Top Tips from DCD’s Inspiration and Training Day at Facebook HQ

What happens when you take 60 dancers into Facebook’s London HQ for the day?

That’s what we found out at our Inspiration and Training Day, part of DCD’s Career Insights Programme.

We were given first hand insights into HR recruiting for people changing careers, personal accounts of career transitions from professionals working in motorsports, opera and dance as well as practical tools and guidance on using social media in leveraging your next project.

Top 3 tips from the day:

• Be open minded and believe that you're more capable than you think you are
• Highlight what makes you stand out from the crowd on your CV - your professional dance background is a real differentiator!
• If you are passionate about a new opportunity just get a foot in the door and figure the rest out afterwards

Huge thanks go to all at Facebook who welcomed and looked after us so warmly, in particular to Charles Knoblich, Leonie Cassidy, Anna Bishop Rehrig, Karin Thyselius-Schumacher, Jason Mills, and Leigh Thomas.

Dancers - Don't Miss EVOLVE Early Bird Tickets!

Our next EVOLVE workshop is coming to London’s West End for the first time on 20 November, supported by Delfont Mackintosh.

• Explore the journey of a dancer’s career with like-minded people
• Get the tools to develop your own personal action plan and discover your potential
• Learn how to manage a lifelong career beyond performance
• Enjoy the unique opportunity to hear personal transition stories from DCD retrained dancers, including former Birmingham Royal Ballet dancer Kristen McGarrity, who is now performing in the hit West End musical An American in Paris; and former musical theatre dancer and now sound engineering student, Nick Searle.

Pay just £30 until 6 November for this full day workshop, including lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

'Career Transitions: The Power and Potential of Dancers'

We're delighted to have featured in One Dance UK's latest edition of its 'One' Magazine', the Careers Issue, with a piece written by DCD Executive Director, Jennifer Curry about the power and potential of dancers.

#IamDCD Across the Country!

The past weeks have been a whirlwind of DCD events all over the country – connecting with our DCD supported dancers at our Alumni gatherings in London, Glasgow, Leeds and Birmingham.

These free events brought together dancers from all genres and at all stages of career transition, carving out fascinating new careers in a huge range of fields, from fashion design to medicine and opera to PR.

Thank you to all who came along – you’re such an inspiration to all of us here at DCD and to other dancers.

We can’t wait to bring our Alumni events back to each of these cities in 2018!

Dancer Transition in Poland

In September, DCD Executive Director Jennifer Curry was delighted to have been asked by the Polish Ministry of Culture to speak at a National Conference in Bytom, Poland. This was an opportunity to highlight the work of DCD and the International Organisation for the Transition of Professional Dancers, but also to demonstrate unwavering support for colleagues at the Institute of Music and Dance, who provide critical transition support to dancers in Poland.

Dancers Pension Scheme

The Dancers Pension Scheme are looking to trace members who formerly danced with the scheme’s participating companies (Birmingham Royal Ballet; English National Ballet; Northern Ballet; Rambert Dance; Richard Alston Dance; Royal Opera House; Scottish Ballet; and Siobhan Davies Dance).

If you think you were a member of the Dancers Pension Scheme and didn’t receive a statement last October or haven't had any communication from the Scheme, please get in touch with them on +44 (0) 2895 053169 or at Dancers@xafinityconsulting.com.

If you know other dancers who might have also been in the Scheme, please do spread the word and ask them to get in touch.

Senior Role Opportunity at YBSS

Yorkshire Ballet Summer School (YBSS) is looking for a new Director.

The Director has primary responsibility for the direction and operation of the residential Summer School and charity. YBSS, the UK’s leading independent residential dance summer school, is held at present for two weeks each year at Askham Bryan College, York.

Look out for an exciting new look for DCD and new website we’ll be launching soon to make accessing DCD support even easier!