Ballet Training: Cost, Care, and Compensation
Ballerinas and danseurs have a reputation for being elegant and glamorous, graceful albeit powerful. Well, people cannot be blamed for such a common perception for indeed all these characteristics most ballerinas and danseurs possess in varying degrees.
On the other hand, what most people don’t realize is that ballet dancers of all shapes and sizes, but most especially those who have attained prima status, have offered blood, toil, sweat and tears (thanks, Winston Churchill) to get to where they are now.
Cost – Financial and Otherwise
The tuition and incidental expenses related to ballet education can run in the hundreds of thousands. You will have to spend for tuition and matriculation as well as for private tutoring, which depends on your technical level with pre-ballet at around $2,000 to Level 8 at approximately $5,000 per year for a middle-range ballet school.
There are the formal tuition costs which vary depending on whether the dancer is enrolled in a formal ballet school where both dance and academic subjects are taught side by side, or whether there is private and group tuition to be paid on a weekly basis. The higher the skill level, the higher the costs. The same can be said about the incidental costs that are also incurred. These include appropriate clothing, transport, living expenses where appropriate and even school supplies.
There are ballet scholarships available for those ballet dancers who are serious about their dance and hope to pursue this as a profession. Unfortunately these are limited in number and so the standard required to receive one is high.
The other costs to take into account when considering ballet are the emotional and physical effects that ballet can have on those who choose this form of dance. Not only the practice hours of the novice, but the rehearsal hours and then performance hours of the professional ballerina and danseur mean that the body can become tired and needs to be looked after carefully. There’s little opportunity for a social life with anyone outside of the ballet culture.
Personal Care
Sure, the ballerinas and danseurs you see on stage look so graceful, so ethereal and so light on their feet. What you don’t see is the extreme care ballet dancers have to exercise to take care of their bodies and their minds.
There are many rules that a ballet dancer needs to follow in order to maintain the level of health required. They mustn’t drink alcohol or take drugs. They needs to ensure that they get enough sleep each night. Their nutrition must be good without a lot of empty calories from junk food – even if they’re tired and just want to grab something to eat before falling into bed after a long day of training.
A positive attitude is a must to help with the mental stresses. Training has to be focused and not half-hearted because if you don’t show you’re dancing at your best, you’ll find yourself replaced by someone who is. By the time they are professionals however, this is all second nature to ballet dancers who have no intention of letting someone else steal the place they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Ballet Dancing Compensation
One of the first things any ballet dancer will receive in terms of compensation is applause from an appreciative audience. Right back at the beginner’s recital, the love of audience approval will spur even the youngest of dancers to perform at their very best.
Financial rewards for ballet dancers aren’t great. Unless you have some form of national or international following you are only as good as the show you are currently performing in, and how long that show runs can vary from weeks (or even days) to months. Even a prima ballerina isn’t likely to be compensated financially for anywhere near the amount of hours she spends training and dancing in order to achieve her high level of ability.
The negative financial outlook however is often secondary to the opportunity of being paid to dance. It’s something that many people dream of, but very few actually manage to achieve.
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