I began by looking into 'professionals' that have made the transition themselves, my first port of call was none other then the prime advocate for dance, Darcey Bussell. Re-nown for the way she graced the stage whilst under the title of 'principle dancer' for The Royal Ballet, her later years have seen her moving more so into the media lime light, establishing herself as TV personality. I stumbled across an article in the guardian which read 'Dance legend Darcey Bussell's next step' followed by a similar article in the mail being captioned as; 'Darcey's new world! When superstar prima ballerina Darcey Bussell retired last year her life turned upside down – literally – as she moved to Australia to become a full-time mum. But, as she launches a series of children’s books, has she put away those ballet shoes for good?'
Both of these reported on Darcey's retirement for motherhood, and a look into her life after dance. They each wanted to know how this had affected her moral as a person, how she'd been keeping busy and ultimately what was next, her response being:
"I'm still a dancer, and I suppose I'll never escape that"
This really got me thinking, however versatile we may be as trained performers are we emotionally pigeon holed? Are we influenced by others opinions on where we should be as professionals? The media hype created around Darcy and her retirement expressed a 'loss' to the world of dance, allowing her to relive her 'hay-days' in articles on a weekly basis, which can't of been healthy for a 'dance addict' as she describes herself:
'Dancing is a passion, one that I will probably never be rid of. It is a bug and you are addicted to rehearsing and performing'
So could this have been the cause for her next steps? I think it's fair to say despite her sensational and established success as a ballet dancer, she struggled like many to find her feet during this tough transition. Wanting to succeed so badly at 'walking away' from dance left her in the land of unknown. I further read another article published earlier this year in the mail entitled 'My battle with depression, by Darcey Bussell'. Describing her turmoil after leaving the stage she says:
I got depressed. I didn’t appreciate how low I got. My husband did. He said, ‘‘You know, Darcey, you’re better when you’re busy’’. I thought it was weakness to show you couldn’t cope.’
I think this way of thinking links in with the strict and disciplined training received from a very young age as a dancer - failure is not an option. Being bought up in a particularly structured manner and environment you can become dependant on the routine from a day to day basis, to suddenly then live a life without that framework can be very difficult to adapt to. The article continues to detail her 're-inventiont' as it were, and her excitement at becoming involved with the popular BBC television programme 'strictly come dancing' as a respected judge. With regards to this career transition I feel that is very much a result of her specialist attribute. Her disciplined and professional nature combined with her versatility is most definitely a skill past on from her early training within dance, and is one of which I feel is compatible within the television industry. She has worked hard to become a house-hold name which has opened up many doors in this new stage of her life - a life after dance. I feel that this literature provides key evidence for the advantages of networking and 'name' status when moving from industries, while also highlighting the asset of specialist skills. Darcey's career as a ballet dancer is a product of her own determination and talent, though she demonstrates many 'cross-overs' in abilities between industries, her presence in television today alone merely draws us back to 'its not what you know, but who you know'.
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