As a second year trainee with Oklahoma City Ballet, I have learned a lot about the process to transition from student to trainee being in a professional environment. With these helpful tips that I picked up along the way, you can make the process of becoming a trainee so much easier!

Treat it Like a Job

Your role as a trainee is very important to your career and to whichever company you are a part of. A traineeship or second company position is the bridge between being a student and being a professional. You have the expectations of being a good fit for a company, but you are lucky enough for your directors and teachers to understand that you are still in the learning process. When I first became a trainee, I quickly realized how much I needed to learn, and how fast I needed to learn it. I was not used to being in a corps de ballet or learning new repertoire as quickly as we had to. If you want to impress your directors, show them that you are prepared by being able to dance with others easily and by picking up any type of choreography quickly. Sometimes you could be asked to dance with the company, and if you make sure to always be on your marks, in line with others, and dancing on the right counts, you will be treating your traineeship as seriously as any job. It is your responsibility now to make sure that you are always on time, ready for rehearsal, and mentally and physically prepared.

Scheduling

Joining a company as a trainee often means moving away from home for a lot of dancers. After so many years of living with a family, it can be hard to adjust to living on your own. Keeping a schedule will help you immensely for finishing everything that needs to be done after a whole day of classes and rehearsals. Planning your days out for things like grocery shopping, dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, working out, etc. instead of putting them off until the last minute will greatly decrease your overall stress. Managing your life outside of ballet is so important, especially for new trainees who might forget that there are essential things that need to get done that do not involve ballet. However, with a good support system, you can learn how to live on your own and help yourself grow up into an adult.

Giving Yourself an Outlet

Working hard everyday to better yourself is the most important thing a ballet dancer can do. Staying determined through challenges, always trying to learn new things, keeping yourself motivated, and keeping your body in the best shape it can be are all essentials to becoming a professional ballet dancer. However, a lot of young dancers taking their first steps into the professional world tend to forget that free time outside of ballet is just as important to have a successful career. It is so easy to get burned out with this art, but having hobbies and friends will help you remember that there is more to life than ballet (as hard as it is to accept that). Doing things like reading, going to the movies, spending time with loved ones, or anything else that brings you joy will ultimately help you grow as a dancer by giving yourself mental and physical breaks. We all love ballet, but we also know how exhausting it can be if we don’t make time for ourselves to just be human as well.

Going from student to trainee does not have to be a scary experience. If you prepare yourself well by taking it seriously, knowing what is wanted from you by your directors, budgeting out your time, and having fun and relaxing on your rest days, you will be in perfect shape to embrace every aspect of your wonderful years as a trainee!

Blog written by AK Company Dancer Jessie Glaws