Starter’s Info: Career Transition For Dancers

Career Transition for Dancers is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting professional dancers in periods of transition– most notably, the inevitable transition out of professional dance and into additional schooling and second careers.  CTFD provides one-on-one counseling and several specialized support groups, as well as scholarships and grants of up to $2000 for eligible individuals. CTFD was founded in 1985 in response to an international dance-themed conference held London that year, a conference which significantly addressed the issue of “the dancer’s situation;” that is, that a dancer’s career will inevitably reach its end due to either age or injury, much earlier than most professionals in mainstream careers (or even various other performance careers) face retirement.  This situation leaves professional dancers in an awkward and uncertain position, as many eschew other types of formal training and education in order to wholly pursue–and succeed at–dance.

In its early stages the organization, motivated by the efforts of professional dancer Ann Barry who would act as its founding and executive director, existed as an off-shoot of the Actor’s Fund.  Eventually it grew large enough to sustain itself as a non-profit.  Much of its funding was found in the profits of the organization’s annual dance gala, which grew in scope and spectacle each year.  (This year’s gala, themed “Dance Rocks!“, will take place on October 29 at the New York City Center.)