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Introducing The Encore Fund
Fact: Most professional dancers make very little moneyAlso Fact: Most professional dancers are super smart and driven Logic would tell you that dancers would want to pursue some sort of higher education either while they’re dancing or once they finish. The problem? Most education subsidies that some professional dancers get while still performing don’t carry…
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Happy Anniversary To Ballet Help Desk!
One day, about 18 months ago, Jenny and I were out hiking. We got to talking about how many people were calling us to ask for advice on sending their students to San Francisco Ballet School. Since our kids had been there for four years, apparently we were considered some sort of resident experts on…
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The Culture Of Fear In Ballet Schools Is Real
When we launched our summer intensive reviews back in May of 2023, we hoped to get a few submissions for a handful of the larger programs. But, wow, did people come through! As of today, we have nearly 900 reviews for 169 different programs! We can’t thank you enough for the huge levels of participation!…
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Mental Fitness Maintenance
Today, we’re joined by Elizabeth Sullivan, a success coach and wellness mentor for pre-professional dancers. Full disclosure: Both of our kids have worked with Elizabeth over the years. While we might be biased, we think she brings a fresh voice in the ballet training world. Winter and early Spring, better known as audition season, brings…
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Post-Graduate Programs – What Does It All Mean??
This is an update to a post we published in May of 2023. We’ve added important updates so give it a read! It’s audition season! For summer programs, right? Yes, but also it’s time for dancers to start sending out materials in hopes of landing a coveted post-graduate spot. You’re thinking, “Wait! My dancer is…
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Summer Intensives: Rejections, Acceptances & Scholarships
As we roll into the holidays, better known as Nutcracker and summer intensive audition season, we wanted to give you a bit of advice on how to handle the inevitable acceptance, rejection and scholarship issues that will arise after auditions conclude. Ballet summer intensive auditions are some of the most stressful times in a young…
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Are European Summer Intensives Worth It?
It’s time for a bonus entry to our Summer Intensive Boot Camp! This article is all about European summer intensives. What are they? How do they work? How do you get admitted and are they worth it? Sometimes it feels like everyone is talking about going to a summer intensive in Europe. It definitely felt…
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Tips & Tricks For Summer Intensive Audition Photos
We are so fortunate to have a guest blogger today! Meet Emily Brunner, a professional dance photographer based in Philadelphia. In addition, to sitting down with us for an interview, she has generously put together this list of tips and tricks for audition photos! Hope you find it as helpful as we did! It’s almost…
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What Boys Should Look For In Summer Intensives
The first part of this week’s installment of our Summer Intensive Boot Camp is all about the boys! Let’s talk about ballet summer intensives – what to look for, how scholarships work and how to avoid going insane in the process! Much of what we’ve written as part of our boot camp series applies to…
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Guide To Researching Ballet Summer Intensives And Scheduling Auditions
If it’s November, it’s Summer Intensive planning time! For those of you who have not done a summer intensive before, be sure to read our blog post that explains just exactly what they are. Now that we’re heading into prep time for auditions, we wanted to give you an overview of what to consider when…