this solo and I'm going to completely choreograph and I'm going to make it on theme. I'm going to make it an easy yes for the teacher, right? So how can you present your ideas and make them an easy yes for somebody to give you that opportunity?
00:09:55
Speaker
Another challenge that I heard from a lot of people was lack of
Balancing dance with other commitments
00:10:00
Speaker
time. You want to have opportunities, but there's just not that much time in a day. i definitely encourage you if you do feel like time is an issue for you to go back to episode number 16, Realistic Time Management Strategies for Dancers. I will link it in the show notes, but this is a great lesson for dancers, especially for my high school dancers who are trying to figure out how to manage their time more effectively.
00:10:24
Speaker
But I really do get it. I was completely overscheduled when I was in high school. I had way too much going on and I didn't have time for everything. And this is a really real concern. So I do think it's important to remember that you can't do everything.
00:10:37
Speaker
If you try to, maybe you can for a little bit, but eventually it's going to fall apart. You're going to fall apart You're going to get sick. You're going to be exhausted. You're going to get burnt out. It's just a recipe for disaster trying to do way too much.
00:10:51
Speaker
So be realistic about how much time you really have. And again, this goes back to your goals. Look at your time. Look at your goals and say, which goals are important to me right now?
00:11:03
Speaker
And what do I strategically need to do to be able to reach those goals? You're not trying to do it everything. You're choosing opportunities that really align with your short-term and your long-term goals.
00:11:15
Speaker
In this vein of time, one dancer said, it's hard because if you're trying to find opportunities, say for our summer intensives or going away, everything requires filmed variations, maybe classwork, a lot of materials to be submitted.
00:11:31
Speaker
And you're right. You are asked to submit a lot of things in order to be considered for many opportunities. So my advice for dancers going into the summer, I know a lot of dancers are heading away to summer intensives.
00:11:45
Speaker
I know that your summers don't always get slower, but you're also on summer break and you don't school, homework, all those kind of things. So this is a great time to get all of those things in order.
00:11:58
Speaker
Filming your videos, getting your resume in order, getting pictures taken, all those things that you know you're going to need come audition season, do it now. Do while you have time. Don't wait until you have Nutcracker and holidays and school and rehearsal and every single thing going on to try to do it all at once.
00:12:20
Speaker
plan ahead and do these things now. And if you need support with this, this is exactly what I help dancers do is get all of their materials in order and make sure everything is up to speed so you can feel really good about your submissions.
Addressing financial challenges in dance
00:12:32
Speaker
So please reach out to me if this is something you feel like you need help with this summer. It's a great time to do it. And I think dancers – Don't think about summer as a time to do those tasks, but it really is a wonderful opportunity. You'll probably have more studio space to film in.
00:12:46
Speaker
Your teachers might have more time available to help you. you have more support. It's just a really great time to get these things done. And think about that in any e vein. If you feel that you are missing out on opportunities because you don't have time to get everything together, be proactive.
00:13:01
Speaker
Think a ahead Do something that your future self is going to thank you for. Look at your long-term goals. Look at what you need to accomplish in each season of your life in order to stay on track with those goals and be realistic about what seasons of your life as a dancer you have more time, which ones you don't have as much time so that you can be really strategic.
00:13:21
Speaker
Another challenge that a lot of dancers face is the financial concerns because a lot of training is very expensive. Summer intensives are expensive.
00:13:32
Speaker
Going to competitions is expensive. Costumes, classes, privates, all of it. It definitely is expensive. Going back to some of those opportunities we talked about earlier, often being a part of these productions, there's maybe a very low fee or none at all. Or like in the case of when I performed at ABT, I ended up getting paid to be in that show. Again, it was only $40, but for a 13-year-old, that's kind of a big deal. so For me, that was a great opportunity looking into community theater, musical theater, seeing if there are opportunities that do not cost as much money.
00:14:06
Speaker
If you are looking into summer intensives or training that is more expensive, ask about scholarships. Ask what they have available. You never know until you ask. And they might not know that you need help until you say something.
00:14:22
Speaker
So if you have a dream intensive or somewhere that you've gotten into that you really want to go to and money is the thing standing in your way, reach out to the program and ask if there are any scholarship opportunities.
00:14:34
Speaker
And they might say no, but again, that's the same outcome you would have gotten if you didn't ask at all. You can also ask about work-study opportunities. Maybe there is a way that you can put in some hours in the program or even in your studio to help offset your tuition. Maybe they need someone to come in and clean the mirrors and the floors once a week, and you could help offset one of your classes by helping out around the studio and doing that. Maybe you could be a teacher assistant.
00:15:01
Speaker
Maybe if you are really talented at rhinestoning costumes, you could offer to rhinestone costumes for other dancers for a fee. There are so many ways that you could find to help offset the cost of training or bringing a little bit more income just within your dance world already without even going out and finding another job.
00:15:20
Speaker
It also can help if you're thinking about summer intensives and traveling far away to look into intensives where you have family nearby or maybe you know someone that you trust who lives nearby you could stay with to offset that cost of room and board. So then you're paying just for the training portion and not for the room and board portion.
00:15:37
Speaker
Or even just remember that doesn't to be all or nothing. Maybe the financial cost of going to a five- or a six-week intensive is out of reach, but you could do a two-week intensive. That would be better than nothing. So don't count yourself out completely if you feel like that is out of reach for you.
00:15:52
Speaker
But again, maybe this summer is a time of year where you could do some extra work, babysit. Maybe I worked to retail in high school. I also waitressed.
00:16:03
Speaker
Or like I said earlier, maybe you help out around the studio. You ask your teachers if there's anything that you can do to help out to offset tuition costs in a way that's mutually beneficial. So there are definitely ways to help fund your training and fund these opportunities that you're seeking if you're willing to put in a little bit of extra work there.
00:16:23
Speaker
One of your best ways to find opportunities as a dancer is going to be by going to your network.
Networking and seeking guidance
00:16:28
Speaker
I talked a ton about building your network. in episode 46. So go back and listen to that one if you are curious about some strategic ways to build and also nurture your dance network.
00:16:42
Speaker
But in general, reach out to older dancers from your studio, alumni, your teachers, ah career mentor. Ask people for help. Ask people for advice. Ask people if they connect you with an opportunity.
00:16:57
Speaker
Tell people what you want to do What kind of opportunities you're looking for? And they might have ideas that you had never heard of, never thought of. They might think of you for something once you put that bug in their ear.
00:17:08
Speaker
You have to be vocal about wanting opportunities. You can't wait for them to come to you. They just simply are not. You have to go out there and search for them. As a teacher, I love when my students come to me with questions or when they want advice about opportunities they should pursue because I can help them so much better when i know what they're looking for.
00:17:30
Speaker
And that really helps me also as a teacher to know that they are really invested and it helps me seek out more opportunities for them. So don't be afraid to talk to us students. Like your teachers, we're in your corner. We want what's best for you. We want to help you succeed.
00:17:43
Speaker
So talk to us. Let us know what you need and how we can help you. I know that high school is such a formative time as a dancer. And as long as you're enjoying doing it and you're happy and this is making you feel fulfilled and you feel like a whole person,
00:17:59
Speaker
I'm all for seeking out more opportunities, going to the extra class, going to the extra competition, doing that extra performance. It's great if you're feeling like this is helping you with your goals and it's not pushing you over the edge. But I want you to remember that you don't have to rush.
00:18:18
Speaker
Be a kid. If you've listened to a single episode of this podcast before this, you've probably heard my guests and myself talk about the importance of having a life outside of dance.
00:18:29
Speaker
We don't just mean when you become an adult. You have to start when you're in high school, when you're middle school, always. You are always allowed and encouraged to pursue passions outside of dance and a reminder that sometimes opportunities come from unexpected places.
00:18:48
Speaker
That summer job you have or that performance you go to or that extra class you take, That's not even a dance class, but something totally different might lead to and opportunity you couldn't have even imagined.
00:19:02
Speaker
This episode, we definitely chatted a lot about opportunities for improving your technique, for getting more performance opportunities, getting on stage more.
00:19:13
Speaker
But there also might be other areas that you're seeking opportunities in, maybe teaching, maybe be choreography. So if that is of interest, let me know. i will do another episode talking all about how to find opportunities in other sectors of the dance world beyond your performance track.
00:19:30
Speaker
Hopefully this has sparked at least one idea in you of something that you could look into, something you could pursue to help you find more opportunities. If not, go back to your goals. And one thing that I see a lot with dancers in high school, i know i was like this at that age, is that I was often waiting for somebody else to tell me what opportunities I should pursue.
00:19:57
Speaker
I remember so distinctly when I was starting to look at universities or audition for companies, I would go to my teacher and I would say, what companies do you think would be a good fit for me? And she made me a whole list of companies that she thought would be a good fit based on a lot of it was my height. I'm five feet tall. So she was like, these ones like short dancers.
00:20:17
Speaker
I think these could be a good fit for you. And that's definitely good starting point. It gave me some ideas of where to explore. but what she didn't ask me was, well, what are you looking for? What kind of dancing do you want to do? What kind of company do you want to be in? We didn't have that conversation.
00:20:32
Speaker
And that's one thing that I do with all my clients. The very first thing that we do when we start working together is I have them complete the intentional career handbook.
00:20:43
Speaker
And it goes through all of the different things that you need to think about when you're starting to pursue ah professional career. In the book, I walk you through every single thing that I wish I had thought about when I was a high school age dancer considering a professional career.
00:20:58
Speaker
And I give you over 50 guided question prompts to Really help you reflect and think intentionally about what it is you actually want out of your career.
00:21:09
Speaker
Because as you've heard this episode, a lot of times opportunities don't just come to you. You have to go out and seek them. And if you're just sitting around waiting for someone to tell you what you should do what they think is best for you, waiting for things to fall into your lap.
00:21:22
Speaker
It could happen, but it's very, very rare. Most of your opportunities are going to be things that you go out there and you pursue and you create. So if you don't know how to find more opportunities, a lot of times that is the disconnect is that you don't really know what you want, what you're looking for, and you're waiting for somebody to give you the answers.
00:21:41
Speaker
And I always tell my clients this, I wish I had all the answers for you. I wish I could tell you exactly what to do to make this a really smooth, easy ride. But that's never going to be the case. That's not my job as a dance career mentor. It's never going to be to tell you this is what you should do.
00:21:59
Speaker
It's going to be to guide you to figure it out for yourself because that's the only way that you're going to find happiness and fulfillment in a dance career. So this is something I do with my clients one-on-one, but I also have the intentional career handbook available on my website to purchase on your own.
00:22:15
Speaker
So maybe working one-on-one with me isn't the right move for you at this moment, but you still want to start thinking about your career more intentionally and start reframing your mindset around the way you approach your career today.
00:22:28
Speaker
as you go from student to professional. but Because when you start dancing at a young age, it's because you love it. You've heard me ask my guests every episode, why did you take your very first dance class? Because I really want to connect back to that joy and that feeling you had the very first time you stepped in a dance studio and thought, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.
00:22:48
Speaker
And we still have to hold on to that feeling very tightly throughout our career. But it's also important At this age, just start realizing that while it's your passion, it's also becoming your work. And you need to treat your dance career as a profession and not as a hobby.
00:23:03
Speaker
Society undervalues the arts. It undervalues artists. We're constantly being asked to do work for free. People think what we do is frivolous. They'll say things like, it must be nice that you get to dance around all day. And sure, it is nice that we get to dance for our job. It's amazing. But it is also your job and you shouldn't undervalue yourself just because society does.
00:23:24
Speaker
So circling back to my previous points, even if we don't work together one-on-one right now, you can still get your hands on the intentional career handbook. I'm going to link it in the show notes. If you've been feeling out of alignments, confused, lost, unsure where to look for opportunities, this is going to reset you, help you feel empowered and in the driver's seat of cultivating a career that aligns with your vision for your life.
00:23:50
Speaker
So again, I will link that in the show notes. It is a great tool. i have people come back to me constantly telling me, how helpful it was to go through this process and spend dedicated time thinking about what they really want for their career in a really organized way from somebody who has lived this life.
00:24:09
Speaker
It's going to help you tune into your goals so you can start pursuing the opportunities that really matter to you and that are really going to move the needle in your dance career and get you closer to where you want to be. hope you've enjoyed this solo episode today.
00:24:21
Speaker
If you want to have a say in what I talk about on future solo episodes, head over to my Instagram, The Brainy Ballerina. Join my channel, Career Guidance for Dancers. I will pop back in there again and ask, what do you want to hear about? And get your input.
00:24:36
Speaker
Tell your friends about the podcast. Share it on your stories. Anything that you can do to help me get the word out about this podcast and the work we're doing here is so, so huge. I really appreciate all your support.
00:24:48
Speaker
And I'll be back here again next Monday with a brand new episode.
00:24:54
Speaker
Thank you for tuning into the Brainy Ballerina podcast. If you found this episode insightful, entertaining, or maybe a bit of both, I would so appreciate you taking a moment to leave a rating and hit subscribe.
00:25:07
Speaker
By subscribing, you'll never miss an episode. And you'll join our community of dancers passionate about building a smart and sustainable career in the dance industry. Plus your reigns help others discover the show too.
00:25:20
Speaker
I'll be back with a new episode next week. In the meantime, be sure to follow along on Instagram at The Brainy Ballerina for your daily dose of dance career guidance.