The project is a cooperation between the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Stiftung TANZ – Transition Center Germany and supported by the Federal Government Commissioner of Culture and Media as well as the Berlin Public Sector Accident Insures (UKB).
It is our concern to promote the health of professional dancers, ballet masters, assistants, instructors, dance teachers and choreographers.
The questionnaire is the basis for a study being carried out national wide. It contains questions regarding lifestyle, everyday problems as well as occupational-related diseases. the aim is to develop appropriate measures to maintain and promote your health.
This is exactly why we are asking you as experts for support. Each completed questionnaire will be of great value and benefit for us. We herewith guarantee that all data provided will be anonymized. It goes without saying that you will be informed on the results of this survey.
Please answer the questionnaire online: de.surveymonkey.com/s/Y6MDRG6
or ask us for sending you a paper questionnaire: info@stiftung-tanz.com.
For further information please contact Gesa Kröger (gesa.kroeger@charite.de) and/or Dr. med. Eileen M.Wanke (eileen.wanke@charite.de).
Important for dancers who are planning to study at a university after their dance careers: the German student loans “BAföG” can only be granted for a first course of study. You can apply for BAföG for a BA program (the first three years) up to your 30th birthday; for an MA, the upper limit is 35. You must have been accepted at a university or have already started studying before these deadlines. For students with children under eight, the age limit is higher. BAföG can be up to €670 per month, depending on need; it is a good basis for financing a university education. Half of the total sum is a loan that you are required to pay back later when you begin working.
Beginning in the winter semester 2016, the BAföG top limit will be increased to €735 per month. The addition for childcare, currently at €113 EUR, will be increased to €130. As a student, you must pay your lodging and social insurance from these loans (careful: after the age of 30 there is no student insurance any more; this means that health insurance costs approximately €150 per month), and you must cover your study fees yourself.
More information at: www.bafoeg.bmbf.de
If you want to apply for an internship or a position outside of the dance and theater world, you should inform yourself about the standard form for applications in Germany. Basically, an application is made up of: 1) a one-page letter in which you formally apply for the position and quickly explain what makes you qualified for the position and what your motivation is; 2) a cv (maximum: two pages); 3) certificates of graduation (school, university); and 4) work evaluation from past positions. Outside of the dance and theater world, each employee receives a work evaluation from his or her employer – you even have a right to demand one. Your work evaluation includes a job description and your qualities (in cryptic language) or a judgment of your work. Every sentence’s formulation and style is important in this final evaluation. There are books that decrypt these formulations. If you want to switch into a different field, you can have your ballet director or theater director write such a work evaluation, even if it is not the norm in the dance world. In other fields of work, these evaluations are expected. An additional possibility is a letter of recommendation from an influential person (people with a Dr. title or people who are known in the new field). Here a differentiated analysis of what the applicant’s qualities and competencies are should be written. You can find more information on this subject in application how-to books; they can be found in every library or online.
The fitness instructor degree (IHK) is the first public further education degree in the fitness field that combines training elements with management and marketing. Fitness instructors are able to lead fitness institutions and the respective areas of hotels and rehab centers on their own accord. Basic knowledge in the areas of business administration, accounting/controlling, human resources, training sciences, sports medicine, training physiology, nutrition, equipment, emphases in training practice as well as management and marketing in the area of fitness are all a focus of this education. The complete qualifications (business administration as well as sports and fitness) that are taught in the further education courses to become a fitness trainer provide employees and director of fitness studios the necessary competence to effectively run a business and thus be successful.
Preparatory courses for the further education examination, which are offered full-time, usually last six months; part-time or correspondence courses, 15 – 24 months. They are offered at diverse academies and can be financed with the education voucher provided by the Arbeitsagentur (this means that the Arbeitsagentur, when the education courses have been accepted, pays for the costs of the program the costs of living during the courses). More at: kursnet-finden.arbeitsagentur.de/… (key word: „Fitnessfachwirt)
For years now, the Wissenschaftsladen Bonn offers an evaluation of employment advertisements in German newspapers. Every week, job ads from more than 150 print media and internet portals are evaluated and organized by career field in the two information services “arbeitsmarkt Bildung Kultur Sozialwesen” and “arbeitsmarkt Umweltschutz & Naturwissenschaften”. The career fields are also focused on in articles. The newspaper can be subscribed to for € 16/ month and is HIGHLY recommended for all job seekers in these fields (especially directly after attaining a degree). More at: www.wilabonn.de
Sincerely,
Sabrina Sadowska, Heike Scharpff & Andrea Thomas