Now before I word vomit, let me just say that I cannot possibly fit all the intricacies of the ballet industry into a single cheat sheet. This is just some background information I thought would be useful for anyone who might be looking to understand the story better. But anyways, let's get into it:
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① PRINCIPAL DANCER
These are the Olympic equivalents of ballet dancers. They almost always get main parts (think Odette in Swan Lake or Aurora in Sleeping Beauty), and therefore this is a highly coveted position in a ballet company. Principal dancers normally earn more money and have their own dressing rooms, but they also have to live up to their titles and are under an insane amount of pressure to deliver the best their company has to offer. It's very rare for dancers to make principal under the age of 25-30 in major companies.
② SOLOIST
Soloist is the middle ground between the corps de ballet and principal dancers. Soloists usually perform featured roles in a ballet (think supporting characters like Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet or Mercedes in Don Quixote). Some companies will occasionally give their soloists principal roles to see how they perform, but mostly they will be understudies and only step in if a principal dancer gets injured.
③ CORPS DE BALLET
These dancers form the 'body of the ballet' and act as a backdrop for the principal characters. They make up the majority of the company, and some dancers will spend their whole career in the corps de ballet. These dancers work very hard (even some principals will say that the corps de ballet works the hardest) and sometimes portray up to three characters in a single show, all while dancing multiple shows a week or even a day.
④ APPRENTICE
Apprentices are usually unpaid dancers who are being tested out by a company before they receive a permanent contract (kind of like an internship). A lot of ballet students do this in their final year of schooling.
･ Many companies have additional ranks like coryphee , first artists or demi-soloists. This is just a general structure and it will vary a bit from company to company.
･ The term prima ballerina has gone out of fashion in recent years, but used to refer to the top principal ballerina(s) in a company. These ballerinas were often seen as the face of their company.
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Ballet companies are usually companies, meaning they exist for profit and have a board and a sort of chairman, which would be called the Artistic Director. Ballet companies also employ full-time teachers and coaches that are called ballet masters and mistresses.
① COMPANY DIRECTOR / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / DIRECTOR
The artistic director is the head of the company and is normally a decently famous retired dancer or choreographer. This is a very sought-after position, and there are a lot of politics involved with this specific job.
② BALLET MASTERS / BALLET MISTRESSES
Ballet masters and mistresses are employed by the company to uphold technical standards and professionalism amongst the dancers, as well as passing on company traditions. They often teach the day-to-day classes and run rehearsals.
･ Ballet companies also usually employ physiotherapists, wardrobe staff, orchestras and some even have in-house sports psychologists.
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CREATURE
RomanceAsya is the most promising ballerina the Royal Ballet has seen in years. Wildly ambitious, back-breakingly disciplined, and immensely driven, she has only one objective: prima ballerina. There is nothing she won't do to earn this once-in-a-generati...
