Dancers’ Career Development offers low-cost, one-to-one Personal, Professional Development and Career Transition Coaching for professional dancers. Coaching has helped hundreds of dancers navigate career progression and change in their professional lives.  All coaching sessions happen online and are led by DCD’s team of experienced coaches, who specialise in working with dancers.

What is Coaching?
Coaching is a confidential two-way conversation, DCD offers you a safe space to explore the positive changes you may want to make in your career, and to find ways to put those ideas into action. No matter what point you are at in your professional journey, coaching can help you to find the clarity and confidence to move forward in your life.

Based on a foundation of trust and empathy, coaching fosters a culture of commitment to self-development, learning and growth. Each coaching session is driven by you: you decide the topic and how to realise your desired outcomes. Our coaches will support you in getting there. Coaching is an invitation to take action and create the life you want.

Who is it for?
ALL independent dancers working and living in the UK, who have a minimum of one year’s professional experience and dancers who have performed with our Partner Companies in the last 10 years.

How long does it last?
Each session will last 60 minutes.
Each dancer can access up to SIX sessions.
There is no time limit on completing all six sessions; dancers are encouraged to discuss an appropriate timescale with their coach, to ensure optimal momentum and focus in working towards desired outcomes.
Dancers cannot book more than one coaching session in any calendar month.

Where does it happen?
Nationwide via Zoom, Skype or phone – whatever works for you.

How much does it cost?
The initial exploratory session is FREE, and the following five sessions charged at £30 per session. This represents the dancer making a 25% contribution towards the full cost.

Why are you charging from April 2024?
For sessions held from 1 April 2024, we are reintroducing a nominal charge for coaching for independent dancers (a return to pre-pandemic services), which remains heavily subsidised by The Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund, in order to ensure we can extend this service sustainably to continue to meet dancers’ demand.

Any independent dancer who is not in a position to pay for coaching sessions, who has been signposted towards coaching following the advice of one of DCD’s Programme Managers, will be asked to complete a simple bursary application to assess eligibility.

Please note: Coaching will remain free of charge to dancers currently employed by DCD’s Partner Companies: Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Rambert, Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet. 

Coaching is also available to dancers who have previously been employed by the above companies, for 12-months after the end of their Partner Company contract.

Who will my Coach be?
Click here to meet our team of coaches.
Dependent on their availability, you can select which coach you wish to work with. To ensure consistency of support, dancers will stay with the same coach for each of their six sessions.  If however, after the initial session, you wish to work with a different coach, this can be organised, within your six sessions.

Dancers should please work with one coach. You are welcome to use your first introductory sessions to work with one of the four coaches we have available. If for any reason, you don’t feel they are quite the right fit for you, you are welcome to book in with a different coach for your next session (We ask that you kindly remain with that coach for the remainder of your sessions).

What if I need more than six sessions?
Dancers who wish to continue coaching beyond their allocated six sessions may be able to make an arrangement directly with their coach to continue privately, this would be charged at your coach’s private rate.  This agreement is at the discretion of your coach. DCD do not take any responsibility for any sessions arranged directly.

If your personal situation changes significantly and you feel you would benefit from a second series of coaching please contact dancers@thedcd.org.uk to discuss your individual circumstances.

How do I take part?
All dancers will need to register on DCD’s database and respond to the questions on our booking platform before commencing their initial coaching session.  DCD has a duty of care and safeguarding responsibility for all dancers it engages with.  A copy of our Safeguarding Policy can be found here (please note this is in the process of being updated).

Please note: Our responsibility in relation to coaching is only for the period of the designated DCD coaching sessions. The agreement will not be valid beyond this period if you elect to continue coaching with your coach beyond this period.

If you think that you could benefit from coaching, please email dancers@thedcd.org.uk with the header ‘COACHING’ in the title. We will then arrange for you to have an initial conversation with one of our Programme Managers, who will look forward to discussing this with you.