The Ballet Help Desk was born out of two moms who spent years trying to figure out how to support their dancing kids. From the competition circuit to ballet training to their professional careers, we stumbled along trying to support our kids in the best way we knew how.
After several years on this path, we’re ready to share what we’ve learned with you!
Meet Brett & Jenny
Brett
When my son was four, he memorized every move to Beyonce’s Single Ladies and crashed the dance floor at my cousin’s wedding to perform it. We didn’t know it then, but oh, were we in for a ride! And, now, here we are. My son, Sam, is now a professional dancer and I’m now a full-fledged dance parent.
Once it became clear that my son was serious about professional ballet, I enrolled in the “how to be a ballet parent school.” The amount of time I spent learning about the ballet world easily dwarfs the number of hours I spent in my Silicon Valley days helping companies build brands and audiences for consumer internet companies.
Yep, I was that parent. I cold-called parents of older ballet students, made a beeline for people sitting alone in ballet school lobbies, joined every dance related Facebook group and chatted up anyone who would talk to me. I needed a crash course in ballet parenting and I was going to find anyone out there who knew more than I did. And, yeah, that was pretty much everyone.
That probably wasn’t the most efficient way to do it, but I didn’t know any better at the time. So, now that I’ve managed to absorb as much information as possible, I’m ready to hand it off to you! Join us on this crazy ride called raising a serious ballet dancer and come on over to the Ballet Help Desk!
Jenny
When my kids were little, my husband and I followed the “try everything and hope a few things stick” approach to extracurricular activities. My daughter came out of the womb wanting to move. She was hooked when she walked into her first combo dance class. She began competing in jazz and lyrical at age 4. My husband and I were in denial that this after-school activity was about to be the deciding factor in most of our family decisions.
At age 8, she wanted to move to a more serious ballet school. I spent so many late nights scouring the internet for information on how to pick a ballet school. What do all the different styles of ballet mean? How do you know if your school is “good”? Little did we know that this would be the first of many ‘how do we choose’ moments. When Abbey was 11, her teacher said she should audition for a summer intensive. I did not know what that was, so I scoured the dance magazines in the lobby of the ballet school and asked her teachers for guidance. I asked the parents of older students at her ballet school for advice. Everyone was well-intentioned but not super helpful. I quickly realized that becoming a ballet mom expert was up to me.
I spent excessive time and way too many late nights researching different programs. I familiarized myself with the ballet calendar of events, master classes, and summer intensives. All the while, we were exposing her to bigger ponds and seeing where she fits. As my daughter is on the precipice of moving into the professional ballet world, I realized I wanted to pay forward all the knowledge I have gained over the years. Ballet Help Desk was born out of the idea that there has to be a better, more collaborative way to learn how to navigate the ballet parent world. It is here to serve as a space where you can ask any question, and we are happy to share everything we know about that topic. Welcome! We are excited to help you!