College vs. Postgrad: What One Nevada Ballet Dancer's Path Can Teach Us

About this episode

Paityn Lauzon shares her unique journey in ballet, discussing her choices around education and the challenges of auditioning for professional contracts.

Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk What happens when a dancer skips the postgrad route entirely and still lands a professional contract? Paityn Lauzon, now in her fourth season as a company artist with Nevada Ballet Theatre, did exactly that. She grew up at a small competition studio in Arizona, turned down a spot at Joffrey New York at 14, and later chose Indiana University so she could study astrophysics alongside ballet. She dropped out during COVID, moved back home to Arizona, and used the year to fall back in love with ballet before returning to finish her degree. In this conversation, Paityn gets brutally honest about audition season (she emailed 50 companies), the mental toll of never hearing back, what a $350-a-week apprentice contract actually looks like, and why she holds four or five jobs simultaneously to make it work. She also talks about the surprising calm of professional company life, what it was like to sit at the AGMA negotiating table, and why she thinks the transition from "fix your technique" to "just be an artist" catches so many young dancers off guard. Links: Summer Intensive Essentials Guide Buy Summer…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jenny Huang, Brett Gardner

Guest: Paityn Lauzon

Topics covered

• ballet
• dance career
• education
• audition process
• professional life
• mental health
• work-life balance

Keywords

• ballet
• dancer
• audition
• professional contract
• education
• mental health
• work-life balance
• Indiana University
• Nevada Ballet Theatre

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nevada Ballet Theatre, Joffrey New York, Indiana University, AGMA

Places: Arizona, COVID

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