For College Dancers, Internships Showcase Industry Careers Beyond Performance
For dance majors, performing professionally often feels like the only way to stay connected to the dance world. But behind every performance is an ecosystem of administrators, educators, and organizers that make it all happen. Internships are a perfect way to explore these avenues and find the facets of the industry that are available beyond dancing.
Below, three dance majors share their experiences as dance interns.
Brooke Goodwin: American Ballet Theatre
Brooke Goodwin, 21, is the Institutional Support Intern for American Ballet Theatre this summer. Originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Goodwin is a rising senior at Goucher College, double-majoring in dance and business management with a concentration in arts management.
“I realized that dancing as a profession was maybe not the right choice for me, but I still wanted to be in the dance world,” says Goodwin. She was drawn to Goucher because of its dance and business programs, and the capability to concentrate in arts administration, specifically. “I could still remain connected to dance in higher education and not feel pressured to go into performing as a career.”
Goodwin had long been interested in interning at ABT. “I knew they had this really robust internship program; it’s just always been a dream,” she says. As the Institutional Support Intern, Goodwin primarily works on grant-writing projects, which involves drafting and editing proposals to institutions who help to fund ABT throughout the year. This involves detailing the current happenings in the main company, studio company, school, and community outreach programs, so that ABT supporters can see exactly what their money is going towards. “It’s very strategic in how you craft the application,” she says. “It really scratched the right part of my brain.”
Aside from institutional giving, Goodwin and the other interns are able to learn about the other departments from ABT’s staff. She also gets to have more hands-on experience during the performing season. “The most exciting thing has been during the [Metropolitan Opera House] season, working at the membership table and then getting to watch the performances,” she says. “I’ve seen probably within 10 to 15 performances.”
Though her work can be tedious and meticulous, Goodwin has found the experience rewarding. Her ABT internship has enabled her to pinpoint the avenue of arts administration she wants to pursue: grant writing and maintaining donor relationships. “I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else,” she says.
Anessa Davies: Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Last spring, Anessa Davies finished interning at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. She was the inaugural intern for Studio D: Arts School for All Abilities, Segerstrom’s dance, music, and theater program for students of all abilities and ages.
At the time, Davies, 21, was a graduating senior at California State University, Long Beach, where she received a BFA in dance with a minor in sociology. She heard about Segerstrom’s program through her college’s dance department, choosing it because of the opportunity to work in artistic and administrative settings. “I feel like there aren’t many internships out there that let you do both,” she says.
The day-to-day work involved Davies assisting Segerstrom’s teachers of the adult, teen, and youth musical theater programs. She also choreographed on some of the students for the spring musical. “It’s so rewarding to see the students’ confidence build over the course of several weeks and seeing them shine on the stage,” she says.
When she wasn’t in the studio, she worked in the office filing papers, sending emails, and doing other administrative tasks. “It made me realize that I can do dance in an administrative aspect, which wasn’t really an option that I thought I could do.” Working at Segerstrom taught her important business skills, particularly networking. “It was a little scary at first, but networking is definitely needed. You’d be surprised by the people that you talk to that you find something in common with.”
Shifting from a dance-studio setting to an administrative environment wasn’t easy, especially since this was Davies’ first internship. “I felt a little bit of impostor syndrome, like I shouldn’t be here because I don’t have as much experience in an office setting.”
But overcoming this fear made the experience that much more impactful. “Everyone has to learn from somewhere. And it’s really rewarding in the end.” Since finishing at Segerstrom, she has accepted a general operations and social media internship with the L.A. Dance Resource Center, with aspirations to start her own nonprofit someday.
Ada Reddington: School of Jacob’s Pillow
Ada Reddington spent the summer as an intern at the School of Jacob’s Pillow. She found out about the program through Handshake, a job-listing site popular amongst college students.
Reddington, 19, has just finished her first year at Swarthmore College, and is anticipating studying dance and educational studies. “I can’t really separate dance and education. To me, they’re the same experience,” she says. Reddington realized that the performance track was not the right career path for her, which drew her to consider arts administration. “I just know that as long as I’m with people and I’m with movement, I’m going to be happy.”
Her demanding role at Jacob’s Pillow involved a myriad of responsibilities. Her tasks in a typical day ranged from philanthropic duties with school patrons to assisting faculty to even helping out with production. “One day you’re going to be doing community day postering in a local Berkshire town. The next day you’re going to be welcoming the artist faculty for the next program and settling them into their cabin. And then the next day you’re going to be shadowing a community class. I really enjoy the multifaceted part of it.”
Her time at Jacob’s Pillow has taught her more than how to facilitate school programming—it’s also taught her agency, a skill she feels is highly underrated in the artistic world. “I have had terrific conversations with some artistic directors of companies, with dancers from all over the world, but only because I had the agency to approach them and have that conversation.”
Overall, Reddington’s role prepared her to carve out a future administrative career that combines her passions. “This position taught me that if you want to open the doors, you have to be able to go and see them. It takes research, it takes critical thinking, but it also takes passion. If you love what you do and you know how to help yourself, then you really can make some beautiful things happen.”
