JanJas Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 My 19 year old daughter has just been offered a "trainee II" position as a corps de ballet member of the Ballet de Catalunya company. We have very little information to base any decisions on! Is there anyone out there who's had a similar experience with the company who can help us in any way? Any leads or links would be most welcome and appreciated! We've been told she has to make a decision in a week's time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraH Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I have no personal experience, but I read a recent post on the Facebook Group "Parents of Pre-Professional Ballet Dancers". I'm afraid it wasn't positive news... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 An earlier thread: If you search on Catalunya mentions come up on more general threads too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanJas Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Thank you so much BarbaraH, your information is much appreciated! I did wonder about all the possible negative aspects mentioned in that Facebook post! You have to be so careful, especially when something sounds so good at first! What a minefield all this is, especially when there are so few opportunities for graduates. Thank you Jan too, I'll have a search for those posts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 5 hours ago, BarbaraH said: I have no personal experience, but I read a recent post on the Facebook Group "Parents of Pre-Professional Ballet Dancers". I'm afraid it wasn't positive news... Wow….& am I understanding correctly that dancers (family) are actually paying to be part of this? Or at least the dancers are not being paid a salary or living expenses at least? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballet Saga Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 31 minutes ago, Peanut68 said: Wow….& am I understanding correctly that dancers (family) are actually paying to be part of this? Or at least the dancers are not being paid a salary or living expenses at least? I know people have had to fund raise to be able to do it so… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraH Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 35 minutes ago, Peanut68 said: Wow….& am I understanding correctly that dancers (family) are actually paying to be part of this? Or at least the dancers are not being paid a salary or living expenses at least? Not that I am aware of. Their fees can be found on their website: https://www.catballet.com/trainee/fees/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeafterballet Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 3 minutes ago, BarbaraH said: Not that I am aware of. Their fees can be found on their website: https://www.catballet.com/trainee/fees/ OMG 😦 Over €15,000 How can this be classed as a company position for a graduate. Its so sad that some companies take advantage of graduates 😢 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) My thoughts exactly!!! And it had loads of extras incl higher fee for non Spanish & I think there was additional fee for costumes!!! That’s rich as bet any audiences pay standard ticket prices & assume they are watching professionals (which they are) but I’m guessing they also assume the dancers are paid as such. It’s disgraceful & isn’t this the sort of thing that should be outlawed? Like paid internships to the legal industry were years ago? Edited March 15 by Peanut68 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtotwoballerinas Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 On 15/03/2024 at 10:37, BarbaraH said: I have no personal experience, but I read a recent post on the Facebook Group "Parents of Pre-Professional Ballet Dancers". I'm afraid it wasn't positive news... My son is currently with ballet de catalunya and is having a wonderful time, you can't always believe what you read ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtotwoballerinas Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 On 15/03/2024 at 19:15, Peanut68 said: My thoughts exactly!!! And it had loads of extras incl higher fee for non Spanish & I think there was additional fee for costumes!!! That’s rich as bet any audiences pay standard ticket prices & assume they are watching professionals (which they are) but I’m guessing they also assume the dancers are paid as such. It’s disgraceful & isn’t this the sort of thing that should be outlawed? Like paid internships to the legal industry were years ago? They do have paid dancers within the company, trainee 1& 2 dance alongside the company. The director is very passionate and all dancers were taken on the latest tour. I think it is all to easy to make assumptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeafterballet Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 27 minutes ago, mumtotwoballerinas said: They do have paid dancers within the company, trainee 1& 2 dance alongside the company. The director is very passionate and all dancers were taken on the latest tour. I think it is all to easy to make assumptions. The burning question is though, are the trainees parents paying for the privilege of their children dancing with the company ? I had two children graduate back to back and wouldn’t have been able to afford for even one to dance with a company that charged them 😢 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtotwoballerinas Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 For the trainees it's a true apprenticeship taking class and performing alongside the company learning on the job. Some are 16 so you could argue it's a better route than many upper schools. They do offer scholarships up to 100% My son has had a really positive experience with the company and says the rant on Facebook is a disgruntled dancer from last year. I can only speak from our experience and no I haven't paid for him to be there as I can barely afford his flights never mind anything else !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) So to clarify, mumtotwoballerinas (your name sounds like life must be expensive!) Your son was/is a fully paid/salaried coach contracted dancer with the professional company rather than on a trainee programme which requires payment (either by way of a fee or waiver with awarding of scholarships). Where I am confused is the use of term ‘apprentice’. Where this and other dance ‘companies’ offer ‘apprenticeship’ positions, what are these? Are they properly paid or merely a chance for work experience? I’ve heard in some companies the word ‘stipend’ being used which suggests a nominal level of money being paid to dancers but that it’s not enough to live on so they still require to be able to financially support themselves (probs by parents). It is all rather Dickensian - didn’t ones families in bleaker times have to buy a trainee position in a firm to guarantee a job centuries back? Or buy a position into the clergy… (thinking Jane Austen era now) Even in more recent times (early 30th Century) I think sometimes serving an apprenticeship was a way to get paid whilst learning & getting qualified on the job with low salary to start but seen as a sure fire way to learn a trade & earn for life. Does seem bonkers that ballet companies use this term. Reckon being an apprentice plumber would be a better bet for longterm earning potential & job satisfaction!! And better ROI for parents investment in education!! Congrats to your son for his success & to you for seeing the journey through! Always good to hear from all sides too Edited March 17 by Peanut68 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derin's Mom Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 On 15/03/2024 at 16:58, JanJas said: Thank you so much BarbaraH, your information is much appreciated! I did wonder about all the possible negative aspects mentioned in that Facebook post! You have to be so careful, especially when something sounds so good at first! What a minefield all this is, especially when there are so few opportunities for graduates. Thank you Jan too, I'll have a search for those posts. Jan hello, what has your DC decided to do? Any up to date news about Catalunya. And so so true, sooo difficult for all these young people to find even a trainee program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanJas Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 Hello Derin's Mom, we were very tempted (with a hefty "scholarship" offered too) but in the end we worked out that when you totalled all the hidden costs we would have to supplement, at the very minimum, £15,000, more likely £20,000 and counting to make it all possible (if our daughter wanted to fly home for Christmas etc), with no guarantee of a job in the end - just (very valid) experience to put on the CV! To be fair all the communications with the company were friendly and positive and if we were in a better position financially we would have taken up the offer. In our naivety we thought that on completion of a Trinity level 6 diploma the next step would be genuine employment. We didn't factor in (at the start of this long journey all those years ago) having to finance yet another year! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derin's Mom Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 On 24/04/2024 at 22:55, JanJas said: Hello Derin's Mom, we were very tempted (with a hefty "scholarship" offered too) but in the end we worked out that when you totalled all the hidden costs we would have to supplement, at the very minimum, £15,000, more likely £20,000 and counting to make it all possible (if our daughter wanted to fly home for Christmas etc), with no guarantee of a job in the end - just (very valid) experience to put on the CV! To be fair all the communications with the company were friendly and positive and if we were in a better position financially we would have taken up the offer. In our naivety we thought that on completion of a Trinity level 6 diploma the next step would be genuine employment. We didn't factor in (at the start of this long journey all those years ago) having to finance yet another year! So hearing you... My DD is graduating from Dutch National, 3 full years there and 9 before in Istanbul. All full time trainining. a very aspiring ballerina to be and yet no offers till today. I put down my expectation that she will be paid in the coming 1-2 years and also I came in terms with the idea that we have to pay some more time in order for her to gain experience. Even under such circumstances there are no decent options in the way. I am finding it really hard to comprehend this but this is her life and what she wants to do, so full support from our side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I think very many of us are wondering when it all stops? And are we all being fleeced by opportunist courses/trainee companies etc aware of all these well trained excellent career ready dancers….what should be happening is that small companies set up & instead of marketing to wanna be dancers they market to potential customers….so they can offer real jobs not prolong the agony… 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derin's Mom Posted Tuesday at 11:10 Share Posted Tuesday at 11:10 Peanut68 I agree. If larger companies cannot afford strategicly to hire unexperienced dancers, smaller ones should have. So that they have a young blood on stage. They should benefit from that young energy. My DD is so sure about what she wants. She wants to dance and bring her art to people. This shouldn't be this hard to realize. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnier Posted Tuesday at 11:46 Share Posted Tuesday at 11:46 I suspect that audiences would have to be significantly larger, or ticket prices much higher, for companies to be able to afford to pay young dancers the wages they deserve. For me, what is needed is much better funding for the arts by governments (and ideally the private sector would contribute too, without compromising artistic integrity and vision). 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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