How to quit your job

Sounds easy, but is it?

Dancers work on contracts, meaning that one is usually employed from a beginning date, until a set date where your obligations to the theatre ends. This may be just a period of months (weeks even) if your job is to do one certain production for a company. But when I talk about “a job”, I am thinking about a full-time engagement at a dance company, usually lasting for a season. Normally, dancers that has been dancing continuously for the same company a couple of seasons, are offered longer contracts, for say three or five years, sometimes even longer. Some state opera’s and national ballets offers contracts without an expiry date, meaning that you are employed for the company until you quit, are fired or go off with your pension. For most companies, this is not an option, even the soloist work on set contracts, although often a longer-term one.

Now, what if you want to quit your job?

One of the pro’s of having a one-season contract is that you are able to leave your job at the seasons end without having to quit. You just simply politely decline a prolonging of your contract, or a new one. But every once in a while, dancers needs to leave a company before the contract expires.

The way you do that, is as quitting any other job – you resign. All professional contracts states a time you have to stay after resigning your position, to allow the company to replace your position, usually one or two months. A little thing to remember: This works the other way around as well. If you should find yourself in a position where you are getting fired/losing your job, you are to receive salary for this period after you are told.

BE SURE TO READ YOUR CONTRACT THOROUGHLY BEFORE YOU SIGN IT! It is important as hell! I’ve been in the position where the company offered a contract, and I was just thrilled, signing the contract at the spot, only later to find out, there were stuff in there I did not really appreciate.

Another issue is language – ask for the contract in a language you understand. It is the companies responsibility to present you with it. Another solution may be to have someone translate it to you, but then, you are solely reliant on that persons interpretation of what is in the original text, as you are really signing the contract in the original language, just with the terms explained to you. Do yourself a favor – don’t sign anything you don’t know what is.

Now, let’s get back to quitting.

Try to always leave the company in a good fashion. You don’t want anyone to remember you as that guy that left in a rage. Be polite, do things as they are supposed to, resign in time and make sure not to step on anyone’s fingers, and you’re fine! As the famous saying goes: “The people you meet on your way up, are the same you will meet on your way down”. In the ballet world, this couldn’t be more true – it’s a small community. Make sure that won’t be an unpleasant meeting.

Now, if you have to make people mad, and you just want to let everyone (read: your boss, all colleagues and the entire audience, plus a couple of million you-tubers) know how glad you are to get the hell out of there, at least do it with style, like this tiger;

Grr

H