A Dancer's Mindset as a Career Advantage

When I retired from a professional ballet career five years ago, I could not have imagined all the ways that the incredible lessons I learned from ballet could be applied to a new career. Although my current work in medical research does not seem to share any similar job requirements to that of a ballet dancer, skills I gained through ballet have been incredibly influential in successfully transitioning into this new field. 

I want to highlight 5 key traits that dancers develop that set them up for success in careers outside the dance world:

1. Time Management - When dancing, I had to be highly organized and utilize excellent time management to balance technical training, cross-training, rehearsals and school, as well as make time for important people in my life and other interests outside of ballet. I developed many efficient habits from balancing these various interests, including a keen sense of how to prioritize items on my to-do list. In my current role, this helps me adapt quickly to the ever-changing needs of our research trials because I know what items I can work ahead on to be prepared for when time-sensitive needs arise, as well as ways to keep track of less urgent items so I still accomplish all my needed tasks. 

2. Reliability - In ballet, you are ultimately responsible for your performance on stage. Others rely on you to know the choreography; if you are understudying a role you are expected to be able to step in suddenly if needed. While it’s not ideal, I had many instances where I did not get as much rehearsal time as I felt I needed. I learned how to make time for extra practice so that I would feel confident on stage. In my experience, the dancers that were the most prepared to jump into a role were also ones who had more opportunities arise because they proved they could handle a challenge. Away from the stage I see how valuable reliable people are - if you can be trusted to get the job done, more opportunities will continue to come your way and you will build positive relationships with the people you work with.

   

   Reviewing steps on stage before a performance of George Balanchine’s Diamonds.

3. Growth Mindset - Dancers know how to identify their weaknesses and use this knowledge to improve their craft. Dancers understand how engaging even a slightly different muscle or channeling a different feeling into a step can create a huge difference. I carry this mindset into my current field by identifying knowledge gaps and finding ways to fill them. This can range from researching a particular disease I am not familiar with when one of our study patients presents with it, attending seminars in my field, or enrolling in my masters program to learn more about law, business and regulation upon realizing how important these areas are to my industry.

4. Cultural Competence - Working alongside my international colleagues in ballet companies taught me about different communication styles and cultural norms which encouraged me to have empathy for people who were different from me. These experiences have made me better equipped to work with patients, clinicians and colleagues with diverse backgrounds. Additionally, having to move many times throughout my ballet career taught me to embrace the challenge of constantly meeting new people in new areas of the country or world. This has made a huge difference in being comfortable in my current job to reach out to the people best suited to collaborate on a project I might be working on, or for me to learn more about a new topic. 

Swan Lake Corps de Ballet

5. Understanding Your Audience - Dancers excel at using their artistry to connect with an audience while on stage. We understand how playing into the musicality of a sequence or emphasizing a comedic or tragic moment in a story ballet can create a greater impact on our audiences. Now I consider my audience to understand how I can effectively communicate to get a trial running smoothly. Whether I am writing the most concise email possible to a busy physician or translating technical trial language into simpler terms for a patient, tailoring my communication style to the person I am communicating with makes things easier both for those I am working with and myself.

I encourage all dancers considering a new career to explore how these traits and others they developed from dance could continue to serve them. Just because we have left the stage does not mean we no longer have a dancer’s mindset, and the skills that we developed to become excellent dancers will also aid us as we pursue excellence in a new field.