What do dancers do when they retire from the stage?

Careers in ballet are indeed short. Typically, a dancer’s career ends anywhere between ages 30 and 40. Dancers often move into choreography. Many also teach, direct their own ballet companies, or resume formal education. The intensity of ballet training and the short length of a professional career often mean that dancers do not study beyond high school. In recent years, however, many of the country’s top universities have devised special programs that welcome dancers, and many other artists, to join in resumed undergraduate and graduate-level study.