‘We make so many sacrifices so our girls can dance’

Dance education is in decline, with financial barriers deterring prospective students and families, finds new report.
Pursuing a career as a dancer comes with financial burdens and an uncertain future. Two dancers wearing light brown workwear onesies in a white space. One is sitting with one foot propped up on the chair, their hand on their head, and another is standing behind in an elegant stance, extending their arms and one leg.

A new report released by The Australian Ballet (TAB) and The Australian Ballet School (ABS) highlights the challenges faced by dancers and dance schools in the post-pandemic era.

An average group size of 727 people compete for the opportunity to gain full-time training at ABS each year, with around 95 selected. This is further cut down to 64 who make it into TAB, which employs around 80 dancers per year.

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Celina Lei is ArtsHub's former Content Manager. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs, and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram: @lleizy_