I was delighted to be back at the ballet school where I had held a senior position years earlier. The person who hired me this time knew me but said that a new artistic team would be coming in soon to manage the school and the ballet company. I began teaching as this transition was taking place.

At year’s end, I was responsible for a class showcase for my students. Throughout rehearsals, I sensed a change in my immediate supervisor and another manager I’d known in previous years. They weren’t their normally chatty selves with me, but I did my professional best with my students and got good feedback.

At the time of scheduling the next year’s classes, I received an email telling me I wasn’t going to be asked back. My love for the school, my love for teaching my students, and my ego all took a whopping blow.