Ballet Training: Cost, Care, and Compensation

A ballet dancer is by definition graceful. Whether a ballerina or a danseur (male ballet dancer), they have a powerful elegance that helps them achieve the perfection of dance they are required to demonstrate on stage.

There are years of training that are required in order to achieve that level of ballet dancing skill. It doesn't happen without a lot of effort, and a not too small financial outlay!

Cost - Financial and Otherwise

At first, a young 5 year old may need to pay for a class every Saturday morning. She'll need the appropriate training clothing, and probably either a home-made costume, or ballet tutu for the end of term recital. Costs here are normal extra-curricular level and are usually absorbed within a family's budget. This changes as the child becomes more involved with the ballet world, and if they last until turning professional, their training could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There are the formal tuition costs which vary depending on whether the dancer is enrolled in a formal ballet school where both dance and academic subjects are taught side by side, or whether there is private and group tuition to be paid on a weekly basis. The higher the skill level, the higher the costs. The same can be said about the incidental costs that are also incurred. These include appropriate clothing, transport, living expenses where appropriate and even school supplies.

You can see how the costs mount up into the hundreds of thousands if you consider a child beginning a ballet class at age 5, and working her way up through the various levels and stages. Most parents are prepared for the first few years of one or two classes per week, but if your child wants to take this more seriously, then you need to consider the full outlay well in advance. There are scholarships available, but these are limited and competition to get these is high.

The other costs to take into account when considering ballet are the emotional and physical effects that ballet can have on those who choose this form of dance. Not only the practice hours of the novice, but the rehearsal hours and then performance hours of the professional ballerina and danseur mean that the body can become tired and needs to be looked after carefully. There's little opportunity for a social life with anyone outside of the ballet culture.

Personal Care

Sure, the ballerinas and danseurs you see on stage look so graceful, so ethereal and so light on their feet. What you don't see is the extreme care ballet dancers have to exercise to take care of their bodies and their minds.

This means that there's a strict code of living for anyone who wants to excel in the ballet world. There is no place for drugs or alcohol. Adequate sleep and nutrition are of the utmost importance. Warming up exercises to relax and waken the body are also essential prior to beginning to dance. Any injuries to feet or legs must be attended to by a doctor.

One of the best attributes any ballet dancer can have is a positive attitude. A ballet dancer will always strive for perfection and therefore must train hard and maintain a healthy body.

Compensation for the Hard Work

Ballet dancing isn't about the money. From the moment a young child feels the approval of the audience, and hears the applause, they know that there is more to life than financial gain. They will put up with the long hours of training for little more than their next time in spotlight followed by a round of applause.

Financial rewards for ballet dancers aren't great. Unless you have some form of national or international following you are only as good as the show you are currently performing in, and how long that show runs can vary from weeks (or even days) to months. Even a prima ballerina isn't likely to be compensated financially for anywhere near the amount of hours she spends training and dancing in order to achieve her high level of ability.

For most ballet dancers, the money is secondary to the thrill of dancing in public. As long as they have enough to get by on, they're happy to follow their dreams and feel privileged to have the opportunity to do so.