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A ballet master manages a ballet company’s personnel and artistic vision, selecting programs, choreography, and training dancers. They define the program for the year, select and set choreography, and train dancers. They also represent the dancers in meetings with other company employees.
The work of a ballet master combines management with artistic vision, as the master not only organizes a ballet company’s personnel, but also often takes a leadership role in selecting a program, choosing choreography, and training dancers. . Almost every ballet company in the world has a ballet master who serves as the head of the organization. He or she is responsible for nearly all of the company’s internal operations, including performances and dancer selection. A ballet master’s job description also usually calls for working closely with the company’s marketing director, artistic director, and finance directors to ensure an optimized and profitable company.
Ballet companies make money in two main ways: performances and donations. Masters are exclusively concerned with performances. In many ways, they are the heads of ballet troupes, tasked with selecting, training, and directing dancers. Almost all are dancers, most having danced professionally for years before being nominated or elected to the position of “master”. Prior dance experience is almost always at the top of the list of ballet master requirements.
In most companies, it is the master who defines the program for the year. He or she determines which ballets will be staged and how many performances will be given. The master then launches each program, selecting male and female dancers. He or she is also usually tasked with recruiting new dancers, auditing hopeful additions, and disciplining dancers who fall short of expectations.
A ballet master also selects and sets choreography for performances. For most established ballets, the basic choreography already exists – but it doesn’t have to be followed precisely. Masters have the ability to change even established staging in order to make the show more unique and dynamic, as well as capitalize on the strengths of the dancers involved.
Once the staging is defined, the master must teach and train the dancers. This training usually comes in the form of grueling rehearsals. The masters teach the dancers the steps, train and train until the dancers’ movements align with the master’s vision for the show.
Not all rehearsals focus on fixed choreography. A ballet master is also responsible for the general fitness and general training of his troops. This often involves leadership drills, promoting cross-training, and dance drills disconnected from scripted movements.
The ballet master’s duties also extend beyond the stage. As president of the troop, the master must represent the dancers in meetings with other company employees, including marketing directors, artistic and costume managers, and financial affairs officers. The master is essentially the voice of the stage. For a ballet company to find success, it must ensure that all voices are represented in major decisions.
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