by Jess Spinner | Jun 12, 2024 | Health & Body, Pointe+, Wellness
As a professional dancer, summer layoff is a very different experience from summers as a student, when you spent several weeks training at programs and intensives. Suddenly, you have much more time to fill on your own. Knowing what exactly to do with that time can...
by Maggie McNamara Mandal | Jun 6, 2019 | Career, Company Life
For a new professional dancer, the concept of a summer layoff—when ballet companies go on an unpaid hiatus for several weeks (or months)—can be a welcome change of pace, an anxiety-riddled uncertainty or a bit of both. While it should feel rejuvenating to take a break...
by Emma Love Suddarth | Jul 21, 2017 | Health & Body
Monday morning class after a three-day weekend? Stiff. After eight weeks off? Agonizing. For most professional dancers on their summer layoff, a break from the daily grind is simultaneously exciting and unnerving. These months are often reserved for recovery and...
by Amy Brandt | Dec 12, 2016 | Ask Amy, Company Life
I’m in a second company and I’d like to use my summer layoff to do an intensive elsewhere. Is there a tactful way to bring this up to my director? —Simone This is tricky, and depends on your director. When I was a trainee, we were free to go elsewhere...
by Candice Thompson | Jul 5, 2016 | Career, Company Life, Cross-Training, Wellness
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2016 issue of Pointe. Need some inspiration for staying in shape this summer? These four dancers know how to balance rest, cross-training and fun to start off their next season right. Photo by Charlie McCullers, Courtesy...
by Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone | Jun 1, 2015 | Career, Company Life
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2015 issue of Pointe. The off-season may mean rest and relaxation for some, but these pros see it as an opportunity to dive into their own projects. The results of their efforts—a multi-day festival, an...