What the recession means to dance professionals
Posted by: Henrik Lamark on 31.Mar.2011 17:33
This article is written by Henrik Lamark, the professional ballet dancer behind the increasingly popular ballet blog TightsAndTiaras.com. Read more about Henrik and his blog here.
As you all know, financially, the world (at least the western parts) has had a little down-period the last couple of years.. But this is a blog on ballet - why would you want to be reading about that??
Well, I would love to say that finance and ballet has nothing to do with each other. But then, I need a job. And that job needs to pay my salary, so that I can get my bread and butter (oh, wait, skip that, no butter. But maybe some margarine?!). And for my employer - the ballet theatre - to be able to do that, they need money.
And thats where the recession comes in. You see, when times are tight, and there's not as much valuta in your wallet as you'd want it to be (ok, I know theres never as much in there as we'd want it to be, but you get the picture), you are a lot less likely to go see a ballet performance then you were back in the sweet days before the recession. And it's not only the audience that fails - government-funded theaters also has felt the recession in their budgets, as has those who relies on donations and fundraisers to pay their dancers. In short: times are hard. As a result of that, many theaters has been forced to cut in, which has a direct effect on the dancer - me..
Some people have lost their jobs. But a more widespread effect of the recession is that it's harder to find jobs. The theaters just can't afford hiring as many dancers as before, or they try to limit their expenses by hiring dancers for shorter periods, only when they are really needed for a production. March is high-season for companies to hold their auditions looking for dancers for the coming season. So also this year, except, in 2011, they are not looking for dancers for the season. They're looking for three girls to perform in Swan Lake from August to December, two boys for Spartacus from January to March, and so on..
Times are hard. But what can we do? Do you have an idea to how to get some money back into the theaters? I, and a bunch of fellow dancers, would really appreciate it, you see, we need a job…
As you all know, financially, the world (at least the western parts) has had a little down-period the last couple of years.. But this is a blog on ballet - why would you want to be reading about that??
Well, I would love to say that finance and ballet has nothing to do with each other. But then, I need a job. And that job needs to pay my salary, so that I can get my bread and butter (oh, wait, skip that, no butter. But maybe some margarine?!). And for my employer - the ballet theatre - to be able to do that, they need money.
And thats where the recession comes in. You see, when times are tight, and there's not as much valuta in your wallet as you'd want it to be (ok, I know theres never as much in there as we'd want it to be, but you get the picture), you are a lot less likely to go see a ballet performance then you were back in the sweet days before the recession. And it's not only the audience that fails - government-funded theaters also has felt the recession in their budgets, as has those who relies on donations and fundraisers to pay their dancers. In short: times are hard. As a result of that, many theaters has been forced to cut in, which has a direct effect on the dancer - me..
Some people have lost their jobs. But a more widespread effect of the recession is that it's harder to find jobs. The theaters just can't afford hiring as many dancers as before, or they try to limit their expenses by hiring dancers for shorter periods, only when they are really needed for a production. March is high-season for companies to hold their auditions looking for dancers for the coming season. So also this year, except, in 2011, they are not looking for dancers for the season. They're looking for three girls to perform in Swan Lake from August to December, two boys for Spartacus from January to March, and so on..
Times are hard. But what can we do? Do you have an idea to how to get some money back into the theaters? I, and a bunch of fellow dancers, would really appreciate it, you see, we need a job…
