On the heels of our last post where we talked about non-ballet questions to ask, let’s now turn to questions that directly relate to ballet in any residential ballet school. First, here’s the reality: dancers are going to go to the program they get into. We can give you a laundry list of things to consider, but it will come down to where your dancer gets admitted. Hopefully, by asking these questions prior to even creating a target school list, it will help you more narrowly define what your dancer is looking for.
Full-Time Ballet Program Outcomes
We can talk until we’re blue in the face about class type, size, variety, etc. But, the most important consideration is job placement. First, how many students from the school get promoted into the trainee program or the second company? If you want a detailed explanation of how to figure out what trainee or second company actually means, you can read about it here.
Second, for those students who do not go into the company’s trainee or second company program, where do they go? Do they all go somewhere? And, does the school bring in other company or school artistic directors to audition students for their trainee and second company slots? Or, how many stop dancing? I’d be nervous if the majority of students graduated from a residential ballet program and that was the end of their dance career.
Not surprisingly, different schools have different placement rates and some are better than others. A good source of information on placement success is available from the DataPointes Guide. This guide was published by former dancers who combed through publicly available information to determine how well each U.S. based training program was placing dancers in jobs.
One of my biggest gripes with residential ballet schools and conservatories is that many don’t publish where their graduates go. For the ones with sky-high placement rates, I’d think that this would be a great marketing tool. But, maybe they have enough students applying that they don’t need to worry about it. If you want a great example of a school that is transparent about where its graduates go, check out the Royal Ballet School’s page about its graduates.
For programs that don’t post the information on their websites, the best way to find placement rates is to ask the school. They might be willing to give you a list of where their recent graduates have gone. Otherwise, you’re looking at some research. You have a few options. The best is to join the various ballet related Facebook groups and start asking. You probably won’t get a comprehensive list from one person. But, you will likely get enough information from a few people to make an educated guess.
The second way to glean this data is through your dancer. By the time they’re ready to go into a residential program, the odds are they have attended multiple summer programs and know people all over the ballet world. This is why networking is so important. If you want to know where dancers have gone, have your dancer start reaching out to everyone they know. The other pro tip our kids gave us is that all your dancer needs is one person in a school. That, and social media! If your dancer can find one person on Instagram who is graduating from the school, with a little social media sleuthing, they can usually figure out where kids are finding jobs.
Ok, now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, let’s look at other issues to consider.
Performance Opportunities
One important factor is how much students perform. Sure, there is always the chance the company might use students for that year’s repertoire. But, it’s also possible they won’t. Pro-tip: in some residential ballet programs, there are more opportunities for women to do corps work in story ballets than there are for men. So keep this in mind if you’re the parent of a boy.
Ideally, the school will have its own slate of performances. But, this is worth a hard look. Some schools do very little performing and some perform like crazy. Many fall somewhere in between. Your dancer should think about what they need and factor that into both where they choose to audition and also where they ultimately decide to go. Do they have great performance skills but they just need to drill on technique? Or, are they rock solid in their technique but need to up their partnering game? Or their performance game?
Finally, does the school do competitions? Some company affiliated schools and residential conservatories do participate in competitions like YAGP, ADC|IBC and the Prix de Lausanne. If competition is important to your dancer, be sure to research which schools attend competitions.
The takeaway here is that you should learn what each school emphasizes and make sure it meets the needs of your particular dancer.
Curriculum and Student Body Composition
The curriculum of a residential ballet program can vary based on staff size as well as the make-up of the student body. So, it’s important to look at the types and the quantity of classes offered. For example, is there a robust contemporary program that is a regular part of the curriculum? And, if it is contemporary, do students learn specific repertoire or is it mostly improvisation?
And, what other types of classes are offered? Horton technique? A bit of Balanchine if it’s a French technique school? Maybe some modern or jazz? Dancers should also be learning variations from the well-known classical ballets. They will need to include a classical variation (as well as a contemporary piece) as part of any company audition video they create, so the sooner they can be learning them, the better.
In addition, is there live piano accompaniment in classes? As dancers progress in their training, it’s important to learn how to dance with live music being played. Some conductors may play faster than others or the cadence may change a bit from conductor to conductor. The sooner dancers can learn how to react to musical changes, the better off they’ll be once they hit the job market.
Finally, does the program attract (and keep) talented male dancers. If a program has a shortage of talented male dancers, seriously consider if this is where you want your student. Parents of females, consider the implications for regular partnering. And, parents of male dancers, avoid programs where there are not a lot of men. Men’s classes need to be the norm, not the exception. Young men need to be pushed by each other. They should not be in technique class with women in the absence of a comprehensive men’s program.
Student Retention
The last area to consider is student retention. First, is the program known for keeping students for a long time or does the class turn over annually, with lots of new students coming in each year? What is the student evaluation process each year? Are students given clear feedback both informally as well as formally? Ideally, by the time promotions and cuts take place, this should not come as a surprise to any student. However, this isn’t the case at many schools.
In addition, how early in the year are students notified of their fate for the following year? In a perfect world, students would be informed early enough in the year that they would be able to make alternative plans if they’re being assessed out of their current school. However, some schools are notorious for giving fairly late notification, sometimes leaving students with few options if they need to leave.
In terms of cuts, how many are affected? And, at what level do these cuts take place? It’s not uncommon for large cuts to take place between the intermediate and advanced levels of a residential ballet program. However, at some schools, the cuts are less severe. You’ll hear talk about whether or not a school “invests in its current talent.” This can often be misconstrued.
Until students reach the advanced level of a school, commonly referred to as the “finishing” level, most students in intermediate levels are local kids. The jump from the intermediate level to the advanced level can be a big one and most kids don’t make that jump.
This is why you may see a lot of new faces once your dancer gets to the advanced levels.
Choosing a residential ballet program can be stressful. Hopefully, with the tips we’ve given you, we might help smooth the path a little!