ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the course of transnational ballet careers. Coaching and choreographing relationships, including creativity blocks when the rehearsal process seems to go nowhere, are also acknowledged, as is the occurrence of dancers’ agency in rehearsal and performance. A point is made about the prevalence of camaraderie despite the fact that the ballet world is structured by competition. As ballet students gradually learn the about two hundred steps of classical ballet, they are simultaneously socialized into ballet culture, not least into a decorum that calls for a certain politeness involving, for example, frequent thanking and apologizing. The decision to become a professional dancer is often made after a ballet revelation, an extraordinary experience of ballet art. It is also common that a teacher has been pivotal for a dancer in pursuing a ballet career. There is a traditional notion outside the ballet world that the ballet world is very competitive, especially among female dancers.
