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Length of time in the corps


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I think the whole issue revolves around each individual's knowledge of their situation.  If they know that they are being taken on as Corps members only, a then they have a choice - to accept the job or try and get into another company.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with remaining in the Corps if you choose to, or if you know that you are unlikely to progress further.  However, it must be heartbreaking to join full of hope and ambition, and then get ignored, and not know the reason why. 

 

And yes, I know it depends on the personal likes and dislikes of the Artistic Director, but it would help to know why he/she doesn't seem to think you are capable of anything more challenging, and what they are basing their opinion on.

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...Being liked and picked by a choreographer, liked by the Director and given early debut roles advances some dancers much faster whereas others simply stagnate or disappear, no matter how hard they work and how good they may be. The career of a dancer is ultimately in the hands of a few but they always have an option to join another company.

 

But how much mobility do corps dancers really have? Most of the switching between companies which I've seen tends to be at higher ranks. If an RBS graduate gets offers from RB, BRB and ENB, can he/she justifiably take the RB offer, thinking that he'll be able to switch to one of the two other companies if he isn't out of the corps in 2 years?

 

Yaffa

[edited for typo]

Edited by Yaffa
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There is a current principal at BRB who joined the corps after a year or so in the corps at the Royal Ballet.  He is the only person I can think of in the years since the company moved to Birmingham.  There is a current principal who joined at soloist level from BRB (who left the Royal as a soloist).  There were 2 established principals who moved from RB to BRB when the company relocated to Birmingham.

 

One leading soloist from BRB moved to RB as a soloist, now senior soloist (and still very much missed by his fans at BRB!!).

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Unfortunately for some corps dancers, they sustain injuries or have a prolonged period of illness shortly after they join the company and so they drop out of view in those crucial early months or years. By the time they return to work they may find that some of their peers have got noticed and been given interesting roles whereas the powers that be have rather forgotten about them. It must be easy to lose confidence in this situation. As has been said many times before, luck plays an important part in the success of any dancer.

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For the Paris Opera Ballet, acceptance and promotions are via competition in front of a jury, supposedly making the process more transparent.

 

Yaffa

 

Supposedly  ;)

 

Former POB dancer Mathilde Froustey (now Principal at SFB)  reveals these competitions are not such a good thing:

 

http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/interview-with-mathilde-froustey-the-new-principal-dancer-at-the-san-francisco-ballet/

 

 

"Still, after the last contest when you were not even ranked, we could  feel how frustrated you were by reading your posts on the social networks…

I don’t agree either. I was not frustrated; I was disappointed. But who wouldn’t be after failing at a contest? I have worked for months, it is a huge investment… and I am not even ranked, so I am disappointed. My words weren’t motivated by any kind of frustration nor than any grudge".

At the RB (and also at BRB, ENB, NB I assume) dancers are promoted based on the roles they have danced throughout the Season (surely this depends on the Director/Choreographer giving stand-out roles to those dancers!). IMO the RB/BRB system is a fairer one: dancers showing Soloist/Principal potential are picked/selected from the corps and are "tried out" in Soloist/Principal roles. Judged on their performances throughout the whole Season they'll get promoted, not on a "one-off competition" performance such as at the POB.

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And yes, I know it depends on the personal likes and dislikes of the Artistic Director, but it would help to know why he/she doesn't seem to think you are capable of anything more challenging, and what they are basing their opinion on.

I think most (UK) companies have an annual appraisal process in place that gives such feedback.

 

And I'm sure that most directors feel that all their dancers are capable of more challenging roles - but there are not enough roles/performance slots to challenge everybody. You back the brighter stars.

 

Most directors see most shows their company give. To varying degrees they are in the studio for rehearsals and class etc and they will also talk to ballet staff about dancers and who might do what in future rep. Directors don't lack inputs on the performance of dancers I think.

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Supposedly  ;)

 

Former POB dancer Mathilde Froustey (now Principal at SFB)  reveals these competitions are not such a good thing:

 

http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/interview-with-mathilde-froustey-the-new-principal-dancer-at-the-san-francisco-ballet/

 

 

"Still, after the last contest when you were not even ranked, we could  feel how frustrated you were by reading your posts on the social networks…

I don’t agree either. I was not frustrated; I was disappointed. But who wouldn’t be after failing at a contest? I have worked for months, it is a huge investment… and I am not even ranked, so I am disappointed. My words weren’t motivated by any kind of frustration nor than any grudge".

At the RB (and also at BRB, ENB, NB I assume) dancers are promoted based on the roles they have danced throughout the Season (surely this depends on the Director/Choreographer giving stand-out roles to those dancers!). IMO the RB/BRB system is a fairer one: dancers showing Soloist/Principal potential are picked/selected from the corps and are "tried out" in Soloist/Principal roles. Judged on their performances throughout the whole Season they'll get promoted, not on a "one-off competition" performance such as at the POB.

 

It's perhaps a similar situation with entry to the RB corps in the first place: most dancers are essentially selected not on the basis of their performance at a single audition, but on their work with the company during their last year or two at RBS.

 

Yaffa

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Iohna Loots was very frank about life as a long-time corps member in the RB/RBS documentary "From Dreams to Reality" (Actually I believe the title of the documentary came from her words.) She described the harsh financial realities of not being able to afford a mortgage or to set money aside for the future. But she also made it clear that she was doing what she liked. As others have mentioned in this thread, she stressed how a dancer's progression through the ranks depends on whether the management believes and pushes a dancer. But she also said she had been so overjoyed to be in the RB, and had made such a huge effort to fit in, that perhaps she hadn't pushed herself forward at that crucial time, and now it was too late. She was adamant that a promotion at that late stage could never happen, yet with interesting timing, she was in fact promoted to Soloist.

 

An article in Pointe Magazine http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/december-10january-2011/corps-stars describes the positive side of life as a long-term corps member.

 

Yaffa

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That's a nice article. You certainly notice if the corps is ragged in a performance. I've read before about dancers feeling that they did not progress as fast as they should have done because they did not push themselves forward. How does a dancer do this? Go up to the AD and ask for a role? Complain about the role which you have been given? Enlist the support of one of the other members of staff eg the ballet mistress? Do pushier people really go further?

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I have heard of dancers who have asked for roles (I don't know if they ever got a chance at the role).

 

Does standing "at the front" and doing multiple repetitions in class and always volunteering help?

 

 

I worked for a government department.  As in all fields of work, some people made their careers in the lower ranks and had fulfilling careers for all that.  I am sure most people start work with the idea of rising through the ranks but as most organisations have pyramid structures then inevitably most people are not going to rise much higher than their starting point.  The choice is to take what fulfillment you can from that job or try elsewhere or another field of work.

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Tamara Rojo mentioned during her London Ballet Circle interview that any dancer can ask to learn a role. Some ENB dancers have and have ended up being cast (during both her and her predecessor's regimes). An RB dancer who is now a soloist did the same thing and danced the role to considerable acclaim. And Steven Macrae's entry into Symphonic Variations many years ago is now legendary.

 

However, in most of the cases one hears about, the artistes concerned are very obviously extremely talented.

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A few dancers are identified as potential ballerinas or premiers from their days in school but there are some who seem to escape notice until they get out onto the stage when that strange transformation takes place which turns steps learned in class, applied and adapted by the choreographer and transmitted in the rehearsal room into an extra ordinary theatrical experience.

 

I recall a RBS performance of Two Pigeons years ago when the dancer cast as the Gipsey Girl had according to the programme failed to obtain a contract which seemed extraordinary as the performance that she gave was exceptional. At the end of the afternoon the rumour went round that she had in fact been given a contract by SWRB. She went on to become a company principal. I mention this because a director determines a dancer's progress not only as a result of casting decisions but through decisions made about repertory. The SWRB employed her not simply because she was good but because she was suited to the company's repertory at the time.

 

Taste changes over time and a dancer is unfortunate if a marked change happens during their career particularly if it involves physical type. While MacMillan clearly had different ideas from Ashton about the type of dancer that he wanted to use he still had room for the lyrical dancer.Although he was more prepared than Ashton to show the difficulty in some of his choreography he did not believe in the display of technique for its own sake especially in the classics. A change in director can herald a complete change in aesthetics and outlook which will affect development at every level in the company leading to the sidelining of dancers and resignations.

 

 A dancer clearly needs to work hard to get on. It helps to remain free of injury and of course a bit of luck is helpful too. Being known to be a quick learner and of having a working knowledge of roles at a higher level does no harm either.Antoinette Sibley tells the story that at an early stage in her career she was asked if she could dance a particular role and had replied that she did

not know it and that it was above her level. It clearly did her career no harm but was that because she had already been singled out as the school's first ballerina? We shall never know but I think that most young dancers today would think that it was best to know as much as you can as soon as you can.

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I miss Karen Donovan. She was my favourite SWRB/BRB principal but she was rewarded with some wonderful created roles and we have the permanent record of her performance as Maggie Hobson.

 

Sometimes these perceived injustices work out for the best and the audience as well as the dancers really benefit.

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There was a dancer at American Ballet Theatre, Amy Blaisdell, who was in the corps from about 1963 to 1981. She was a nice dancer; I don't know her or how she felt about being a long-term corps dancer. I know she taught after retiring. Although it may or may not be a comfort, certainly one has to be one of the best just to get into a great company.

Edited by victoriapage
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I believe I am right in thinking a young female dancer at the ENB asked to learn a role in fear and trembling. She was astonished to be granted her wish and even more astonished to be told she would dance it that season!

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I believe I am right in thinking a young female dancer at the ENB asked to learn a role in fear and trembling. She was astonished to be granted her wish and even more astonished to be told she would dance it that season!

 

Yes, and she danced the role more often than anyone else!!!!!

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Steven McRae has a blog in which he gives advice to young dancers. I seem to recollect that there was a post about getting noticed in the corps. I think that he emphasised the importance of learning by watching other dancers as much as you can and trying to learn other dancers' roles. I wonder whether the dancers who progress quickly are the ones who are prepared to take a risk and take on roles (sometimes at short notice) which are outside their comfort zone. Several dancers have got their big break because they stepped into a new role at short notice when another dancer became unavailable. You need be very self-confident to do this and you need to be someone who is not unduly affected by nerves. What is the moral of the story? Unless you are as talented as Vadim Muntagirov (who was very shy when he left the RBS, which seems to be the reason that he was not taken on by the RB) it is very difficult if you are not (a) self-confident and (B) fairly assertive on your own behalf and prepared to speak to ADs and other staff about your career.

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Steven McRae has a blog in which he gives advice to young dancers. I seem to recollect that there was a post about getting noticed in the corps.

 

I'm afraid the first thing that sprang to mind when I read this was a book I have at home called The Art of Coarse Acting, which talks about being noticed in a group activity such as a chorus line.  There is a photo showing a line of people all doing the same movement, while the one on the end is doing something outrageous!

 

I've never spotted anyone actually doing anything as flamboyant as that in a ballet company, fortunately.  

 

Not having read McRae's blog, what advice does he give?

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Learn as much as you can by watching other dancers (rather than just zoning out while you are not actually rehearsing) and try to familiarise yourself with other dancers' roles, presumably so that you can dance them should the opportunity arise at short notice.

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I gathered from reading interviews with dancers (Ballet Association and Dancing Times) that they officially start a working day at 10:30am (daily class) but most of them are much earlier at work as they need to warm-up or do Pilates. Their day is finished when the performance finishes (10:00/10:30pm). That's a 12 to 13 hour working day (with apparently a one hour lunch break...if!) so they work let's say 12 hours a day, from Monday through to Saturday evening,  that makes for an incredible 72 hours week . I don't know the salary of a corps dancer but wonder how much they eventually are being paid an hour?

 

At various events I've attended at the ROH, dancers have discussed their working hours and, as mentioned above, Deborah Bull has also given useful information about working under an Equity contract, that is the standard contract for performing artists in the UK.  I'm pretty certain that a dancer is 'on the clock' only from 12 noon.  The contract may stipulate the taking of morning class for a minimum 4 days a week but that time is not paid for.  So unless there's a performance the standard working day is about 6 - 7 hours. 

 

That's pretty good when you look at the hours performers work in the film industry though admittedly, most of the time in a film studio is spent hanging about whereas a dancer's day is pretty much non-stop physical activity. Also, companies like the RB often stipulate that the dancer must be available for educational events and other activities such as press and photo calls etc. and this time is also unpaid.

 

When I worked for the National Theatre, actors under contract to the company received a flat salary according to age/ experience etc. but that was supplemented by a fee for each performance given.  Performers who are not on members of a company but hired for one particular production have slightly different contracts which often stipulate lower rates for rehearsal days but higher amounts per performance.

 

I assume that dancers have a similar contracts as they also need to be members of Equity to perform in the UK.  Certainly, dancers in the Russian state companies receive extra pay for each performance and some have been quoted as saying this arrangement is absolutely essential as the basic salary is quite low.  Well known dancers often appear in gala events for other companies/opera houses but only by permission of their home company.  These pay much higher performance fees but some contracts permit the company to reduce the dancer's regular salary for the time away so it's not such a money-spinner as it might appear.

 

Linda

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Some dancers appear more shy early in their careers than they really are because they are still learning to speak English.

 

I can think of a some very talented artistes in both the RB and ENB who have really blossomed artistically as well once they have been able to express themselves fully in English and show their real personalities.

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That's a nice article. You certainly notice if the corps is ragged in a performance. I've read before about dancers feeling that they did not progress as fast as they should have done because they did not push themselves forward. How does a dancer do this? Go up to the AD and ask for a role? Complain about the role which you have been given? Enlist the support of one of the other members of staff eg the ballet mistress? Do pushier people really go further?

 

Didn't Rupert Pennefather go up to Sylvie Guillem and ask to be her Paris because he was frustrated about not being cast in anything? I guess sometimes you do have to be pushy and put yourself out there. Takes guts though.

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In one of the Royal Opera House YouTube videos featuring the corps, Samantha Raine (the ballet mistress) said about new corps members "if we don't notice you, you're doing a good job." I know this is what the corps is sort of about, especially in the large classical ballets, but it did sound rather soul-destroying - all those years of desperately hard work at school, all in order that you won't be noticed. If that's drummed into the new corps members too hard, it might create a very intimidating atmosphere if they wanted  to ask for opportunities or figure out how to progress. Hopefully there's some sort of guidance or counselling available so that the young dancers don't feel trapped in anonymity.

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In one of the Royal Opera House YouTube videos featuring the corps, Samantha Raine (the ballet mistress) said about new corps members "if we don't notice you, you're doing a good job." I know this is what the corps is sort of about, especially in the large classical ballets, but it did sound rather soul-destroying - all those years of desperately hard work at school, all in order that you won't be noticed. If that's drummed into the new corps members too hard, it might create a very intimidating atmosphere if they wanted  to ask for opportunities or figure out how to progress. Hopefully there's some sort of guidance or counselling available so that the young dancers don't feel trapped in anonymity.

 

I don't think dancers would think of it as soul-destroying. Samantha Raine was right in saying their job is not to stand out, that's their art, to dance as a group and that's the beauty of a corps ensemble. I have heard corps dancers say what a great satisfaction they get when dancing as one and no one stood out. Think of "Shades" in La Bayadere, "Wilis" in Giselle, "Swans" in Swan Lake...etc.  

 

They can perhaps try to stand out doing daily class but I have no idea how the other corps members may react to "one of them" trying to stand out... After all it is an extremely competitive environment and they are all fighting for roles, and fighting for promotion.  

 

I have heard they have specialists available to council during/after injury or when facing dietary problems but IMO there is no budget nor time to guide "dancers so that they don't feel trapped in anonymity".

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Corps dancers can and do dance in unison with the others and yet still be individual and stand out - this was a hallmark of the Russian companies twenty plus years ago - they were incredibly 'together' yet each were stil interesting.  Otherwise indeed, being in the corps is soul destroying.   

I always remember Merle Park as (I think it was this ballet), a most un-anonymous 'Friend' in Coppelia, and well any ballet that she was in the corps of, her love of dancing shone like a beacon!

Not so long ago, a couple of very good dancers with the potential for far more then the corps, could not understand why nothing further seemed to be on the cards.  Knowing their dancing quite well, I explained the above to them, only to be met by the remark 'oh, I see, I was trying not to be noticed'....

Scary...

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