79 replies to this topic

[balletbooster]

I was hoping to find or start a comprehensive list of all of the companies currently offering real, viable work (28 weeks or more).

Simply because you have heard of the company, does not necessarily mean that they offer contracts to their dancers for more than 1/2 of the calendar year. So, if unsure about a company you are thinking about, how about making a call or doing a little research?

I'm sure we could come up with the top 10 pretty easily and then fight about, uh discuss, the next five or so. But, what about the other 15 or more in this category?

This could be very helpful as our dancers reach the age where they need to start making their company audition plans and also need to look very realistically at where the jobs might be for them, if not with those companies at the top of the list.

Following is the beginnings of a list showing budget amounts and contract length. Please post any additions or corrections.

Companies with Budgets in Excess of $1 Million

1 New York City Ballet NY $42,963,000
2 San Francisco Ballet CA $25,226,909
3 American Ballet Theatre NY $25,135,609 -36 weeks
4 Boston Ballet MA $17,620,916 -40 weeks
5 Pacific Northwest Ballet WA $12,603,513
6 Houston Ballet TX $12,074,506 -44 weeks
7 Joffrey Ballet of Chicago IL $10,692,080
8 Miami City Ballet FL $10,496,404
9 Pennsylvania Ballet PA $8,065,245
10 Dance Theatre of Harlem NY $7,933,414
11 Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre PA $7,289,735 -38 weeks
12 Ballet West UT $6,391,138 38 weeks
13 Atlanta Ballet GA $6,262,363
14 Colorado Ballet CO $5,270,047 -33 weeks
15 Cincinnati Ballet OH $4,923,490 -33 weeks
16 Milwaukee Ballet WI $4,843,385
17 Fort Worth Dallas Ballet TX $4,388,006 -36 weeks
18 Oregon Ballet Theater OR $4,296,274
19 Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley $4,256,849 -31 weeks
20 BalletMet Columbus OH $4,125,913 -36 weeks
21 Washington Ballet DC $3,839,517 -36 weeks
22 Kansas City Ballet MO $3,747,702 -35 weeks
23 Dance Connecticut CT $3,712,833
24 Ballet Florida FL $3,658,489 -40 weeks
25 Ballet Tech NY $3,628,518
26 Carolina Ballet Theatre NC $3,585,151 -37 weeks
27 Ballet Arizona AZ $3,320,538 -30-32 weeks
28 Richmond Ballet VA $3,217,009 -24-40 weeks
29 Ballet Memphis TN $3,047,972 -40 weeks
30 American Repertory Ballet NJ $3,001,991
31 Tulsa Ballet Theatre OK $2,946,691 -34 weeks
32 Louisville Ballet KY $2,915,413 -33 weeks
33 Ballet Austin TX $2,843,632 -34 weeks
34 Ballet Internationale IN $2,750,951 -38 weeks
35 North Carolina Dance Theatre $2,497,490 -30 weeks
36 Sarasota Ballet of Florida FL $2,468,135 -34 weeks
37 Smuin Ballets SF CA $2,067,974 -34 weeks
38 Nevada Dance Theatre NV $2,000,553 -30 weeks
39 Ohio Ballet OH $1,862,465
40 Oakland Ballet CA $1,852,649
41 Southern Ballet Theatre FL $1,734,097
42 Sangre de Cristo Ballet CO $1,656,620
43 Nashville Ballet TN $1,653,550 -30+ weeks
44 Eugene Ballet Company OR $1,344,326
45 Philadelphia Dance Company $1,309,675
46 Central PA Youth Ballet PA $1,295,148
47 Grand Rapids Ballet MI $1,291,287
48 St. Joseph Ballet CA $1,277,637
49 Minnesota Dance Theatre MN $1,140,016 -29 weeks
50 Ballet Oklahoma OK $1,136,769 -32 weeks
51 New Jersey Ballet Company $1,110,044 -30 weeks
52 Ballet Pacifica CA $1,045,510 -40 weeks
53 Alabama Ballet AL $1,015,890
54 Columbia City Ballet SC $1,010,858 -30-34 weeks

Companies Under $1Million w/ 28+week Contracts

Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet 40 weeks
Atlantic Contemporary Ballet 34 weeks
Augusta Ballet -34 weeks
Ballet Quad Cities -33 weeks
Channel Island Ballet 30 weeks
Corpus Christi Ballet 34 weeks
David Taylor Dance -35 weeks
Dayton Ballet -33 weeks
Greensboro Ballet -36 weeks
San Diego Ballet -24-28 weeks
State Street Ballet -28-34 weeks

[tsavoie]

Sarasota Ballet, Florida, Ballet Met,Ohio

[Karen]

Carolina Ballet, I think that they are on the way up, but not ready for the top 20.

[citibob]

We have about 25 weeks for the calendar year 2002. I don't know what criteria you're using for your ratings, so I have no idea where we would fall.

Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre (Boston)

[BW]

Here is the link to the AGMA site: http://www.musicalartists.org/ There are only five companies listed and I haven't checked their number of weeks yet.

[LMCtech]

There is a publication called The Dance Directory that lists all relevant information about all the major (and minor) ballet companies in the US. Information listed includes length of contract, contact information, audition requirements, whther they affer a benefits package, whether or not they are a AGMA (or other union) company. It is an amazing resource. I think you can order it directly through them. Their website is www.dancepro.com

[Mel Johnson]

As long as we're performing a benign form of "harvesting", there's always dance/usa, to help with company memory jogs. Of course, not many mention their employment season:

http://www.danceusa..../companies.html

[BW]

LMCtech, for some reason I couldn't get anywhere by clicking on that link but when I used it in "Google" it worked. Probably my AOL account! Apparently one must send them an email to order that directory. Right now they still list it as 2001, but if someone actually emails them there may be a more current one available. http://www.dancepro.com/store.asp

[balletbooster]

There are several companies that are not in the union, but do offer 28+ week contracts, very good benefits, etc. Sounds like the list mentioned above is a good resource. I'm going to try to order the list and see what I get, thanks!

Anyone else out there know of small to mid-size companies that offer contracts that approximate 2/3 of a calendar year? Surely there are more than what we have come up with so far!

[diane]

And for the VERY adventurous, there is Europe..... Germany in particular has many theaters with Ballet ensembles which work ten months or more a year; the pay is year-round.

But, it is far away from north America, and more and more of these companies are being "rationalised" away due to budget problems.

-diane-

[vagansmom]

Thanks, balletbooster, for the great idea. This is very helpful to my daughter right now.

[citibob]

I'm still dubious of the criteria that will be used to order this list. How are the companies to be ranked? Pay to dancers? Total number of dancers? Size of subscriber base? Total ticket sales? Quality of reviews? Quantity? Level of activity in producing new choreography? Number of old classics presented? Surveys of dancer satisfaction?

[LMCtech]

I think number of weeks of employment?

I think Sacramento Ballet has a pretty long contract though I'm not sure just how long. It is a very stable company that's had the same artistic director for over a decade.