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Ballet Questions Answered | A Dancer's Approach

@adancersapproach

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Current professional ballet dancer.
Helping dancers navigate training, auditions, ballet life & mindset.
Questions? DM me 🤍
Anonymous for now.

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There’s a strange gap in ballet.

We spend years being taught how to dance, but there are so many parts of being a dancer that nobody really teaches you.

How auditions actually feel when you’re in the middle of them.

How to know whether something happening in training is normal.

What company life is really like before you get there.

What casting can, and absolutely cannot, tell you about yourself.

When to speak up.

When to let something go.

What people actually notice in a professional environment.

And about 400 other questions that somehow never make it into the syllabus.

I was lucky enough to learn a lot of this by living it.

Whether you’re training seriously, auditioning, already working professionally, dancing purely because you love it, or trying to understand the ballet world your child has somehow dragged the entire family into… you’re welcome here. 🤍

And yes, I’m anonymous for now.

But anonymity isn’t really the point.

Access is.

So if there’s something you’ve always wanted to ask a professional ballet dancer, send me a DM.

Even the weirdly specific question.

Actually, especially that one. 😌

#ADancersApproach #dancersupport #balletcareer #preproballet #balletauditions by @adancersapproach

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16 days ago

One thing I’ve watched happen a lot in ballet is dancers giving far too much meaning to one person’s opinion.

A teacher loves what you’re doing. Brilliant.
A director compliments you. Even better.
A choreographer suddenly seems interested. Obviously we’re having a lovely day. 🤭

But then somebody else isn’t particularly impressed and suddenly it’s an internal investigation.

The reality is that people have preferences. They respond to different qualities, different dancers, different styles and sometimes you simply won’t be what somebody is looking for.

That doesn’t automatically mean there is something wrong with you.

Listen to people. Take corrections seriously. Stay curious and keep improving. You can absolutely care about what the people around you think without allowing their approval to determine how you feel about yourself.

I’ve seen very talented dancers give one person’s opinion an extraordinary amount of power, and I’ve never thought that was a particularly good deal.

Want the compliment. Want the opportunity. Want people to believe in you.

Just don’t need their validation to feel complete as a human being.

You’re still you before the compliment, after the correction, and during that slightly terrifying moment when somebody at the front of the studio makes an unreadable facial expression. 😂

Now go out there and love yourself!

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletDancer #BalletTraining #DancerLife by @adancersapproach

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a month ago

I’m not going to pretend every director, ballet staff member or company works the same way.

But after spending more than a decade inside a company, you start noticing patterns.

And one of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that trust carries an enormous amount of weight.

When I was younger, I thought the dancers who would get the opportunities were simply the dancers who were the most impressive.

The best turns.
The highest legs.
The strongest class.

Of course all of that matters.

But once you’re inside a company, you start seeing another side of it.

The dancers who keep being trusted are often the ones people know they can rely on.

They come prepared.

They take a correction and actually do something with it.

They don’t completely unravel when a rehearsal goes badly.

If something goes wrong onstage, they keep dancing.

They can be given responsibility without needing somebody to hold their hand through every decision.

And, perhaps most importantly, there is a sense that when the curtain goes up, they will find a way to deliver.

I think this was something I completely underestimated as a student.

I thought you had to constantly prove that you were extraordinary.

Now I think there is something incredibly powerful about becoming the dancer people quietly think:

“I can trust them with this.”

That doesn’t mean being perfect.

It doesn’t mean never struggling, never making mistakes or always being easy.

It means that over time, your work starts to create a reputation for you.

How you prepare.
How you respond.
How you behave when you’re disappointed.
How you handle pressure.
How you treat the work when nobody seems particularly interested in watching you.

And people notice far more than I realised when I was younger.

This is one of those parts of professional ballet that isn’t always explained to you at school.

You spend years trying to become a better dancer.

Then eventually you realise you’re also becoming someone people have to decide whether they can trust.

And from what I’ve seen from inside the room, that can matter more than you think.

#adancersapproach #professionalballet #balletdancer #ballettraining #dancecareer by @adancersapproach

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a month ago

One of the hardest things about ballet is that pain and effort can become very normal very quickly.

You are surrounded by people who are tired.

People who are sore.

People who are taping something.

People who are quietly negotiating with a body part that has clearly filed a complaint.

So your idea of “normal” shifts.

You stop asking:

“Should I be doing this?”

and start asking:

“Can I technically get through it?”

Those are not always the same question.

There is also a strange guilt around stopping.

You know rehearsals are continuing.

You know somebody else may have to cover you.

You know there is always another dancer who would happily take the opportunity.

And that can make even a sensible decision feel somehow selfish.

Which is probably why dancers become extremely creative negotiators with themselves.

“I’ll just see how class feels.”

“I’ll mark rehearsal.”

“I’ll do this one run.”

“I’ll decide after lunch.”

An impressive amount of bargaining for a profession with no union representative assigned to your left ankle.

What took me time to understand is that professionalism is not only about being available today.

It is also about being available next week.

Next month.

Next season.

There is no prize for winning one rehearsal and losing six weeks afterwards.

And sometimes maturity in this profession looks much less heroic than we imagined when we were younger.

It looks like saying something early.

Getting something checked.

Leaving before you have completely emptied the tank.

Taking recovery seriously.

Allowing yourself to be temporarily unavailable so you do not become permanently unavailable.

That applies mentally too.

You do not need to earn exhaustion.

You do not need to reach absolute collapse before you are “allowed” to rest.

The strongest dancers I know are not necessarily the ones who can tolerate the most.

They are often the ones who have learned themselves well enough to know when continuing is productive…

and when it is just pride wearing a leotard.

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletLife #BalletDancer #DancerHealth by @adancersapproach

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2 days ago

At some point, every dancer has to stop waiting for someone else to make them feel ready.

Not because the nerves disappear, and not because you suddenly become certain of everything.

It is more that you learn to trust the work you have already done.

You know the role.
You know the music.
You know your body.

And if something goes wrong, you know how to keep going.

That is a very different kind of confidence from believing nothing will go wrong.

It is quieter. More useful. More professional.

Because once the curtain is up, there is no mirror, no correction, no chance to stop and ask for another run.

You have to make decisions in real time and trust that your preparation is enough to carry you through them.

At some point, that becomes part of the job.

You stop needing constant reassurance.

You stop trying to feel completely certain before you begin.

You simply know that you have prepared well enough to handle what comes next.

And that is often when the dancing becomes freer.

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletDancer #BalletLife #BalletTraining by @adancersapproach

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9 days ago

People assume the performance is the terrifying bit.

Sometimes it is.

But honestly?

A full studio call can be worse.

Because on stage you get a little help.

Lights.

Costume.

Music.

Distance.

An audience you mostly can’t see.

And once the curtain goes up, there is very little time to stand there conducting a detailed internal review of your own arabesque.

You just have to dance.

The studio is different.

Everyone is close.

Directors.

Coaches.

Choreographers.

Other casts.

People who know the role.

People who know the difficult bits.

People who know exactly when something worked…

and exactly when it didn’t.

No theatre magic.

No flattering lighting.

No helpful darkness beyond the footlights.

Just you, a studio, and a surprising amount of professional knowledge pointed in your general direction.

And yet, by the time the actual performance arrives, something can shift.

The notes stop.

The correcting stops.

Nobody is asking you to repeat anything.

Nobody is standing at the front of the studio quietly writing something down.

You are on your own.

Which sounds terrifying.

But it can also be incredibly freeing.

Because eventually you have to stop proving you are ready.

And trust that you are.

The studio can make you feel examined.

The stage asks you to commit.

And sometimes that is exactly why the premiere isn’t the scariest part after all.

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletLife #BalletDancer #CompanyLife by @adancersapproach

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13 days ago

Second cast can be a very strange place to live.

You are preparing for something seriously…

while knowing it may never actually become yours.

You learn the role.

You rehearse.

You stay ready.

You watch the first cast.

You mentally keep yourself in the work.

And all the while there is a small part of your brain wondering whether any of this will ever end with you standing on stage.

Very relaxing.

But second cast does not always mean second.

Casting moves.

A choreographer changes their mind.

A different interpretation suddenly works better.

A pairing clicks.

A rehearsal reveals something unexpected.

And sometimes the person who was “second” is suddenly the one going on first.

Which is why mentally checking out is such a bad idea.

Because opportunity in ballet rarely arrives with a beautifully organised warning period and a handwritten invitation.

It usually turns up at the least convenient possible moment.

And nobody wants to realise, three minutes after being asked to go on, that they have emotionally retired from the role.

There is also the opposite reality:

you can prepare for weeks and never perform it.

That part can be hard.

Because it asks you to care deeply about something without any guarantee that you will get the reward you imagined at the end of it.

But that is part of professional life too.

You prepare because that is the job.

You stay ready because things change.

You keep working because sometimes the opportunity arrives late.

And sometimes it doesn’t arrive at all.

Second cast teaches you patience, readiness, humility…

and the slightly bizarre skill of preparing as though you will definitely go on,

while accepting that you might not.

Very normal.

Very healthy.

Very ballet.

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletLife #BalletDancer #CompanyLife by @adancersapproach

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15 days ago

There is a skill in professional ballet that nobody really teaches you.

And somehow, everyone notices when you don’t have it.

Reading the room.

Not in a manipulative way.

Not in a “constantly monitor everyone’s mood and develop a minor personality disorder” way.

Just awareness.

Knowing when a choreographer actually wants questions…

and when they would really like everyone to stop discussing and just try the step.

Knowing when someone needs help.

Knowing when they need silence.

Knowing when the room is tense.

Knowing when the room has moved on.

Knowing when a correction is useful to you…

and when inserting yourself into it would be an entirely unnecessary administrative decision.

It sounds small.

It isn’t.

Professional ballet is very communal. You are constantly sharing space, timing, pressure, nerves, disappointment, excitement, exhaustion and, occasionally, a surprisingly strong opinion about two metres of barre.

The people who are lovely to work with tend to notice things.

They know when to speak.

When to listen.

When to take space.

When to give it.

When to make someone laugh.

And when absolutely nobody needs another personality entering the situation.

That doesn’t mean being quiet or agreeable all the time.

It means understanding that professionalism is not just about how well you dance.

It is also about how you make the room feel when you are in it.

You can be talented.

You can be technically brilliant.

You can be ambitious.

But if working with you consistently makes everything harder…

people notice that too.

Read the room.

It might be one of the most useful skills nobody ever formally teaches you.

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletLife #BalletDancer #CompanyLife by @adancersapproach

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19 days ago

One of the stranger things about moving through a ballet company is that success can make your world feel a little smaller.

At the beginning, there are usually lots of people around you doing the same rehearsals, chasing the same roles and collectively wondering what on earth is going on. 😂

Then the ranks get smaller.

The opportunities get bigger.

And suddenly the emotional maths gets slightly more complicated.

You can be absolutely thrilled for someone and still wish you had what they got.

You can be having the best week of your career while somebody you love is having one of their worst.

And then five minutes later you’re both in the studio doing tendus like perfectly normal people.

Very healthy. Very balanced. Very ballet. 😅

That’s why I think the people around you matter so much.

You don’t need a huge circle.

You need people who make you feel like yourself. People who can celebrate you without measuring themselves against you. People who tell you the truth, make you laugh and occasionally remind you that the world has continued turning despite the latest casting sheet.

Because moving up should open your life up.

Not make it smaller.

The higher you go, the quieter it can get.

But with the right people around you, it never has to feel lonely. 🤍

#ADancersApproach #BalletLife #ProfessionalBallet #BalletDancer #CompanyLife by @adancersapproach

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20 days ago

I’ve been in professional ballet long enough to know that the official version and the lived version are not always identical.

Nothing terribly scandalous.

Usually.

Mostly, this world is just far stranger, funnier and more complicated from the inside than it appears from the audience.

You start accepting things as completely normal that would probably require explanation anywhere else.

A casting sheet can alter the emotional climate of an entire building.

Someone can be having the best week of their career while their friend is having the worst.

A pair of shoes can become a genuine emergency.

And perfectly intelligent adults can develop very strong feelings about approximately two metres of barre space.

After a while, you stop noticing how peculiar any of it is.

Until somebody outside ballet asks a very reasonable question and you think:

…oh.

We don’t really talk about that, do we?

That’s the part I’m interested in.

Not gossip for the sake of gossip.

Not identifying people.

Just an honest look at a profession I’ve spent a considerable amount of my life inside - including the bits that are difficult to understand until you’ve actually lived them.

I also know there are questions dancers, students, parents and ballet lovers would love to ask someone inside a company, but perhaps wouldn’t ask if that person were standing directly in front of them.

Conveniently, I’m not.

So ask.

I’ll tell you what I can.

I’ll be diplomatic when I should be.

And every now and then, I may be slightly less diplomatic than expected.

Welcome to A Dancer’s Approach.

Consider me your very discreet fly on the studio wall. 🤍

#ADancersApproach #ProfessionalBallet #BalletLife #BalletDancer #BehindTheScenes by @adancersapproach

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24 days ago

Company class is one of those places where technically there are very few rules.

Practically, there are about forty-seven. 😂

Nobody hands you a handbook. You just slowly learn that certain barre spots are apparently inherited, travelling combinations require actual spatial awareness, and walking through someone’s preparation is a surprisingly effective way to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.

And honestly, a lot of it comes down to this:

everyone is there for a slightly different reason that morning.

Someone is recovering.

Someone is preparing for a huge rehearsal.

Someone danced the night before.

Someone is having the best class of their life and would quite like the rest of us to know about it.

So take your space, but don’t take everyone else’s.

Listen.

Be aware.

Try the correction before holding a parliamentary inquiry into whether it applies to you.

And please, please know which direction the group is travelling before you launch yourself across the studio.

There may not be an official rulebook.

But anyone who has spent enough time in company class knows there absolutely is one.

#ADancersApproach #BalletLife #ProfessionalBallet #BalletDancer #CompanyClass by @adancersapproach

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25 days ago

I think dancers are very good at remembering everything that still needs work…

and strangely bad at remembering everything they’ve already survived, learnt, adapted to and figured out along the way.

We notice the turn that didn’t work.

The correction we still haven’t fixed.

The person next to us who seems to be having a suspiciously good day. 😅

But we don’t always stop and think:

hang on… I got myself here.

Your body has carried you through thousands of hours of training.

Your mind has dealt with pressure, nerves, comparison, disappointment, uncertainty, and days where absolutely nothing seemed to be cooperating.

And you still came back.

That doesn’t mean you have to suddenly decide you’re flawless and retire from taking corrections. 🤭

It just means maybe you could trust yourself a little more.

Appreciate your body for what it already allows you to do.

Appreciate your mind for how much it has learnt to handle.

And stop treating every difficult day like evidence that you’ve somehow fooled everyone into thinking you’re a dancer.

You haven’t.

You worked for this.

You grew into this.

And you’re still growing.

You are allowed to love the dancer you are now while still wanting more for the dancer you’re becoming.

You’ve made it this far.

Maybe give yourself some credit for that!!

#ADancersApproach #BalletLife #BalletDancer #DancerMindset #ProfessionalBallet by @adancersapproach

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a month ago