Dancer Ian Knowles Creates Balletposition.com That Monitors Ballet Dancers' Pay And Conditions Worldwide

Former dancer and ballet teacher Ian Knowles created balletposition.com, which is to compare useful data for dancers looking to join ballet companies in the United Kingdom, Western and Eastern Europe and the United States.

"Dancers, especially newly graduated dancers, need to ?know about basic rates of pay ?and what to expect living as a dancer in various countries," Knowles said. "We want to be positive about joining these companies but also informative about contracts and what to expect."

According to the site, first-year dancers at companies ?under the Equity agreement can expect to receive roughly £23,700 per year. This is less than in some ?western European countries where pay, but also living costs, are higher. For example, the Norwegian National Ballet, for example, reportedly pays dancers about £37,900 per year. Eastern Europe provides the lowest salaries, but the cost of?living is generally also lower.

Balletposition.com also includes information on tax rates, pension schemes, holidays and available healthcare, which Knowles said was "the kind of information that is difficult to find elsewhere, especially to compare between companies".

Knowles said that the ?site would continue to build up information as time went on, ?and called for dancers to contribute. "The best way for us to develop is to hear from real people ?working at these companies and experiencing these things," Knowles said.

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