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Grace and Grit Enabled This Dancer to Build a Business in the Performing Arts

Jenna Pollack holding her HBS Online certificate
  • 30 Jan 2020
Michele Reynolds Author Staff
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  • CORe
  • Career Development
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Growing up outside Chicago, Illinois, Jenna Pollack began dancing as a small child, dreaming of someday becoming a ballerina. Inspired by her parents, who are professional musicians, she was confident in the viability of a career as an artist. She had the opportunity to turn that dream into a reality when she enrolled at The Juilliard School in New York City in 2009.

After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, she worked in New York and Montréal for a few years and found herself frequently negotiating contracts and advocating for herself and other dancers. Yet she felt at a disadvantage because she didn’t speak the language of business.

“Among many things, the dance world is comprised largely of women but run almost exclusively by men,” Pollack says. “When I entered the field, we were still half a decade from the #MeToo era and any mainstream discussion of workplace protections for dancers. I wanted to be able to better advocate for myself and others, which at that time felt especially difficult without the tools, support, or a larger cultural shift.”

It was around that time Pollack decided she wanted to become her own boss.

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Shifting from Dancer to Business Leader

To evolve her career from performer toward choreographer, director, and producer, Pollack decided she should go back to school. She had already planned to attend graduate school for choreography and interdisciplinary producing, yet wanted some formal business training. An MBA didn’t make sense for her, but she believed a business education would be a distinctive asset in her field.

So, before heading to graduate school at the Art Institute Barcelona, she enrolled in Harvard Business School Online’s Credential of Readiness (CORe) program. Pollack believed CORe—a three-course program made up of Financial Accounting, Economics for Managers, and Business Analytics—would give her the business skills to make an easier shift from performer to business leader.

“CORe was a perfect middle ground to pursue information at an entry point appropriate for my career,” she says.

Equipped with a baseline in financial literacy, she was able to attend graduate school with a business mindset and launch her own business from there.

Fitting Rigorous Courses into a Busy Schedule

Taking CORe while working was challenging, according to Pollack. She found the coursework to be rigorous but says being a night owl was an asset in completing the program. She also notes that the HBS Online teaching method and platform made it easier.

“The different ways the platform gives you information was really helpful,” Pollack says. “It made the material easily digestible, and the case studies were beneficial, providing clear examples that rooted me in the real world.”

Even more helpful were her fellow learners.

“The value HBS places on being an active member of the cohort was invaluable to my understanding of the material,” Pollack says. “I process information best in context, and so being able to interact with the community—whether it be in a chat room or live study group—and bouncing questions back-and-forth in real time proved helpful for me. It also drew me back in when I was feeling frustrated, or like I didn’t belong as an artist in a business class. The course is set up to relay information in many ways for many types of learners.”

Pollack proudly completed CORe with honors and, after spending two years abroad in Scotland and Spain, she’s now living and working in Boston. She leads a busy life, juggling performances with commissions and teaching locally at Salem State University and the Boston Ballet. This year, she’ll be returning to her hometown to make a new piece at The University of Chicago and will be traveling to Colombia this summer as an Arts Envoy with the State Department. You may also spot her on the big screen whirling around Emma Watson in the movie “Little Women.”

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In her rare free time, she enjoys going to shows, hanging out with friends and her boyfriend—a lighting designer at the Boston Ballet—local thrifting, and biking when the weather cooperates.

Grateful for being able to combine her love for dance with her leadership skills, Pollack is now fully immersed in the business side of the arts.

“I now have a way of thinking about an ever-evolving business plan, building budgets, and negotiating contracts, and I can apply it to my career in the arts,” she says.

Her business skills also gave her a seat at the table.

“Being able to talk about the business side of what I do gives me more credence,” Pollack says. “CORe gave me the skills to back up my ideas and get people to pay attention. With it, I feel much more confident in negotiations, vouching not only for my work but for the things I think need to change in the dance world. I feel like I'm able to better plan ahead and am making wiser economic decisions for the long-term. This feels especially important inside of a freelancer culture where it’s so easy to get caught up in living gig-to-gig. Taking the course didn’t debunk my artistic intuitions or visions, but gave me a way of speaking about them that I feel has set me up to be taken more seriously.”

If you’re interested in evolving your career and are seeking a foundation in business, explore CORe and other learner stories to discover how the program can help you advance your career.

About the Author

Michele Reynolds handles brand marketing and PR for Harvard Business School Online. Prior to HBS Online, she led communications for TripAdvisor and Gazelle and has been widely quoted in national media outlets, including CBS News, Reuters, and The New York Times. Michele earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University. Outside work, she spends time with her teenage daughter, plays tennis, and visits her enormous extended family.
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

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We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Are HBS Online programs available in languages other than English?

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We expect to offer our courses in additional languages in the future but, at this time, HBS Online can only be provided in English.

All course content is delivered in written English. Closed captioning in English is available for all videos. There are no live interactions during the course that requires the learner to speak English. Written English proficiency should suffice.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

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No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

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All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

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No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

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We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

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After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

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