Episode 19: Career Transition w/Joan Jeffri
54m | Jun 6, 2021This week our guest is Joan Jeffri, Director and Creator of the Research Center for Arts and Culture at The Actors Fund in New York City, and former director of the Graduate Program in Arts Administration at Columbia University. Having spent decades teaching arts management, spearheading institutions, and conducting research into the later stage of artists' careers, she brings an unparalleled level of expertise, illustrated in her co-authorship of the 2004 research project "Life After Dance: Career Transition of Professional Dancers." (linked below)
Over the course of the episode, Joan and Kealan dive deep into the challenges - both internal and external - a dancer may face as they contemplate and embark on a career change. The reality of this inevitable transition is something most dancers don't consider until late in their careers, and often only when their careers have come to an abrupt end. With Covid-19 increasing the level of job insecurity across the dance world, finding the courage and developing the tools to prepare for one's next steps has never been more important.
There are dancer transition centres and resources around the world that are there to help.
Multinational - International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers
Canada - Dancer Transition Resource Centre
United States - The Actors Fund-Career Transition for Dancers
https://actorsfund.org/services-and-programs/career-transition-dancers
The Dancers Resource
https://actorsfund.org/servicesandprograms/dancers-resource
Australia - AusDance
UK - Dancer's Career Development
France - Centre National de la Danse
Germany - Stiftung Tanz
Czech Republic - Dance Career Endowment Fund
Poland - The Institute of Music and Dance
Netherlands - Omscholing Dansers Nederland
https://www.omscholingdansers.nl/
Korea - Dancers' Career Development Centre
Switzerland - Danse Transition (fr, en)
https://www.danse-transition.ch/
The Transition Centre SSUDK (de, it, en)
Research material referenced in episode:
Life after Dance: Career Transition of Professional Dancers (mobile only):
https://neumann.hec.ca/aimac2005/PDF_Text/JeffriJ_ThrosbyD.pdf
Making Changes: Facilitating the Transition of Dancers to Post-Performance Careers
https://artsandcultureresearch.org/portfolio/making-changes
Reach the show at twotwoguyspod@gmail.com
or on Instagram @twotwoguys