Ballet Graduate Profiles website

My view, and I am sure the popular view, is that favouritism is inevitable and rather than bemoan another’s good fortune, students should have enough confidence in their own abilities to look for alternative opportunities to promote their talents - perhaps directly to prospective employers.

An idea was taking root and having a daughter who will be entering the job market in a few years time was an added incentive to explore further. Initially I planned to do the research and present it to a suitable organisation to develop. Quickly I realised that this ‘service’ had to be free of charge, which promptly eliminated outside interest. If anything was to be achieved, I would have to do it myself.

Photograph by Elaine Mayson

I came up with a simple plan. I put myself in the prospective employer’s position and asked what would be the best way of getting my attention. The solution was a one page profile of each student detailing background training with photographs - the most important factor. Creating an Internet website that would house these profiles and be accessible to ballet companies both nationally and internationally was an exciting prospect and I went to work armed with the ‘Internet for Dummies’ book.

It has been painstaking but rewarding progress and I am doubly proud of the fact that the site is now up and running and that David Bintley CBE has wholeheartedly endorsed the idea. The site is free to all, there are no restrictions, and all students who are currently, or who will soon be looking for contracts, are invited to join -either independently or via their schools. Ballet Graduate Profiles will not replace any existing arrangements or audition ‘processes’, but what it does is offer all students an equal opportunity to have their profiles promoted via the Internet, directly into the heart of ballet companies around the world.

Website: http://ballet-graduate-profiles.com