Lizzie's blog post led me to find an interesting paper published in the International Journal of Arts Management, titled 'Life After Dance: Career Transition of Professional Dancers' (Joan Jeffri and David Throsby, 2006, Vol. 8, No. 3). The paper evaluates the findings of an inquiry, by a research team from the United States and Australia, into the career transition of professional dancers. The sample comprises dancers from ballet/ classical, modern/ contemporary, indigenous/ folk, commercial/ show dance and 'other'. Surveys were conducted in three countries- Australia, Switzerland and the United States- in order to gain insights into the challenges of career change from the viewpoint of the dancer. The paper examines the findings' support of certain hypotheses, the researchers' expectations and the dancers' realities, and the differences across the three countries included in the surveys.
At the time that the paper was written, Joan Jeffri is Director of the Research Centre for Arts and Culture and the Program in Arts Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. David Throsby is Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
The surveys conducted in the three case- study countries included both current and former dancers, similar to my own inquiry interview plans. The reasoning given for this, seems appropriate to my own research. "(1) It was considered valuable to elicit insights from current dancers about their expectations and preparation for transition, (2) a comparison of the expectations of current dancers and the realities of former dancers could serve to illuminate recommendations for future action, and (3) former dancers were extremely difficult to identify before the surveys were distributed; usually, they were recruited through companies and venues accessible to both current and former dancers."
The paper goes on to discuss: dancers' own awareness of the challenges they may face in career transitioning, how prepared they feel for the inevitable transition process, post- transition careers and the percentage of dancers that remain within the field of dance, the challenges presented at the end of a dance career, retraining and further education, skills acquired through being a dancer, support systems, and changes in income post- transition.
"It has become increasingly clear in recent years that career transition is a serious problem facing the dance industry worldwide." (p. 54)
Jeffri and Throsby discuss how aware and prepared dancers (current and former) feel in regards to the challenges of a career transition including physical problems, loss of income, uncertainty about the future and a sense of emptiness at having to give up something that has been an important part of one's life for a long time. The findings show that many former dancers conceded that they were in fact ill- prepared for this process, whilst current dancers claimed to be either 'somewhat aware' or 'very aware'.
"Yet, surprisingly enough, some dancers consciously avoid preparing for transition". (p. 56)
Could Jeffri and Throsby's findings, suggesting a lack of awareness and of being fully prepared for a career transition, affect dancers' mind set? Could this lack of knowledge prevent us as dancers, from realising our potential in other fields?
"Lack of confidence to do something else and succeed makes the transition period difficult". (p. 56)
These findings point to the need for strategies to make dancers aware and prepared for transition issues, in an understanding yet re-assuring way.
Jeffri and Throsby's findings also touch upon the skills acquired through being a dancer:
"The skills and experience acquired by professional dancers throughout their dancing years, including self- discipline, team work and stamina, are transferable resources". (p.58)
As seen in the results shown above, self- discipline, team- work and stamina, are considered by the participants to be skills that are acquired through being a dancer, and are later found to be the most useful and of the most importance.
Could characteristics such as these be attributed to having a 'winning' mind set, or the 'desirable' mentality to employers- further afield than the world of dance?
"The four transition centres, (established career transition centres in the UK, US, Netherlands and Canada) meanwhile, report that only 10- 15% of their clients move into a dance- related career" (Baumol, Jeffri and Throsby, 2004).
Jeffri and Throsby's inquiry presents some interesting findings, and strengthens the question: are dancers able to translate their skills outside of dance?
"Our data on career transition for dancers suggest that expectations and realities differ. This knowledge is important not only for current and future transition centres and programmes, but also for policy- makers and funders seeking to make optimal use of the human capital from a highly disciplined, dedicated and committed workforce at the end of a special relationship." (p. 61)
Thanks Ruth - yes no two dancers or any professionals are the same - we discussed architects - but the professional knowledge and transitions seem to have good grounding in the literature you have found.
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