Frédérike spoke with us about her career as a dancer. We hear about the disappointment of not being chosen for the Paris Opera at 11 years of age and about her success with a different troupe at the age of 17, when her parents agreed with her decision to drop out of high school and travel as a professional dancer. Finally, we understand that there is more than one path to a career in dance.

To download the recordings, click here.

Track 1
Introduction

Track 2
Frédérike introduces herself and recalls how she started dancing.

Track 3
So what is the normal path for a dancer? You try out for the Paris Opera, right?

Track 4
And you did try out for the Paris Opera, right? Tell us about it.

Track 5
So what was it like when you tried out for the Paris Opera and did not get chosen? Big disappointment?

Track 6
But that disappointment didn’t keep you from continuing your dancing, right?

Track 7
Is there a lot of tension, a lot of competition between the dancers who are competing for a small number of roles?

Track 8
And did you ever realize that dream of the ballerina with the tutu and sequins?

Track 9
So you found your path in contemporary dance and got your first professional contract at seventeen…

Track 10
And you started your own dance company?

Track 11
And what attracts you to dance? What did you enjoy at the beginning and what do you enjoy now?

Track 12
What does the future hold? Will you dance long into old age?

The links above give you the following recordings:

• Original
• Slowed-down 25%