Personal coach, culture animation and culture project management specialist, graduated from the Roman Turczynowicz Ballet School in Warsaw. Dancer of the Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera. He has a special fondness for his participation in Grek Zorba (Zorba the Greek) performance with which he toured to Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium,  Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Israel.

Dance and theatre have always been a dream world for me. I have always enjoyed performing and hearing the audienceʼs applause. I have been working as a dancer for 21 years. Now I have two other jobs. I work as a culture animator and culture project management specialist in the City Cultural Centre, where I organise cultural events and activities. Secondly, I work as a personal coach – I was able to develop the skills necessary for this job thanks to the support of the Career Transition Programme for Dancers. I consider the work as personal coach as a form of extension of my stage career because as a personal coach I work with body and movement. This work truly fascinates me and it is fully consistent with me. I really enjoy to be in contact with the people I coach, I like talking to them and giving advice.

Iʼm glad to see my clients satisfied with their own progress, noticed also by their relatives and friends. Sometimes I feel that when I am working as a personal coach I am not really working; it is so natural, so pleasant for me. I think I emanate this positive approach and my clients can sense it. And as a result, other clients arrive, because they someone recommended my coaching to them.

I started thinking about the professional change when I was still working at the Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera. I was aware of the fact that, because the early retirements had been abolished by the government,
I would soon have to face a new reality. Because I always liked the gym, the idea of being a gym instructor or a personal coach did cross my mind. But soon after that, I forgot about it. And then, one day, one of my work colleagues, a dancer, reminded me of these ideas. I can say that he filled me with a lot of enthusiasm and made me believe in my project entitled – “my Personal Coach”.

When I left the theatre, being completely independent was the hardest thing. Earlier, the theatre provided everything and now I was on my own. So when I began working for companies and individuals, in the open job market, I realised I had to learn a lot. Also, when I took up administrative work in the Cultural Centre, sitting behind a desk was hard for me to bear. It took me a long time to get used to the sitting body position. However, it was nice to change the environment, meet many new people and places.

My wife and family were very important for me during the whole transition process. I joined the Career Transition Programme for Dancers about 4 years after leaving the theatre. At that time I already had a job in the Cultural Centre but I was wondering what else I could do. I received amazing support from the Programme, it made me feel that the world needs me. The career counsellor provided by the Programme motivated me a lot. She worked with me a lot in the individual sessions and gave me homework exercises. Her supervision helped me realise many positive things about myself. Iʼd been thinking about working as a personal coach before, and then, during the sessions with her, the idea has returned. I am glad it happened. Within the Career Transition Programme I managed to acquire necessary  qualifications and now I am truly enjoying my new job. This professional change makes me feel fulfilled and satisfied with my life.

I think it is just hard for a dancer to leave the stage. It is sad to leave this atmosphere, the audience, the applause... But life has different stages. Being a dancer is a beautiful, but a rather short-term profession (just like being an athlete). It is just a phase in your life and after that phase, comes another one. Sometimes I think that by starting a new career path, we – dancers, can develop ourselves more, use our inner potential, do interesting things and thus avoid laziness. That the end of dance career can be an interesting beginning of a new stage in oneʼs life. My message to dancers who are at the beginning of their dance career: “Time flies. Being 30 or 40 years old seems far, but itʼs not.

Itʼs good to have the main goal in your life, but itʼs also good to have other options in your life. And that itʼs good to have an open mind.”

Warsaw 2019