Ballet – and Then?

von Maja Langsdorff

What becomes of ballet dancers when they finally leave the stage, when their last curtain falls? Maja Langsdorff, journalist, writer and a former ballet dancer, interviewed 27 former dancers and recorded their life stories from their first ballet steps to their lives after dance. At the time of their interviews they were between 21 and 62 years old, their careers had ended from three months to 34 years ago. Dancers give a lot, if not everything, in the performances. They live their lives in the limelight. In ballet, profession and calling are united: passion and suffering are often close to each other. For most dancers, their time is up at thirty, thirty-five. They disappear from view. One doesn’t hear anything about them anymore; as if they were swallowed up by the earth. This book investigates their fates. These short biographies show what formed them, what moved them, what influenced them. And the portraits leave no doubt, that dancers are special people; even if they no longer dance.