The self-sacrifice of dancers

As long as we continue to regard dancers as special beings, a breed apart, we condemn them to the status quo -- to their eternal childhood.  If we insist on their childlike charm and innocence at the expense of an adult relationship to the world of work, love, family, and friendship, it is they who will pay for our pleasure.  And as long as dancers accept this self-image, forfeiting the rights most professionals fight for and enjoy -- the right to respect, to financial remuneration, and to have at least some outside fulfillment -- the price they pay will be inordinately high.

In Europe, dancers fare better because ballet is forced to play by society's rules.  Ballet may create a magical world on stage, but dancers know that there is nothing magical about low pay and poor working conditions, sacrifice and injury.  They've learned how to fight to protect themselves.  There are some American dancers who have also learned that lesson.  They are the superstars who insist upon high salaries, a measure of control over their working lives, a great deal of security, and even more respect.  The difference between Europe and America is that across the Atlantic star dancers are not singled out:  When dancers are truly protected, all are protected equally.

Off Balance: the Real World of Ballet by Suzanne Gordon.  1983.  Page 215.