Ballet Help Desk

Jenny Huang and Brett Gardner

As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting your dancer's ballet path and we know navigating the world of ballet training can be challenging. The Ballet Help Desk podcast is here to help! Tune in for expert insights on supporting your student's ballet education. We cover key topics like summer intensives, ballet competitions, full-time and postgraduate training, health and wellness, boys in ballet and more. Hear valuable advice from leading professionals across the ballet world to help your dancer make the most informed decisions about their unique training path. Learn more at www.ballethelpdesk.com.

Listen in PodNod RSS feed Show website

194 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes194

Newest first

SMU's Carter Alexander on Training Versatile Dancers
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. Links: 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
Wednesday · 1 hr 24 min
The Business of Ballet: Shane Jewell, Oregon Ballet Theatre
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. Links: 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
July 22 · 1 hr 29 min
Peter Stark: When Is It Time to Leave Your Local Studio?
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. Links: 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
July 15 · 1 hr 18 min
What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 2
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon Our parent panel is back for part two, picking up right where we left off. In this half of the conversation, Erin, Sarah, and Sue cover the topics that come up most for families navigating full-time residential training: how a highly competitive environment can affect a dancer's confidence, how SAB, Houston Ballet Academy, and Canada's National Ballet School each approach annual cuts, and how the academic models differ across the three programs. The conversation also gets into the pressure dancers carry during audition season, the friendships that form in competitive training environments, and what it looks like to keep family life running when your dancer is living far from home. We close with the advice each parent would offer a family just starting this journey, and the one thing they would tell themselves on drop-off day. Learn more about full-time ballet training on our website. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
July 8 · 56 min
What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 1
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon We are so excited to be publishing part 1 of this 2 part interview. It's something we've wanted to do for a long time. Three parents of dancers who attended some of the largest full-time training programs in North America joined us for an in-depth and candid conversation about what it was like, from the family's perspective, to allow their teenagers to head off to full-time training while they were still in their teens. Erin Miller's son, Wesley, attended Canada's National Ballet School and now dances with Boston Ballet. Sarah Borden's daughter, Charlotte, went clear across the country from their home in Washington to attend the full-time program at the School of American Ballet. And Sue McCarroll's son, Owen, left home to attend Houston Ballet Academy, where he is currently in their professional training program. We went into so much depth that we're breaking this conversation into two parts. Across both episodes, we dig into how each family made the decision to send their dancer off, what factors ultimately drove that decision, what it was like to drop their child off, and how the adjustment went, not just for the dancer, but for the siblings and parents left at home. The conversation also covers the difference between training at a company-affiliated school versus a conservatory, and pushes back on the assumption that Balanchine-trained dancers are limited to a small handful of companies after graduation. Learn more about full-time ballet training on our website. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
July 1 · 1 hr 1 min
Riley Weber on Ballet Influencers and Brand Ambassadorships
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Riley Weber is back on the podcast. Since leaving a corporate dance brand job, Riley has been speaking more openly about how the influencer side of the dance industry actually works. In this episode, we talk about how influencer income works, from per view payouts to brand collabs, and what actually happens behind the scenes of a sponsored post. We also talk about brand ambassadorships for dance students. What it means when a brand sends a 12 year old free leotards in exchange for content, who benefits from that arrangement, and what it can do to a child's sense of self worth when it gets tied to follower counts and engagement. If you have ever wondered whether your dancer should pursue a brand deal, or whether a large following actually helps with getting hired by a company, this episode covers it. Find Riley on socials: @rileythomasweber Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
June 24 · 1 hr 15 min
Francis Veyette: What The Heck Does Potential, Facility and Body Type REALLY Mean? A Rerelease
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Jenny and I are taking a much needed vacation with our families so we're rereleasing one of our most popular episodes. We sat down with Francis Veyette, former principal dancer with Pennsylvania (now Philadelphia) Ballet, Co-Founder of the Veyette Virtual Ballet School and Rehearsal Director & Outreach Manager for Indianapolis Ballet. In this episode, Fran breaks down loaded terms like potential, facility, and body type, offering a practical understanding of what they mean. He also shares insights into the qualities dancers need to thrive in the ballet world. For anyone who has ever scratched their head when they heard people refer to potential or facility, this interview is a must-listen! You can learn more about Fran on his website. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
June 17 · 1 hr 7 min
From the Royal Ballet to K-Ballet Academy: Kenta Kura on Training Japan's Next Generation
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk If you've been paying attention, you've noticed: Japanese dancers are everywhere. Winning competitions, yes, but also filling the upper ranks of major ballet companies around the world. We've been wondering for a while now what is actually going on over there. Turns out, Kenta Kura has some answers. Kura spent nearly three decades inside the Royal Ballet, first as a soloist with the Royal Ballet, then as the first Japanese permanent teacher at the Royal Ballet School. In 2023, he came home to Japan with a clear mission: bring that world-class methodology to K-Ballet Academy, and change the equation for Japanese dancers who have long had to leave the country to access professional-level training. In this conversation, we dig into how ballet training is structured in Japan from the ground up, what the Kumakawa Method is and why it matters, and how K-Ballet Academy's Pre-Professional Course functions as a direct pipeline into K-Ballet Tokyo. We also explore what it takes for Japanese dancers to build careers abroad, the mental and emotional preparation that journey requires, and what it was like for Kura to be the only boy in his ballet school in a small Hokkaido village, until he stepped onto that international stage and felt, for the first time, like he truly belonged. His advice for young dancers is as simple as it is hard: allow yourself to make mistakes. Stay hungry. Stay curious. And believe in your own potential more than anyone else does. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
June 10 · 1 hr 10 min
Your Ballet Dancer Wants to Go to College. Now What?
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Your dancer has decided to pursue the college path. But which program is the right fit? What's the real difference between a BFA and a BA? What does a video pre-screen actually need to accomplish? And when tuition can tip into six figures, how do families make smart financial decisions? Francisco Gella and Julie Friedrich of Francisco Gella Dance Works are back for Part 2, and they get specific. We cover BFA vs. BA, which programs they think are doing strong work right now, how to approach video pre-screens, the three types of financial aid available to dancers, and what happens if your dancer gets a company offer after already committing to a school. The 2026 workshop schedule can be found here. Discounts are available to listeners of the Ballet Help Desk Podcast. Use code CollegePrep for a 20% discount on one or more of the workshops. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
June 3 · 1 hr 14 min
What Does "Elite Ballet Training" Actually Mean for College Admissions?
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Does your dancer need elite training to have a shot at a top college? But what does elite actually mean? Is it competition wins? A company-affiliated school? The right summer intensives? And does the answer look the same whether your dancer is pursuing a BFA or a non-dance degree? College and career specialists Francisco Gella and Julie Friedrich of Francisco Gella Dance Works have guided hundreds of dancers down both routes. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 1, we dig into the real differences between the BFA route and the academic route. We talk about why your school's college counselor may not understand this world and what "Olympic level" actually means when elite universities evaluate a dancer's background. We also look at why competition results carry less weight in academic admissions than many families expect, and a distinction that confuses a lot of families: the difference between a dance portfolio and a dance supplement, and what each one is actually for. The 2026 workshop schedule can be found here. Discounts are available to listeners of the Ballet Help Desk Podcast. Use code CollegePrep for a 20% discount on one or more of the workshops. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
May 27 · 1 hr 5 min
Making the Most of Ballet Summer Intensives: A Parent's Guide
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk In this host-only episode, we draw on our combined years of navigating ballet summer intensives to break down how to make the most of every program -- for your dancer and for you. We talk through what to do before your dancer leaves, how to handle drop-off day, and what to expect once they're there. We also get into the stuff nobody warns you about: what a scholarship really signals, how to handle the tap-on-the-shoulder conversation about year-round enrollment, navigating roommate issues, and what to do if your kid gets in trouble -- and yes, we are speaking from experience on that last one. Links: Shop Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
May 20 · 1 hr 3 min
American Repertory Ballet Gets Real About the Pipeline
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk American Reportory Ballet Artistic Director Samantha Dunster and Executive Director Julie Diana Hench join us for a conversation that gets refreshingly honest about the post-graduate pipeline, the job market, and what it means to truly prepare dancers for professional life. We dig into the structure of Princeton Ballet School from youngest students through the trainee program, how the school and company function as a single organization, and what actionable feedback actually looks like in practice. We also get into ARB2, the tricky math of a large trainee cohort and a tight job market, and a genuinely moving conversation about hunger, artistry, and what it means to inspire an audience. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
May 13 · 1 hr 10 min
The Mental Toll of "Be Grateful You're Here"
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk The corrections never stop. The casting is always uncertain. And somewhere along the way, many dancers learn to keep all of it behind a smile, because showing weakness feels like handing someone a reason to replace you. Josh Spell, Kari Brunson Wright, and Rachel Coates have all been in that studio. As former professional dancers (Josh and Kari at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Rachel at Kansas City Ballet), they understand this from the inside. Now, as licensed therapists and coaches, they've built the ILUMN Collective, an app and platform designed to give dancers the kind of mental and emotional tools to help navigate the often stressful times that inevatably arise during ballet training. In this conversation, the three founders get specific about what's actually happening in the minds of pre-professional dancers: the perfectionism that hardens into an inner critic, the body image challenges that develop quietly, the disembodiment that can take years (sometimes decades) to recognize and reverse. They talk about why gratitude culture in ballet can become a mechanism of control, what it looks like when a wellness program is real versus when it's just a sign on a door, and why giving dancers mental health tools without also educating teachers and directors is a little like handing someone a TheraBand and calling it physical therapy. For parents, there's a lot here too. How do you talk to a kid who's been trained not to show struggle? What's your role when the school has the authority and you're just the ride home? And what does it actually mean to be part of the care team, not just a spectator? Intrested in trying the ILUMN Collective's app? Check out our Summer Intensive Essentials Guide for an exclusive discoount. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
May 6 · 1 hr 28 min
Ballet's Bottom Line: Finances, Contracts, and the Fight for Dancer Rights
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Every ballet company's tax return is public record. Most dancers have never seen one. Liza Yntema, founder of the Dance Data Project, and Griff Braun, National Organizing Director at the American Guild of Musical Artists, walk us through what the numbers reveal. We start with the 990, how to read it, and what a company's revenue structure tells you about its priorities. From there we get into the funding landscape, leadership compensation, and why the gap between what artistic directors make and what dancers make is worth paying attention to. On the contract side, Griff breaks down what's in a collective bargaining agreement, what dancers should look for when they sign, and what generations of dancers have fought to put in those documents. We also get into the one-year contract cycle, the psychological weight it puts on dancers, and how the U.S. compares to countries that fund their arts institutions in a meaningful way. We also address the pay-to-play question directly: the trainee model, sponsored dancers, and the financial barriers that quietly shape who gets to have a professional ballet career. Plus: board governance, leadership training, and what would need to change for ballet companies to function differently. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
April 29 · 1 hr 42 min
Train in Germany, Dance in Europe: The Palucca Path to a Professional Ballet Career
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What does ballet training look like when it's housed inside a 100-year-old university, with the Semperoper Ballet as your next-door neighbor? We sat down with Rector Prof. Katharina Christl and Vice-Rector Prof. Juliana Sabino Wilhelm of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, Germany, for a close look at one of Europe's most distinctive training models. Students can enter as young as 10, earn a bachelor's degree by 18, and perform side-by-side with professional dancers at Semperoper Ballet while still enrolled. We covered how ballet training works in Germany versus the U.S., what the BA program looks like day-to-day, how Palucca approaches student wellness and injury prevention, and what the European job market really looks like right now. Plus the audition process, what international students need to know before applying, and the one thing both professors want every ballet parent to hear. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
April 22 · 1 hr 45 min
What Happens When You Choose Harvard Over the Company Contract
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer who traded pre-professional ballet training at the John Cranko School and the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company for a Harvard degree? Or when a dancer who received offers from the training programs at Joffrey, Colorado Ballet, and Philadelphia Ballet decides that college was always the plan? We sat down with Clara Thiele and Melinda Wang, co-directors of the Harvard Ballet Company, to explore one very compelling way to keep ballet in your life without a professional contract and the decisions that brought them to Cambridge and what they found when they got there. We talk about the moment Clara knew she was done auditioning, the very real grief of walking away from something you've built your identity around, and why Melinda is still grappling with the what-ifs even as a junior. We also dig into what the Harvard Ballet Company actually is: a 60-to-80-person, audition-based, collegiate ballet company that brings in choreographers from NYCB and SF Ballet, performs on a 500-seat stage, stages Balanchine repertoire, and somehow manages to keep ballet feeling joyful again. We also discuss the Ivy Ballet Exchange and the Beyond the Barre mentorship initiative. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
April 15 · 1 hr 15 min
Zurich Dance Academy's Jason Beechey on Pre-Pro Training and the Future of Ballet
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Jason Beechey has spent his career shaping pre-professional ballet training. After 18 years as rector of Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, he now serves as Director of Zurich Dance Academy and Head of Dance at the Zurich University of the Arts. He walks us through how Zurich Dance Academy actually works: the rotating teacher model, the health team, and how mental resilience, nutrition, and career management are woven directly into the curriculum as graded work, not afterthoughts. He also talks honestly about what happens after graduation, and how the school is helping students reframe auditions, develop self-awareness, and think beyond the same five companies everyone else is chasing. The conversation also touches on the cultural shifts reshaping the profession, and what ballet parents should know about sending a child to train at a European ballet conservatory. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
April 8 · 1 hr 31 min
College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's Path Can Teach Us
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer skips the postgrad route entirely and still lands a professional contract? Paityn Lauzon, now in her fourth season as a company artist with Nevada Ballet Theatre, did exactly that. She grew up at a small competition studio in Arizona, turned down a spot at Joffrey New York at 14, and later chose Indiana University so she could study astrophysics alongside ballet. She dropped out during COVID, moved back home to Arizona, and used the year to fall back in love with ballet before returning to finish her degree. In this conversation, Paityn gets brutally honest about audition season (she emailed 50 companies), the mental toll of never hearing back, what a $350-a-week apprentice contract actually looks like, and why she holds four or five jobs simultaneously to make it work. She also talks about the surprising calm of professional company life, what it was like to sit at the AGMA negotiating table, and why she thinks the transition from "fix your technique" to "just be an artist" catches so many young dancers off guard. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
April 1 · 51 min
Are Swan Lake, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty Still Relevant? Fran Makes the Case
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Timothee Chalamet said no one cares about ballet anymore. Fran Veyette disagrees. He's back on #NoThirds, and this episode goes deep into one of the most debated questions in the ballet world right now: are the classical, full-length ballets still relevant? Swan Lake. Giselle. Sleeping Beauty. Romeo and Juliet. These are the stories that have filled theaters for over a century. But in a world where audiences have shorter attention spans and higher expectations, do they still have something to say? Fran, a former principal dancer, choreographer, and rehearsal director who has actually danced these roles, makes a passionate and detailed case for why these ballets are not just beautiful spectacles but stories with real symbolic depth. Giselle is not a ghost story. It is about forgiveness and redemption. Sleeping Beauty is not about a princess being rescued. It is about the danger of naivete and what it means to wake up to the world. Romeo and Juliet is not a love story. It is a story about the consequences of your actions. Swan Lake is not just about swans. It is about captivity, tyranny, and the power of choosing your own path. Fran has built backstories for these characters, wrestled with their motivations on stage, and performed them in front of thousands of people. The way he talks about them may make you see these ballets differently the next time you sit in a theater. We also dig into the bigger industry debate around classical ballet programming, new works, ticket sales, and what audiences actually want. Not everyone agrees, and this conversation does not pretend otherwise. These stories can be timeless in their symbolism and still feel out of step to a contemporary audience. Both things can be true. Fran's take is but one point of view, and we know there are lots of opinions out there. That is exactly what makes this conversation worth having. We would love to hear where you land on this. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at Ballet Help Desk, or leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
March 26 · 1 hr 9 min
Pre-Pro to Professional Ballet Training | Jen Sommers of Houston Ballet Academy
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk How long can your dancer stay home before it starts to matter? It's one of the most common questions ballet parents face, and one of the most consequential. Jen Sommers, Director of Houston Ballet Academy, joins us to talk through exactly that, along with everything else families need to understand about the road from pre-professional training to a professional dance career. Jen is refreshingly direct about how much a company-affiliated environment matters, and it goes well beyond technique. We talk about what dancers gain from being adjacent to a professional company every day, from learning to pick up repertoire quickly and navigate casting to understanding what it actually feels like to be a working company member before they ever sign a contract. Pas de deux training, performance volume, and learning to function as part of an ensemble are all pieces that are hard to replicate outside of that environment. She doesn't sugarcoat where the gaps tend to show up when dancers arrive later than they should have, and she gets honest about how often dancers coming from local or regional programs actually end up in HB2 and what that picture really looks like. We also get into how HBA is structured from its youngest students all the way through HB2, what short-term stays are and what they mean for families navigating the admissions process, and what the pipeline from Pro 2 to HB2 to company really looks like. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer Corrections Journals 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
March 25 · 1 hr 26 min

Ballet Help Desk

SMU's Carter Alexander on Training Versatile Dancers

The Business of Ballet: Shane Jewell, Oregon Ballet Theatre

Peter Stark: When Is It Time to Leave Your Local Studio?

What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 2

What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 1

Riley Weber on Ballet Influencers and Brand Ambassadorships

Francis Veyette: What The Heck Does Potential, Facility and Body Type REALLY Mean? A Rerelease

From the Royal Ballet to K-Ballet Academy: Kenta Kura on Training Japan's Next Generation

Your Ballet Dancer Wants to Go to College. Now What?

What Does "Elite Ballet Training" Actually Mean for College Admissions?

Making the Most of Ballet Summer Intensives: A Parent's Guide

American Repertory Ballet Gets Real About the Pipeline

The Mental Toll of "Be Grateful You're Here"

Ballet's Bottom Line: Finances, Contracts, and the Fight for Dancer Rights

Train in Germany, Dance in Europe: The Palucca Path to a Professional Ballet Career

What Happens When You Choose Harvard Over the Company Contract

Zurich Dance Academy's Jason Beechey on Pre-Pro Training and the Future of Ballet

College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's Path Can Teach Us

Are Swan Lake, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty Still Relevant? Fran Makes the Case

Pre-Pro to Professional Ballet Training | Jen Sommers of Houston Ballet Academy