The Path to Principal

What are common features in American ballet dancers' paths to principal dancer? Follow our Instagram for extra tidbits in our Stories - @datapointes The principal dancers are the top of the top. Most professional dancers aren't looking to retire as corps or soloist dancers. But with only 154 out of 1024 dancers last season in … Continue reading The Path to Principal →

The Data-Driven Top School List (The “Corona Season” 2020 – 2021)

What schools are best at getting students into top American ballet companies? Our Instagram - @datapointes For the vast majority, ballet training does not lead to a sustained career as a professional ballet dancer. To have a shot at the top, you likely had to do at least one of these three things: 1. Go … Continue reading The Data-Driven Top School List (The “Corona Season” 2020 – 2021) →

Hiring Part 3: The Corona Season

CORRECTION: Since we published this post, we have discovered an error in the dataset. Megan LeCrone appeared twice in the data for the 2020 - 2021 Season. There are 992 total dancers for this season. What are the hiring practices of the top 25 American ballet companies? Our Instagram - @datapointes We have broken down … Continue reading Hiring Part 3: The Corona Season →

Hiring Revisited (Part 1)

What are the hiring practices of different American ballet companies? Last time we looked at hiring and dancer retention, the focus was on the top 6 companies for the 2018 - 2019 season (https://pointes.data.blog/2019/05/12/youre-hired-fired/). This year at Data Pointes, we've followed up that data but also expanded analysis to the top 22 US companies (well, … Continue reading Hiring Revisited (Part 1) →

A ‘Brand-Name’ Ballet Education

A hypothetical situation. You go to [Big Shot Company]'s summer intensive. They invite you to join their affiliate school year-round. Teenage you is floored by the immensity of this decision as are your parents. You'll have to move away from home but you think maybe it's worth it for a better chance at your dream company. What do you do?