Retirement experiences of elite ballet dancers: Impact of self-identity and social support

Abstract

This study examined the retirement experiences of elite ballet dancers. Particular emphasis was placed on the influence of self identity and social support on the quality of adjustment to retirement in elite ballet dancers. Six former international elite ballet dancers from a single National Ballet Company in the UK participated in retrospective semi-structured interviews. These interviews yielded transcripts that were analysed using content analysis. As expected, the majority of dancers presented strong and exclusive athletic identities. Those dancers presenting a strong and exclusive athletic identity at the point of retirement experienced identity loss and confusion during the career transition process. Refuting our anticipated outcome, the dancers primary social support network remained intact after career termination. The dancers perceived this continued social support to positively influence the overall quality of career transition experienced. In addition to social support, dancers adopted a combination of coping strategies; predominantly retirement planning and redefinition of self. Future research should focus on identifying specific adjustment difficulties associated with athletic identity during retirement and should identify specific coping strategies adopted to counteract these adjustment difficulties during career transition from dance.