Jaslyn Reader's career began with classical ballet training at the New Zealand School of Dance and continued with studies in contemporary and ballet at the Queensland University of Technology. She spent five years freelancing in London before working in the US, Hong Kong, and Europe for eight years. Highlights include performing at the Royal Opera House in London with ATMA Dance in collaboration with the Royal Ballet, for New Adventures performing at Buckingham Palace, at the Komische Oper in Berlin, and working on concerts with Kanye West and Peter Maffay. Notable appearances include performances for TV shows like Let's Dance and The Masked Singer, and film work in productions like Babylon Berlin and Der Palast.
Alongside her career, Jaslyn pursued a Master in international relations, focusing her thesis on “Understanding Gender in Global Cultural Policy”. She presented her research at international academic conferences and transitioned into the field of gender politics and international development. Since 2022, she has interned with the Society of Gender Professionals and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ - German Development Agency), and now works at GIZ in feminist development policy. Jaslyn's journey embodies a blend of artistic excellence and advocacy for gender equity on a global scale.
Jaslyn Reader: I knew I would eventually need an exit strategy from dance, so I began by researching degrees in the areas and topics I was interested in, primarily international relations. I had already dipped my toe into a bachelor of international relations, so I started researching and found a masters course I could do online. I spent roughly five years studying part-time while remaining a full-time dancer. After completing my master's, I did some internships, concurrently managing them with my dance career, which was difficult.
I think I knew it was time to move on when I began to feel frustrated and a bit restless. As you grow older in the dance industry, sometimes the negatives outweigh the positives, and you lose sight of why you’re doing it and what makes dancing so special. It became more of a grind, and I noticed my complaints increasing. The magic was disappearing and my frustration was mounting, with no clear resolution. I knew I needed to start figuring out something else that I was passionate about and challenged by. I felt that this was a level of frustration that I couldn’t overcome, and that was the impetus for me to start retraining.
Jaslyn: I think my parents would say that I was always quite interested in these topics as a child, perhaps annoyingly so. I hesitate to say it's inherent because I have an optimistic view of human nature. I believe that everyone values justice, equality, and fairness, and I don’t feel like caring about these things makes me special.
I’ve always had an interest in politics though, and my studies and personal experiences, especially my experience as a dancer, have developed these interests. My studies in gender politics, in particular, have led to several lightbulb moments where I've been able to understand frustrating social situations better. I think when you have more tools, knowledge and understanding, you become even more engaged in social justice issues.
The capacity to entertain and perform is definitely a transferable skill, and you might need to tap into your creativity more than you think.
Jaslyn: I actually quite enjoyed it because I got to experience a bit of both worlds. It was a challenge in terms of time management and certain moments were almost comical - there were some jobs where I would be sitting there during performance intervals in full costume, hair, and makeup, trying to write a literature review. You find a way to make it work. I was also aware not to bite off more than I could chew; I did one or two subjects each semester as I didn’t want to overburden myself with the intensity of full time study. I’m not going to pretend like I needed to pull off some superhero feat, and I was pretty realistic about my expectations. I also didn’t pressure myself to get high distinctions for every subject - I knew I just needed to pass, that’s all.
Jaslyn: I'll start with a disadvantage, which is that people often don't see me for who I am, but instead see this stereotype before them. At times, I've found it really hard to get a job because my background was so non-traditional. I often felt judged, as if people were making assumptions about who I was. However, those who did take a chance on me really value those things that set me apart. I must say that now, being in a completely different field, I find that reactions are quite polarised. People either think my past as a dancer is irrelevant, while others find it absolutely incredible and recognise the unique skills I've acquired and admire my achievements in such an elite profession. They also appreciate my ability to transition into a new career field. The people who value that background are the ones you want to work for. I was able to leverage what I've learned from being a dancer, including numerous soft skills, which are ultimately what make you succeed in your next career.
Jaslyn: Actually, I haven't seen the results yet because the project has only just kicked off. Obviously, it’s a topic that’s very close to my heart, and I would love to witness the results, but you have to temper that eagerness with a bit of realism, as the cultural situation in Zanzibar is so complex. It contrasts with my upbringing in Australia where I could engage in any sport I wanted to without being criticised for being “unfeminine”.
The challenges in Zanzibar can seem so insurmountable, but I hope that what we started there can support and empower at least some girls to gain confidence in this area. So I remain hopeful, even though I haven't seen the impact yet.
Jaslyn: I’m sure there are some NGOs that utilise dance in this capacity, and there’s a lot of potential there. However, it's crucial to really consider how that would work in different cultural contexts.
Dance offers a fantastic opportunity for young girls and boys to learn something new, build confidence, and develop a passion, which is exactly what we aim for with children - you want to give them confidence and encourage their curiosity. Dance could be a great vehicle for that, but one has to understand that for an NGO to succeed in a capitalist world, it requires donors who comprehend and support its mission, and cultural and creative industries already struggle to secure funding. So although using dance as a development tool is a wonderful idea, it's also complex. The question remains, who would be willing to fund it?
Jaslyn: It's so important. On a European level, there's a concerning lack of unionisation among dancers, which is a big problem and leaves room for employers to exploit their cultural workers.
Policymakers don't understand the cultural and creative industries to begin with. These aren't regular nine-to-five jobs that can be easily regulated. It's a “new” kind of work, and often part of the gig economy. Many policymakers have absolutely no idea how this works. Even in the slightly more regulated theatre industry, there are so many nuances when it comes to providing dancer protection and yet also trying to make it a viable business model, which it’s absolutely not.
Still, we need policies to protect dancers and other cultural workers because it's not in the interest of companies or theatres to do so. With the supply-demand issue - too many dancers and not enough jobs - there's a lot of opportunity for employers to take advantage of employees and so little opportunity for employees to fight back.
The nature of the industry makes standard workplace regulations almost impossible to enforce - it is such a subjective work environment where there is some inherent level of discrimination. It's a complicated issue that needs very well-educated policymakers who can not only create policies, but policies that make sense to people actively working in the field.
How you survive and thrive in a workplace has so much more to do with the soft skills of how you present, how you critically think, how you get on board, and how you problem-solve than it does with specific hard skills.
Jaslyn: It depends if the political will is there. That's the problem. Europe is not the worst in terms of creating meaningful policy, probably among the best in the world. However, it's never going to be perfect. But in my opinion, that’s okay because that’s politics, right? You keep trying, you keep going, you keep iterating. Still, there definitely needs to be more unionisation as a first step, in my view.
Jaslyn: I wish I had a definitive answer to that. It’s easy enough for me, as a 34-year-old with the benefit of hindsight and a career behind me, to give advice on this, but it would also be hypocritical because I know what it feels like to be a young dancer and to want to succeed and give it your all. Young dancers today also have to deal with added pressures like social media and an oversaturated job market.
It would be quite rich of me to say to a young dancer, “Think about your fellow dancer, think about the future of the industry, don’t accept that substandard job because you’ll mess it up for everyone else.” However, I'm not a young dancer anymore, and I am in a position to take a stand. I would suggest thinking as a collective; your fellow dancers are not your competition; they will contribute to your success. They are what's going to make sure that the industry is healthy, thriving, and energetic and not miserable, complaining, and burnt out all the time. On an individual level, for example, I'd remind choreographers to remember what it's like to be a dancer. This competitive, scarcity-driven mindset is problematic. It’s not how you make an industry healthy.
Jaslyn: Yes, which leads you to allow so much exploitation. Eventually you look back and think, I shouldn't have done that job. I shouldn't have danced on that injury. I shouldn't have listened to that person who told me to lose five kilos. I think it's important to spend time building resilience and developing as an artist, rather than simply agreeing to everything asked of us.
Jaslyn: For a career in development, or any office job for that matter, adaptability is essential. You need to be able to pick things up quickly, perform well under pressure, and deal with egos. But also, it's important not to take yourself too seriously. In every office job, there's this feeling that everything is so important and serious, which can be overwhelming. It's similar to my experience in dance, where you might feel the world will be shaken if you don't land your third pirouette. But in reality, it's not that catastrophic.
Dealing with high-stress situations is definitely a key skill. In development, cultural sensitivity is also crucial due to the global nature of the work. Also, it’s important to listen more than you voice opinions. This is something I learned as a dancer - to be observant, to understand how others are interpreting the situation, and to adapt accordingly.
While the context is different - in development you're doing this on an intellectual or abstract level, not a physical or spatial one like in dance - the underlying principle is the same. Observe, interpret, analyse the situation, and then jump on board and find your pattern.
Jaslyn: An important one is the ability to make jokes and lighten up situations. You’d be surprised how important it is to be able to get people to like you. It’s similar to a dance setting, particularly in freelancing, where people are more likely to hire you if they like you. The capacity to entertain and perform is definitely a transferable skill, and you might need to tap into your creativity more than you think.
Jaslyn: I think that conflict was also part of my decision to start moving away from dancing. As I grew older and started to make sense of the world, the jobs got crazier and the disconnect intensified. I did not want to be objectified or perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women. However, I often found myself portraying these same stereotypes onstage without room for nuance or individuality. I was thinking about these things as a feminist, but then jumping onstage to represent the exact same thing over again, never with any input on my behalf. I was perpetually a supporting character, reinforcing the same problematic imagery which was contrary to my feminist ideals.
Despite being a creative artist, I felt I was confined to portraying either the cutesy girl, the sexy girl, or the vixen. There was nothing in between. It just got to a point where the disconnect was so obvious, and the gap between how I wanted to express myself as an artist and the roles I was playing grew too vast. It became too contradictory for me. At the time, writing about it was the only way I could deal with it because I still needed to work to pay my bills.
There's also nothing wrong with portraying conventional beauty on stage, but the problem for me was that there are so many different ways to portray womanhood, but I was frustratingly only ever given the same role and the same way to do things. I had such little time and creative input, which really wore me down
I still take on dance jobs sometimes, but now I have more control over the jobs I accept, which means I can try to resolve that disconnect.
Jaslyn: Exactly. I was asking myself how I became part of a problem that I was actively striving not to contribute to.
Jaslyn: A snapshot of my workday varies whether I'm in the office or working from home. However, I mostly work remotely as many of our partners are global, not just based in Germany. I usually have a few daily meetings. At the moment, I’m in a great position where I get to develop products (by products I mean sets of information like documents or guides) which involve extensive research and where I get to think of new ways of approaching complex problems in feminist development. Right now, I'm working on a product that addresses communication strategies in country contexts that are more resistant to feminism. This involves figuring out how to communicate with officials, stakeholders, or civil society members who are anti-democratic or anti-gender. The challenge is determining what kind of language to use and what concepts we can promote to achieve our goals without using words that certain cultural contexts might be allergic to.
In between meetings, my job involves managing emails and internal communications, typical of any office job. I make it a point to fit in a workout or a walk during lunch. As a dancer, I can't sit all day. My top tip is to take your lunch break and get some physical exercise.
Jaslyn: Don't be afraid. A lot of people value the skill sets that we learn as dancers. How you survive and thrive in a workplace has so much more to do with the soft skills of how you present, how you critically think, how you get on board, and how you problem-solve than it does with specific hard skills. The right place will value all the experience you've gained over the last 10-15 years.
The transition will be tough because dancing is a passion job, one we all got into because we love it so much. Also, the way we work as dancers means it isn't just a job; it's part of how we socialise and how we interact with each other. It’s part of our personalities. However, the transition will be worthwhile. Embrace the new challenges that come with it.
You'll make new friends and find new ways of operating in both worlds. Understand that not all jobs need to be passion jobs, which is also okay because there are benefits that come with having a work-life balance. There are benefits to having a job where you can switch off, where you’re not in physical pain all the time, or where your value isn’t so intrinsically tied up in your performance or your achievement. There are a lot of good things that come out of not having a passion job - try to temper that excitement from your previous profession and convert it into an awareness of all those benefits. That way you’ll be able to function professionally after having such a passion job.
Not many people get to do passion jobs their whole lives. Dancing was sometimes a passion job for me, and at other times, it wasn't, and it always involved varying levels of interest. I think we can unearth new interests as we go on, but you might not even know what they are yet because you've spent 35 years of your life doing mostly this one thing.
Also, I think there are different ways to fall in love with something. Sometimes, you might know instantly that you love it, like a lot of us did with dancing. Other times, your love for something grows by learning about it gradually. So I think dancers could approach their future careers like that.
Top image by Yves Sucksdorff
