Quantifying Hierarchy and Prestige in US Ballet Academies as Social Predictors of Career Success

This data contains aggregated competition outcomes from 6,363 ballet students affiliated with 1,603 schools in the United States, who participated in the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) between 2000 and 2021.

We adopt a network science and science of science approach that empowers logistic regression models and matching experiments to quantify social prestige and its influence on dancers' careers. The analysis of career success in the performing arts, like ballet, in the context of a competition setting offers a unique opportunity to investigate the social influences on success while controlling for competition performance.

Our work reveals the importance of institutional prestige on career success in ballet and showcases the potential of network science approaches to provide quantitative viewpoints for the professional development of careers beyond science.