In the United States ballet dancers in a professional company are divided into three ranks: corps de ballet, soloist, and principal. PBT has: 20 dancers in the corps de ballet, five soloists and six principal dancers. A ballet company's artistic director is the one who promotes dancers through the levels of the company.
The salary of a dancer is also tied to their level. A ballet company contracts dancers at different levels, and many ballet companies also serve as ballet schools. These ballet institutes invite the most talented young dancers to train alongside other members who must audition to join the professional tour.
Ballet Company Hierarchy Ballet is one of the most popular forms of dance and expressing of emotions through body movements. There are many ballet schools across the world and these schools are often termed as ballet companies. They may contact dancers at different levels and then train them to showcase a performance.
This ballet company hierarchy provides each dancer with a clear path for development and growth, offering the opportunity to move up the ranks if they meet certain standards. The journey through the ranks is both demanding and rewarding, allowing dancers to grow in a professional and personal sense. Understanding the journey of ballet company dancers is crucial.
Read on to learn what it means to be in the "corps de ballet" or to be a "principal dancer" and how ballet company dancers lay out their performing journey! Want to be able to decipher the difference between a corps de ballet dancer and a coryphée? Behind Ballet decodes the ranking hierarchy for dancers and the history behind the structure that determines their place in the company. Introduction to ballet ranking systems: The celebration of hierarchy in traditional ballets can be traced back to the early 19th century when ballet became a popular art form in Europe. All but the smallest ballet companies follow a hierarchy system that divides dancers into ranks and most have adopted gender-neutral classification.
A ballet company's artistic director(s) handles the. Ballet Company Heirarchy Today, ballet companies continue to rank their dancers in hierarchical fashion, although most have adopted a sex neutral classification system, and very few recognise a single leading dancer. A ballet company typically consists of a group of professional-level dancers, managerial and support staff, and an Artistic Director.
Corps de ballet literally means the "body" of the ballet company-they form the backbone of the company. Soloist-This is the middle level. If the artistic director sees that a dancer in the Corps de ballet really shines and excels technically, he or she may promote the dancer to the Soloist level.