Most American dance companies do not offer 52-week contracts. That structural reality forces dancers to fill substantial layoffs each year — often long summer stretches — with something other than class and cross-training. A new Dance Magazine feature asked professionals what they do with that time, and their answers range from busing tables in Alaska to running a wedding-cake business.

"It's really important for all dancers to know or try to find who they are when they're not dancing," says Georgie Grace Butler of Atlanta Ballet, who has worked as a server for the last two summers. Taking a pause and entering another industry, she says, "allows for a little bit more space for that" and "helped me get to know myself."

Feeding Tourists in Juneau

Butler's colleague at Atlanta Ballet, Carraig New, returns each summer to his hometown of Juneau, Alaska, to be with family and in nature. Butler began joining him a few years ago. Last summer, the two — who recently got engaged — worked together at a waterfront restaurant in Juneau serving tourists disembarking from cruise ships.

"These restaurants get absolutely slammed" during the summer, says Butler, who previously worked in fine dining in Atlanta. The volume of foot traffic makes the job lucrative, and staying with New's parents spares them a second rent.

Busing tables and running food was New's first restaurant job. "It's nice to step away and get perspective" from the all-consuming nature of a dance career, he says. Butler adds that the mental reset from different work and life amid Alaska's natural beauty lets them return to Atlanta with "even more to give" as artists.

Their advice is direct. "Don't be nervous about trying new things," says New. "It can be intimidating to go into another field. But the reality is, you're a lot more set up than you might think." Dancers, he argues, can draw on the ability to learn quickly and adapt, the same skills used when absorbing choreography or touring. "Build who you are outside of the ballet studio," says Butler. Ask yourself, "What am I good at? What do I enjoy?"

Pet-Sitting, Producing, and Pitching In

Leah Terada, a soloist at Pacific Northwest Ballet, keeps several projects running through the summer. Beyond teaching dance and occasional guesting engagements, she picks up pet-sitting jobs — she grew up on a farm outside Dallas and has cared not only for dogs and cats but also ducks and even a goat — finding work through word of mouth and the Rover app. She also works the register at a friend's cafe, Baskette, in Seattle, and is preparing to produce and market an event as part of Seattle's fall Art + Culture week.

"When I'm not dancing, I'm very interested in a lot of other people, and I'm interested in being in a lot of different spaces," Terada says. "Asking 'What else can I be inspired by?' is revitalizing to me." She draws energy from caring for animals, which offers companionship and reasons to go outside, and from making customers a sandwich, asking about their day and genuinely listening to the answers.

Her counsel balances ambition with recovery: "Plan your summer so it makes sense in context with your season." She listens to her body; if she is exhausted, booking too many dance gigs could mean she doesn't "get to recover and then build up again" before the season starts. "Different is good," she says. "It's also just a summer, so go try it, and if it doesn't work, then that's okay. You learned something."

Starting a Baking Business

Jordan Fry began baking as a student in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's graduate program. "Baking was always kind of my stress release," she says. At Ballet West, she became known for bringing in treats, and when colleagues began marrying, they came to her with cake requests.

Those favors grew into Ballerina Baker, a business she launched in 2017 and pushed into high gear every summer, when Ballet West's layoffs conveniently coincided with wedding season. Each cake laid groundwork for her next chapter. When she retired from dance in 2021, she turned to baking full-time.

"Looking back, it's been such a gift," Fry says. "It became the most perfect career transition for me." Even without that exact second act, she says, the experience gave her a confidence she could have carried into any number of careers.

Her advice: "It's easy to get caught up in roles and casting," but "it's good for dancers to get outside of your bubble." She urges dancers to "start looking at yourself and recognizing your gifts and your talents, as well as the things that ballet has taught you, and how those might be able to translate into something else."

"As dancers, we know that our career is not going to last forever," Fry says. So "shift your mindset to focus on 'How can I use this time to my benefit?'" For dancers facing this summer's layoff, the pattern across these three stories is clear: the offseason job is not just income but a rehearsal for whatever comes after the final bow.