Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon

We're back for part 2 of our parent panel. Stephanie Lombardo, Jen Petersen-Hull, and Lisa Lecamu get specific about what it's like sending your American kid abroad for full-time ballet training. Drop-off day was harder than any of them expected. Lisa now wishes she'd stayed a few extra days to help her son settle into independent living in London, and Stephanie wasn't able to make the trip at all, so she switched to German time by phone instead, making sure she was the first and last person her daughter talked to each day. Once the kids were settled, these parents heard a lot less from the schools than they would have in the US, and mid-year evaluations meant classmates could be cut without warning. The competition among students was intense, especially among the girls, and each mom navigated a different version of that pressure with her own kids.

They also talk through the moments that made it worthwhile: an unplanned donor performance in Stuttgart, choreography training at Princesse Grace, lead roles at English National Ballet School. And they get real about the things they wish they'd known going in, from navigating local laws to figuring out how to actually talk to your kid once they're an ocean away.

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon

Did you ever wonder what it's like to send your dancer off to full-time training? Now, ask yourself what it's like to send them to another continent. In part one of this two-part series, we sat down with three parents who, collectively, had four kids attend ballet programs in Europe. One went to Academie Princesse Grace in Monaco. Two headed to London - one to the Royal Ballet School and the other to English National Ballet School. The fourth went to John Cranko in Germany.

Tune in to hear how each family ultimately made the decision to send their child overseas, how the opportunities first presented themselves and what they each saw as some unexpected ups and downs during the time they were there.

If you've been curious about the pros and cons of European ballet training, tune in!

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon

As we all know, the ballet job market is incredibly competitive. But, not all ballet careers involve signing a year-long contract with a company. Some dancers choose other paths and we sat down with Linnea Swarting to hear from a dancer who traded the security of a company contract to pursue a freelance career.

She talked about how she made the decision to walk away from company life and how she got her first freelance gig. We also discussed what kinds of jobs are actually available to freelancers and then variety is pretty surprising! Think everything from corporate parties to full international tours performing Swan Lake.

We also discussed what touring companies really are, how Linnea finds jobs, what she looks for in contracts and how to negotiate before agreeing to join the project.

Interested in learning more about the freelance life? You can find Linnea on her website or Instagram at @lswarting.

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read & Submit Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon

Fran is back for a conversation about respect in the ballet studio.

We get into the mechanics of a real ballet class. A teacher giving thirty corrections in ninety minutes doesn't have room to let one go unanswered, and Fran talks about why trying a correction immediately signals something different than thinking it over first. We also press him on how a teacher decides who earns individual attention in a crowded room, and how he tells the difference between a student asking a genuine question and a student who's simply refusing to try what they were asked. Fran turns some of that scrutiny on teachers too. He admits egos flare up at the front of the room as much as anywhere else, and draws a line between authority that's been earned and authority that's being misused.

We also discuss how a dancer's reputation travels through what we know is a small industry, and why character can matter as much as talent when a director decides whom to hire again. We close the conversation with Fran making the case for why the studio itself deserves to be treated seriously, calling it "sacred ground."

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon

Ever wonder what it actually takes to move up through the ranks at a major ballet company's school, and what happens once your dancer gets there? We sat down with Adam Sklute, artistic director of Ballet West, and Evelyn Cisneros-Legate, who runs Ballet West Academy, to find out.

They walk us through how the academy trains dancers from age three all the way up, and how the trainee program Sklute built actually works day to day. We also get into mentorship: how the school handles those honest, sometimes hard conversations with dancers about where they stand before contract decisions come down.

Then the conversation opens up to the bigger picture. Ballet has a postgrad math problem: way more dancers than paid contracts. Sklute and Cisneros-Legate talk candidly about that gap, the idea of getting artistic directors more direct access to watch dancers across schools, and the case for rethinking what counts as success at the postgrad level.

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Listen to Ballet Help Desk Podcast ad-free on Patreon

We sit down with Carter Alexander, Chair of the Division of Dance at Southern Methodist University, to find out what sets the program apart from the more ballet-specific schools. Carter walks us through the conservatory-within-a-liberal-arts structure: required training in ballet, modern, and jazz, a newly added Afro modern component, and how the school's BFA program allows roughly 60% of students double major in fields like mechanical engineering, psychology, and business.

We discuss admissions and auditions, how merit scholarships get awarded, and why the program has struggled to attract male dancers in recent years. Carter also weighs in on the trainee-versus-college debate, and how he sees the trade-offs given today's job market.

Finally, he covers how SMU prepares these young adults for the job market by coaching all students on how to network effectively and explains how much SMU relies on their alumni mentorship network.

• Pick Up a Year-Round Training Corrections Journal
• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon

Shane Jewell, executive director of Oregon Ballet Theatre, was kind enough to sit down with us to explain how ballet companies actually run as businesses. He takes us through the nonprofit structure, including what makes up the primary revenue streams. We also discussed what goes into building a season budget and how that impacts dancer compensation, benefits and artistic programming. With funding for the arts being cut, Shane also addresses how OBT is handling these challenges through creative solutions like co-productions between companies as well as new ways of driving corporate sponsorships. The conversation closes with his advice for young dancers weighing a contract, including what to look for in a company's finances, culture, and promotion patterns before signing.

• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI

Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon

Peter Stark, president and director of The Rock School for Dance Education, has spent 26 years running ballet schools and knows the recruiting process from both sides of the table.

We talk with him about how he evaluates students for recruitment. We also cover how his approach has changed over the years, including how he now weighs student conduct and how his views on age and late starters have shifted. Stark discusses what full-time training requires of a teenager beyond technical preparation, including conversations about consent, hygiene, and roommate dynamics that families need to have before their dancer moves away from home.

Stark also discusses what "fitting in" means at the corps de ballet level and why understudying matters at every stage of a dancer's career, not just early on.

• Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews
• Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide
• Buy Summer Corrections Journals
• Support Ballet Help Desk
• Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk
• Facebook: BalletHelpDesk
• TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk

Music from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future
License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI