# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 8

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 7

# data[].attributes.headline
12th April 13:15 - 14:00 Independent Study 

# data[].attributes.subject
12th April 13:15 - 14:00 Independent Study 

# data[].attributes.body
Recap / Refresh your memory on what Task 2 includes.

Continue working on Task 2.

# data[].attributes.body
Task 2 Master Powerpoint!!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are a lot of people out there who do some sort of dance training, but how many of those people succeed in becoming professional dancers?
On Average 10% of dancers who actively pursue a career in dance become professional. The percentage of dancers who become professionals and are working artists having completed an arts degree is also 10%. This number can change to 90 or 100% of dancers who attend company affiliated pre-professional dance schools, but respectively, these schools accept less than 10% of those who audition for their schools to study with them.
The statistic of 10% was gained by averaging the numbers of our research below. The figure also coincidently matched research compiled by BFAMFAPhD regarding college graduates which are detailed further down the page.

What does it mean to be a professional dancer?

When I talk about someone being a professional dancer for the purposes of this article I'm generally talking about someone who gets paid to perform dance.

Shawn Renee Lent in her article 'Am I A Dancer Who Gave Up?' writes ' I decided to be an artist in the world. I teach dance, I lead dance experiences, I choreograph, I manage and evaluate programs, consult, share, think, write. I'm a professional and a dancer, but you probably wouldn't call me a professional dancer.'

It should also be noted that 'turning pro' does not always mean the dancer now earns enough to make a living off of dance, which is a different discussion and we have all the juice with real figures on how much professional dancers and ballerina's earn in a separate article that you can open in a new window by clicking on the link to read later!

What percent of Dancers make it and become professional? What the Experts Say:

Nigel Lythgoe, producer and judge for the successful TV series 'So You Think You Can Dance' gave his expert opinion to Backstage Magazine and said he believes only around 3% of all those who go into dance become professional dancers.

Nigel's hypothesis would be supported knowing that in Russia, for example, thousands of young hopefuls audition for a place at the Vaganova Academy in Russia. Around 70 are chosen (which is 3.5% based on 2000 auditions) and from those 70 only 30 or so complete the program and enter the Mariinsky Ballet or other companies around the world. That is 42% of their original intake of 70 become professionals, but if 2000 auditioned that is only 1.5% of the dancers who originally auditioned for a place with the school.

The School of American Ballet has a similar intake to the Vaganova Academy. Fewer than 100 students are accepted every year into various year levels. The school states on average 20 of their students are successful in obtaining contracts with professional dance companies every year.

Megan Fairchild a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet says in a podcast for the Balancing Pointe that 'obviously not everyone makes it'. From her experience, about 50% of the 12 other students in her class back home in Utah went on to dance professionally, but many of them left the ballet world after only a few years to further their education or start families and so only about 25% are still dancing today. She said this percentage was higher for her graduating class at the School of American Ballet where she believed around 60% of her fellow classmates went into professional work and are still dancing. She says the other 40% are either still working within the dance industry in various non-performance roles or began working in other professions.

Karen Bradley an associate professor and director for graduate studies in dance at the University of Maryland College Park concedes that in her experience 'maybe 12 percent to 15 percent of any alumni from any program go on to perform professionally, mostly in small local companies' but then points to the fact that many others go into teaching or other jobs that use their dance training such as many of the jobs. Not sure what some of those jobs might look like? Want to see and listen to people in those actual jobs?? Have a read of our article The Ultimate Dance Career Pathways & Future Jobs List which will open in a new tab to read later!

The Colorado Studio Company is a pre-professional training opportunity which pays dancers a minimum part-time wage. They write 'the program should not be viewed as a year-long audition for the Company (Colorado Ballet); as historically, fewer than ten percent of Studio Company members have been offered a Company position. The program is intended to provide young dancers with Pre-professional training and Company experience. Participants are introduced to the rigors and realities of life as a full-time dancer. Several Studio Company members have moved on to work for other dance companies, while some dance with Colorado Ballet and still others enroll in college or pursue other goals.'

Kim Vaccarro, Associate professor of dance at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in a recent article for Dance Spirit says she found that only "17 percent of grads with a performance degree end up performing," from the information she gained from the Department of Labor and Dance/USA when she was researching before to creating the BA in Dance for the University.

What percent of Ballet Dancers become professional?

The following dance schools are some of the top ballet schools in the world. After researching their websites, most advertise that their students are 90-100% successful in securing contracts with dance companies around the world. Many schools state that thousands of hopeful dancers audition for their programs, but only those with the potential of a professional career are invited to train with them and therefore as this varies from year to year do not state annual intake numbers.

School Country Number of students who began training Amount of students at end of training % of all initially enrolled students who became professional % of finishing students who became professional

The rate of success for students studying dance at schools that funnel their students into their own company or that are the best in their country is extremely high as shown in the table above. But this is possible because most schools have a re-enrollment policy which means dancers ability and suitability is constantly assessed and schools cull and cut from their programs accordingly.

As I researched and the hours passed it was evident that apart from these highly selective schools not many other schools are willing to put out exactly how many of their alumni are successful each year with many schools showcasing a few students success, for example the Alberta Ballet School in Canada's Alumni and Student Stories Page or by listing the companies that some of the students's from their schools have worked with such as on the website for The New Ballet School in California.

If more dance schools willingly shared their statistics I would have a better answer to the question of what percentage of dancers become professional, but unlike The Vaganova Dance Academy which is funded by the government in Russia, Dance schools are businesses and although it would be incredibly helpful, openly giving these statistics could hurt their student intake, profit, and business.

What I was able to find some information on was the percentage of dancers accepted into various pre-professional courses or training which they hope will lead them to a professional job one day.

Youth America Grand Prix Event Competition

80,000 ballet dancers have competed since 1999

450 past competitors are currently working in dance companies.

0.5%

What Percentage of Dance College Graduates Turn Professional?

The percentage of dance college graduates who turn professional in their field of study is approximately 10%. The following Venn diagram was developed by the BFAMFAPhD who developed a report called Artists Report Back. The report is 'A national study on the lives or arts graduates and working artists.' The study is not just about students who major in dance, but about all art graduates and includes those with performing arts degrees and who work as performers, dancers, choreographers and entertainers amongst other artistic professions.

They also created a chart showing the employment diversity of the 2 million Arts graduates.

What Percentage of Dancers Become Professional?

If we go by our definition of what it means to be a professional than anyone who auditions for and is paid to dance can be considered a professional dancer. Therefore to work out a percentage I found as many facts on how many people auditioned for a dance job and compared that to how many people were actually accepted or needed for the job. I only used sources that stated actual numbers rather than alluding to a statement such as 'hundreds auditioned and only a few made it through' which limited what I was able to report on and even the following numbers are most probably estimates or rounded out by the authors of the source articles all of which have been linked to.

THE MATH WORK - How I got to 10%

To be able to give an answer to our article question, I averaged all the percentages of how many dancers obtained jobs or were accepted into schools and courses - not that scientific but it produced something if not a number to start conversations.
This average came to exactly 10.165%.
I stopped looking for more resources after it had been a couple of days of not coming up with many other sources of reliable information and also once the search engines I was using could not come up with any other articles for our 'wildcarded' search phrases. I did not stop when I had numbers that gave us this percentage, that fitted nicely with other research such as that from BFAMFAPhD , although it was a happy coincidence!

Unfortunately for the dance world, exact scientific or statistical research on the question 'what percent of dancers become professional' does not exist, nor do I believe it ever will.

Funding for research into the subject would be extremely hard to secure because training dancers is a money making business and who wants to tell a future customer that the chance of them actually succeeding is quite small, especially for those about to take out student loans and debt to pursue their dream.

CONCLUSION

Training dancers for the sole purpose of becoming a professional dancer from this research (albeit not very scientific) seems irresponsible, but it is also not the responsibility of any institution to kill a dance student's hopes and dreams. Hopefully, we can instead develop in our future dancers a mindset that learning to dance and be a professional using their knowledge of dance is just as worthy and if not more rewarding than the later as shown by Shawn Renee Lent.

RELATED QUESTIONS

How do you get paid to dance?

Dancers get paid to dance by being the best dancer for a job. Becoming one of the best can take many years of training and you can read all about what it takes in our article 'How many years of dance or ballet does it take to be a professional?' Dancers are chosen for jobs through an audition process or through networking connections, word of mouth, or reputation. These jobs might include becoming a member of a Ballet or Modern Dance Company, working as a dancer or as part of the entertainment for a theme park or on a cruise ship, dancing in music film clips, in television or film, dancing in musical theatre or for a production company.

What percent of professionals have careers vs jobs?

I have no idea, and couldn't find an answer on this one - but an educated guess would be 50% or more. A professional dancer with a career is someone who is making a good stable living from dance. A professional dancer can also just go from job to job and be unemployed as a dancer for long periods of time, working several other non-dance jobs to support themselves.

Why do so many professional dancers quit?

Some professional dancers quit because they are burnt out or unable to recover from injury. Dancing takes an incredible amount of training and time and once a dancer reaches their goal of turning pro they sometimes realize it hasn't made them as happy as they thought it would or it isn't what they expected. Another reason is that when a professional dancer does not have stable employment they will generally look for other opportunities within the field of dance or in a field other than the arts which they then pursue instead.

How do you become a professional Ballet Dancer?

To become a professional ballet dancer you need around 9 to 10 years of disciplined and consistent ballet training. Attending a pre-professional course at a school affiliated with a company reaps the most chance of success for a potential ballet student.

How do you become a professional Contemporary Dancer?

To become a professional Contemporary or Modern Dancer you need a strong background in classical ballet and therefore you would be looking to gain around 9 to 10 years of disciplined and consistent ballet training. In addition to ballet lessons, you would want to attend lessons in contemporary or modern dance. Attending a pre-professional course at a school affiliated with a modern or contemporary dance company reaps the most chance of success for a potential student.

How do you become a professional Tap Dancer?

To become a professional tap dancer you need to train for as long as it takes you to master the art of tap dancing. This will take a non dancer longer than someone who has danced before, but can be complicated even for a dancer as learning to isolate the muscles of the feet to produce tapping sounds requires different muscle memory to what one might be used to. Secondly tap is all about creating rhythms and beats which is another skill not always easily mastered. Once at a proficient level you can audition and join a tap dance company or troupe.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Percent of Dancers Become Professional?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are a lot of people out there who do some sort of dance training, but how many of those people succeed in becoming professional dancers? On Average 10% of dancers who actively pursue a career in dance become professional. The percentage of dancers who become professionals and are working artists having completed an arts degree is also 10%.

# data[].attributes.headline
'About 3% of dancers who attend college are successful'

# data[].attributes.subject
'About 3% of dancers who attend college are successful'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dancers & choreographers are most often employed by the Performing arts companies industry. The average yearly wage for Dancers & choreographers was $34,356 in 2021.

# data[].attributes.body
Pg 27 for Data on large dance companies and the female vs male leadership.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
July 20th: New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) City Artist Corps Grants: Application Cycle 2
×

A commitment to racial equity, diversity and inclusion (REDI) for the performing arts.
LEARN MORE

Learn More

Download Report
Scene from Garden Blue by Jessica Lang
Photo by Rosalie OConnor
Courtesy of American Ballet Theatre

Watch Now
Smuin Contemporary Ballet Dancers
Nicole Haskins and Ben-Needham Wood
perform- Helen-Pickett's Petal (2015)

Watch Now
Smuin Contemporary Ballet Dancers
Nicole Haskins and Ben-Needham Wood
perform- Helen-Pickett's Petal (2015)

Watch Now

Watch Now
Smuin Contemporary Ballet Dancers
Nicole Haskins Susan Roemer and Jane-Rehm
Perform Helen Pickett's Petal
Photo by Chris Hardy, courtesy of Smuin Contemporary Ballet

Lean More
Smuin Contemporary Ballet Dancers
Nicole Haskins Susan Roemer and Jane-Rehm
Perform Helen Pickett's Petal
Photo by Chris Hardy, courtesy of Smuin Contemporary Ballet

Lean More
"Her Blood a Wild River"
Choreographer: Stephanie Martinez
Costume Designer: Mark Eric
Filmmakers: Elliot deBruyn and Nathaniel Brown

The DDP Annual Report

Catch up with the DDP team as they take a look back at 2020.

#WELL SAID

DDP's #WellSaid campaign compiles notable quotes from a wide array of artists, business leaders, politicians, and more. These words not only inspire the team at Dance Data Project ® to continue advocating for women in ballet, but they often echo our research and illustrate the necessity for fundamental shifts within long standing institutions. With this variety of quotes, whether dance-related or pertaining to other fields, DDP aims to inspire cross-industry collaboration and change to advance art forms and industries past this unprecedented moment in history, creating a foundation for a new and better future in the arts. #WellSaid is an ongoing campaign that can be found on our website and Twitter. If you would like to suggest a quote for #WellSaid, please Direct Message us on Twitter @dancedatap.

It's important that we all speak up on behalf of each other, and advocate for women to get opportunities at every level. It's not just not getting the opportunity to get in the door. They're not getting the opportunities to keep moving through the ranks of the company, and that is about mentoring and advocacy on all of our behalf.
Ellevest Newsletter August 18,2020

Acknowledging and being okay with the fact that if you don't have the confidence to believe in yourself on your own, that it's something that you can gain ... from having a support system around you. It's been difficult for me throughout my life. And I know it's difficult for a lot of young people to accept and understand that you can't do everything on your own, and you're going to have days when you're not strong.
Q&A w/ Misty Copeland

But I do see a silver lining in all of this. I feel like now is the time for us to stop and breathe ... and revamp how we connect with more people, how we reach communities that are not often included. To redefine how we reach people.

Q&A w/ Misty Copeland

I think we can create theaters in communities where there is no more excuse for not having a venue in these places, and allowing these communities to feel like we're a part of them.

Q&A w/ Misty Copeland

I am on a personal mission to help women, in particular, take charge of their financial lives. We will never have full equality if we don't have financial equality and I want to help us get there. Let's face it, it's not rocket science - anyone can understand their financial situation - you just need the right person to explain it all to you (and maybe a good glass of wine.)
'Celebrity Hacks' from Alyssa Rapp's Leadership & Life Hacks

You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.

Ballet is a very traditional art form and is generally cautious about change, but I think this pandemic has pushed us forward in terms of how to reach our audience. Events of the last few months have also forced us to ask bigger questions and made us aware of ways we can be more inclusive and make people feel more a part of it.

But ballet is beset by serious ailments that threaten its future in this country: American dancers are less likely than ever to hold the top rank in American companies. African Americans have dismal prospects of inclusion - of all of the nation's performing arts, none is more segregated than ballet. And the companies are so cautious in their programming that they have effectively reduced an art form to a rotation of over-roasted chestnuts that no one can justifiably croon about.

Nowadays, the shaky economics of ballet drive the field continuously toward a standardized repertoire.

Research & Data

We encourage you to collaborate with us-let us know about special initiatives, or call our attention to areas for study or a company, artist, festival, competition or venue we haven't discovered yet. We want to know what topics you think are important for further, in-depth research. Drop us a line. Our latest research is looped in below.

Artistic and Executive Leadership Report
Published On: 6/10/21
The following Report is the third annual Dance Data Project ® Artistic and Executive Leadership Report and the most comprehensive study to date. For the 2021 Report, the research team produced two parts. The first, Largest 50 U.S. ballet companies and Scope of the Industry, was published in May 2021. This second Report examines the leadership positions at the Largest 50 and Next 50 U.S. ballet companies and compares the number of men and women in the roles, as well as their respective compensation. The Report goes further to give year-by-year comparisons and further insight into the highest compensated employees at the ballet companies with the largest operating budgets.
note: the Nota Bene was updated June 30, 2021 to reflect the most recent available data and to clarify the difference between calendar year and fiscal year.

DDP's annual Global Resident Choreographer Survey comes in the form of a Data Byte this year. As always, our team has focused on the gender distribution resident choreographers at leading domestic and international ballet companies.

This year, we examined 64 resident choreographer positions at 75 United States and 68 international ballet companies for a total of 143 companies. Want to see the year-to-year comparison? Download our Notes and Limitations document for some additional context and insight.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Virginia Woolf, of the self-abnegating voice in her head

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
July 20th: New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) City Artist Corps Grants: Application Cycle 2 × A commitment to racial equity, diversity and inclusion (REDI) for the performing arts.

# data[].attributes.body
Review Help sheet and continue compiling jobs hierarchy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Talent, skill, work ethic. Which matters most? Which makes a dancer hirable? Which gives longevity?

Whether you're an aspiring dancer or a working professional, it's a question you've probably asked yourself before. With the pursuit of professionalism in the workplace, this topic has floated around countless Q&A panels, dance workshops, and educational industry-oriented programs. I spent a lot of time asking myself if exceptional talent is enough to "make it", or if hard work alone can secure a successful dance career. I'd wonder about the importance of one's personality, not just on, but off stage, too. Is there a holy grail, a perfect balance that can keep a dancer working consistently and allow them to live off of it for years to come?

Talent - The Elephant

Let's start with the elephant in the room. Talent. The dramatic, magical word that has kept generations of dancers restless. Maybe "talent" is this elusive, divine quality, randomly sprinkled between all of us at birth. Maybe it's given like a treasure we'll carry through life and share with the world if we so choose. Perhaps it's more like a seed, a knack for something that we'll have to identify, fall in love with, and nurture, so it can grow, evolve and elevate us. Most importantly... is it enough to give us a successful dance career?

In my 13 years as a professional dancer and choreographer, I've worked all across the world. I experienced different cultures, workflows, opinions, and different levels of predisposition or... "natural talent". I've seen people show up to class in the last 20 minutes, sit down, watch the routine, then get up and perform it seamlessly. I've also seen people having to drill a groove or a step for twice as long as the rest of the class just to get it - and they still didn't look good doing it. Now, which ones do you think went on to have successful dance careers? Spoiler alert... It was, in an overwhelming majority, the latter. The underdogs. The ugly ducklings. The ones that weren't "naturals". At the risk of stating the obvious, I'll say: talent without hard work gets us nowhere. But here's another interesting thesis. When things come to us easily, we don't appreciate them as much. The fulfillment is just not as... full. Not as thrilling. There's something about the fight, the process, and the time invested, that makes the wins taste so much better. The sacrifices we have to make become this magic ingredient that turns tiny wins into triumphs, more significant and satisfying - simply because they require more than we've anticipated. I'm sure you're familiar with this empowering feeling of excitement, bliss, fulfillment, and being proud after you've had to stretch yourself just a bit beyond your comfort zone. That feeling can be addicting and, more often than not, it will turn into fuel that keeps us going, reaching for more and setting higher goals for ourselves.

Great work ethic means always showing up your best - even if that best looks slightly different each day.

"Talent" may simply represent these few things that are easier for you than for another person. It could be a set of a few innate dance abilities you discover yourself to be gifted with. Maybe you realized you can pick up choreography quickly or you have a great ear and natural understanding of musical pocket. But there's a catch... Arguably, these "talents" can turn from a blessing into a curse, if not handled correctly. When things come easy, you may get bored. Not feel challenged. Perhaps you get praised a whole lot and the first time you face a difficulty (a pushback, rejection) it destroys you, simply because you've never developed the tools to deal with failure. Following this logic, one can argue that the lack of "talent" could become a blessing in disguise. It could make one work harder and inevitably outgrow, out-train and outsmart the competition. But one thing is certain: talent is not enough.

In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle presents his amazing discovery about talent. It's based on years of travel and research across various genres of sport and art, which he conducted in different cultures, countries, financial conditions, etc. He states that talent is not something we're born with, but rather a growing, ever-evolving result of a few necessary factors. He argues that with the right type of motivation, coaching, and practice, everyone can achieve greatness. He breaks down our brain's natural skill-building process and proves that talent is something we can grow and harvest. It's a must-read for every dancer who may be second-guessing their natural ability, talent, or potential.

Skill - The Muscle

Hard work, patience, and consistency. All these bring me to part two - skill. We could define skill simply by saying it's a technical proficiency and physical ability of a dancer. However, since we can also practice and improve things like stage presence, "star quality", musicality, or even our creativity (yes, this is a "muscle" too!), I'll argue that these are also skills, not talents. Yes, an aspiring dancer may initially be more gifted in one or the other. But it doesn't mean they can't build up all these qualities to the same, high, professional level through practice. Which undeniably makes them... skills.

I can't stress enough the importance of realizing that the qualities we are all after as professional dancers are simply skills. Not superpowers. Call it a mind trick, but it works. Regardless if you've been dancing for a while or you're just starting out - it takes the power away from the Goliath of the next level you're trying to conquer. There's nothing you can't improve in your dancing with hard work, patience, and consistency. You've probably heard dance teachers say that they can't teach you "the feeling", but guess what... Even this is something you can get better at. You can get closer to understanding "the feeling" by studying the culture, roots, and history of the dance style at hand, and immersing yourself in it.

Now with this piece of encouragement and a little mind game to play to make things easier, let's face the reality - skills are what will keep you working. Versatile skills are a recipe for how to work consistently. The more dance styles you know and can execute effortlessly, the more in demand you'll be. With that said... being a versatile dancer doesn't end with proficiency in different styles. Let's talk about another layer to one's versatility as a performer.

Many dancers don't know how to adjust their performance to different kinds of dance jobs. They don't know how to train, prepare for and execute a performance on television, in a theater, or at a stadium. This is a whole other side of a dancer's artistic versatility that shouldn't go unattended. Exposing yourself to as much training as possible will do wonders. You will not only become more hirable, you'll also discover how interconnected all of dance really is. Your hip hop technique will improve from taking jazz, your textures and dynamics will get better from taking ballroom, etc.

Work Ethic - The Knockout

Now that we've established the power of skill in getting you hired and the power of versatility in keeping you working, let's move on to the final ingredient for a true K.O. career combo recipe - the work ethic. Why is work ethic so important? This last element will give you longevity and most likely open more doors than you'd expect.

In my experience as both the person hiring and being hired, the value of work ethic is immense and often underrated. But what is work ethic in the world of dance, really? The first layer would be the obvious: being on time, replying in a timely manner, coming to rehearsal prepared, leaving personal issues outside the studio, etc. Now, if we peel that off and look deeper, there's the second layer: committing to constant improvement, keeping your skills up to date, being the best version of yourself at all times, so you can not only be a vessel, but an inspiration, both in rehearsal and on stage, both to the choreographer and to the audience.

If you rest on a few laurels, talent could keep you unprepared for the real tests of professional dance life.

Sometimes great work ethic means going above and beyond, a willingness to serve outside of your job description, and adding value for the greater good (and believe me, this almost never goes unnoticed). Great work ethic means always showing up your best - even if that best looks slightly different each day. Finally, it means never giving up on yourself. The team needs you to believe in yourself just as much as they do (if not more!).

The dance industry is small, regardless of where you live. Choreographers, directors, and producers all talk to each other. A lot. Choreographers refer dancers to one another just as producers and directors refer choreographers amongst themselves. No one in the industry has time to constantly look for new talent and replace people. Auditions are expensive and time-consuming. The most efficient way is to stick to great, versatile, reliable performers who are a pleasure to work with. This is why work ethic is important. It will take you far and most importantly - it will keep you there.

Mixing It Up

So what's the essential mixture to achieve a high level of professionalism in the workplace as a dancer? The importance and power of "talent" has been blown out of proportion by our society and culture. Yes, talent can perhaps start you off on your way to greatness. But be careful. If you rest on a few laurels, talent could keep you unprepared for the real tests of professional dance life. On the other hand, if you don't feel exceptionally talented but love to dance and dream of doing it professionally - good news! With hard work, patience and consistency you'll get there and very possibly outgrow the naturally "talented ones" sooner than you think.

To secure a successful and lasting dance career, developing versatile skills and topping it off with a strong work ethic is a must. It will become your holy grail, a true K.O. to any professional adversity. It will not only make you more hirable, but provide longevity as a high-quality, reliable star performer. Versatility, consistency and great work ethic are what the next generation of dance veterans will be made of. And you just may be one in the making right now.

Alek Palinski

Alek is a professional dancer and choreographer born and raised in Poland. He received a Jazz Dance Instruction and Choreography degree under Kielecki Dance Theatre from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland. After a successful career in Europe, in 2015 he moved to Los Angeles where he continues to pursue his dreams as a professional dancer. His credits include: Celine Dion, Pharrell, Jessie J, Karol G, Kehlani, Camila Cabello, Finneas, Kim Petras, Christian Louboutin and Dita Von Teese, for whom he's currently a principal dancer, choreographer and a creative associate. As an active professional dancer, he regularly performs on TV/Film and live stage. Some of his screen credits include: SYTYCD, X Factor, The Voice, "Don't Worry Darling", "Sitting in Bars with Cake", "Monarch", "1923" and Dancing With The Stars.

Alek, the writer: Alek's love for language and writing started with his mom, a high school Polish teacher. Before dance, he thought journalism would be his career. He now fulfills this second passion by sharing his opinion, experience and advice through articles and opinion pieces in the field of dance.

Alek, the teacher: With 15 years of experience as a dancer, choreographer and educator, Alek has taught his dance classes all around the world: from Poland, France, United Kindgom, Italy and Switzerland, to United States, Australia and New Zealand. He specializes in contemporary fusion and commercial dance styles. In his classes, you will experience intricate musicality while focusing on intention, details and dynamics, as well as the texture of the movement. His classes put emphasis on story-telling, while maintaining a technical, structured background. He also focuses a lot on improvisation as a tool of movement and expression development.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Talent, Skill, Work Ethic: What Makes You a True Professional Dancer? | Dance Articles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How do you achieve professionalism in the workplace? What are qualities a dancer must possess for job success? Here are some insights.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Only 2% of actors make a living. How do you become one of them?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It’s a notoriously tough profession, so what can you do to avoid being one of the 98%?

# data[].attributes.body
(link to Instagram but listen to podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify etc)

# data[].attributes.body
This can be in any format, in any style, as long it is clear which jobs are at the ‘top’ of the hierarchy and so on.

·       Create a broad performing arts job hierarchy, explaining roles & responsibilities.

·       Choose at least three roles, linked to your chosen career in the performing arts industry to investigate and detail further:

o   Answer the following questions:

§  What are their roles and responsibilities?

§  How accessible/possible is it to forge a career within these identified job roles & why?

§  What qualifications / skills will make a career more accessible?

§  How has technology affected how accessible a career is within each identified job roles & why? – critically analyse.

§  How diverse is the workforce in each identified job roles and why? – critically analyse.

You will need to conduct additional research and Harvard reference to support your points for these distinction criteria.

§  Are they likely to be employed or self-employed?

§  What are the differences between being employed and self-employed (especially in relation to the performing arts industry)

§  What are the legal rights and responsibilities of being employed or self-employed?

§  How do each of these job roles compare and contrast when working in live theatre vs recorded media?

Tips:

Still write in paragraph form.

Critically analyse -  argue all sides of a point; find research to support all points; offer opinions (at least 400 words per point to critically analyse)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 3

# data[].attributes.headline
Film and TV industry health and wellbeing report '22

# data[].attributes.subject
Film and TV industry health and wellbeing report '22

# data[].attributes.body
(Download paper within article)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download the most recent edition of our landmark study of mental health and wellbeing among film, TV, and cinema industry workforce.

# data[].attributes.body
Create a How To Guide that explores the following:

Safe working practices within your chosen specialism. The innovation and rise of technology and the safety impacts of this within your chosen practice. Risks associated within the performing arts sector.

Within the ‘How to guide’ you need to explore:

•The definition of health, safety, and wellbeing in the context of a performing arts career and explore the risk associated with being in a performing art environment

• The differences in risk for online and in person environments

•Innovations individuals can take to maintain a healthy working practice

•Skills and developments that can be undertaken to maintain safe working practices

•Innovations and changes being made within the performing arts environment to make it safe and more inclusive.

•Tips on maintaining a healthy working lifestyle within your chosen field.

Using the research and information gathered you should analyse your own health and wellbeing against the information presented in the how to guide then create strategies to improve working practices within your chosen field. You should discuss how the rise of technology can help with innovative practices with a performing arts context, with explicit links to social media and its benefits and disadvantages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 2

# data[].attributes.body
Continue writing How To Guide:

Deadline: 8th March (Next Friday)

Tips linked to criteria:

•P1 – include a section where you define what ‘health’, ‘safety’ and ‘wellbeing’ are, in the context of performing arts & your specialism

•P2 – when discussing your strategies, explain what the negative impact of not following your ‘how-to-guide’ might be for each of the topics you are exploring

•M1 – Explore several hints and tips to maintain a healthy working lifestyle in your chosen specialism

•D1 – Use a reflective cycle e.g. Rolfe – What?, So What?, Now What? Or Gibbs to help you with this analytical section.

# data[].attributes.headline
Live link to Broadway statistics of social media 

# data[].attributes.subject
Live link to Broadway statistics of social media 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Broadway Social Media Stats. Find out how Broadway shows are doing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unit 1 The Performing Arts Industry Lesson 1

# data[].attributes.headline
23rd February 2024. Continue researching and creating your How To Guide. 

# data[].attributes.subject
23rd February 2024. Continue researching and creating your How To Guide. 

# data[].attributes.body
Refer to the brief and last week's PowerPoint to help inform the task.

Research into the following:

What is health, safety, and wellbeing in the context of a performing arts career?

What are the risks associated with sustaining health and wellbeing in a career in a performing arts environment?

Begin compiling the above into your How To Guide

Provide examples linked to both: ‘For example…’

# data[].attributes.body
How To Guide - 8th March 2024

Task 2 Job Roles Document - 17th April 2024

Task 3 Marketing Presentation - 27th May 2024

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Weighting by Jamie Beddard. Photo: Richard Davenport

We have been working on updating and rewriting the Accessible Marketing Guide, in partnership with AMA CultureHive, which was originally published in 2016. A lot has changed in the world of Arts marketing and social media since then and we wanted the guide to reflect this.

Accessibility means the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. When we talk about accessibility we are talking about removing the barriers preventing someone from accessing something.

In marketing this translates to our websites, our print or marketing materials and our social media as well as the written copy, images, videos and other media we use across all of these platforms. Making our marketing materials accessible is important so it is useable to as many people as possible, regardless of context.

The Accessible Marketing Guide, which you can read below, contains an introduction to accessibility, the basics of making marketing material accessible, accessible websites, print and text, accessible formats, making social media accessible and a list of useful references that informed the guide as well as further resources.

The original version of this document was published in 2016 by Jennifer Tomkins, former Head of Marketing and Development, Artsadmin and Jo Verrent, Senior Producer, Unlimited. This latest version was updated in 2020 by Grace McDonagh, Marketing Officer, Artsadmin, with support from the Unlimited, Artsadmin and Shape Arts teams.

Read the Accessible Marketing Guide in your preferred format:

Updated on 19 November 2020

Please do get in contact us at info@unlimited.org.uk if you have any questions, suggestions or additions to this guide. This is a live document and we want to keep it as up to date as possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have been working on updating and rewriting the Accessible Marketing Guide, in partnership with AMA CultureHive, which was originally published in 2016. A lot has changed in the world of Arts marketing and social media since then and we wanted the guide to reflect this. Accessibility means the degree...