After landing his first real musical theater job at age 10, working with Cameron Mackintosh, a well-known Broadway producer, Daniel Roberge ’23 had just one goal in mind: He wanted to be an artist and performer. As Roberge became involved in more ballet performances, he says that many in his hometown of Newcastle called him Australia’s Billy Elliot. Six years later, a classical ballet teacher in Australia took note of Roberge’s talent and wanted to do what she could to help him succeed. “She took me under her wing, gave me a scholarship, and trained me,” he remembers. He even stepped out of high school to focus on a ballet competition in New York City, deciding to instead earn a diploma in dance performance at Australia’s National College of Dance, which is similar to an associate degree earned in the United States. From there, he joined the Genee International Ballet Competition, led by the Royal Academy of Dance, where he won the silver medal—and a cash prize. “After I received the money, I said to my parents, ‘I’m 18 now. I’m going to move to the U.S.’ And that’s exactly what I did.”
He started his new life in Washington, D.C., in 2010 with The Washington Ballet. During his first nine months, he performed at the White House, met President Barack Obama, spent nights performing at the famed John F. Kennedy Center, and was a guest principal artist at Ballet Hawaii during in the summer months. When he turned 26, however, Roberge realized it might be time to take his path in a new direction. After a decade of dancing, he had achieved nearly every goal he set when he moved halfway across the world. “As I got a little older, I realized I wasn’t always going to be the young, talented guy,” he says. “I was going to need accreditation and education under my belt to continue to succeed in the future.” So he decided to return to school to earn an undergraduate degree, landing at Saint Mary’s College of California to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences and Performing Arts—a program made up of ballet dancers, opera singers, and Broadway performers who worked through their early 20s and delayed their college education.
After graduating with a 4.0 while balancing full-time work, Roberge knew he was ready to learn more. “I wanted to build business-centric skills, but I didn’t want to necessarily throw myself into business school and be in a world in which I’ve never existed before. It didn’t feel like ‘me.’ That’s why I chose Northwestern’s MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises (MSLCE) program—because it marries the two so well. It gives me the skills I want to learn while acknowledging the skills I already have.” This summer, he’s working as an apprentice for three producers who are optioning a book that could turn into a limited series—a biographical documentary focused on dance and theater. “I’m reading the book and providing feedback about what I think would be a potentially good framing of each episode,” he says. “We’re going to be working with a writer. We’ve got a budget behind it, and it’s giving me this opportunity to meet with some incredible producers and screenwriters.”
As he stepped into this apprentice role, he was thankful for MSLCE courses like Associate Professor Rick Morris’ Arts and Entertainment Law and Ethics, which helped him understand copyright and legal processes—both important when working to acquire the exclusive right to an author’s work. “I’m able to have a seat at the table and understand what people are talking about,” he says. “I don’t feel like I’m out of the loop or out of place. It was very valuable.” Adjunct Lecturer Laverne McKinnon’s The Power of Pitching + Persuasion is also an experience that stands out for Roberge. Although he says he won’t be pitching in the traditional sense, the course still provided a framework to help him identify problems and resolutions—and how to succinctly express ideas. The hands-on experiences he gained from Clinical Assistant Professor Allison Henry in her Business Models course also gave him insight into consulting work and identifying key concepts around value creation and value capture for creative enterprises. He explains: “MSLCE helped me find the right career direction after I realized I would no longer be an artist on stage—but I could be someone who’s on the other side of the performance, helping pull it all together from conception to the finished product.”
After earning his master’s degree, Roberge hopes to apply what he’s learned while working with Oscar winner Peter Spears, Pulitzer Prize nominee Robbie Baitz, and former United Talent Agency Partner Brian Swardstrom to whatever positions may arise in the future. “I’m on the right path,” says Roberge. “I want to work in production, but I also want to continue my work in the world of ballet. I want to showcase artists, artistry, and theater and dance, and I want to do it not only in the theater atmosphere but also through the medium of film and TV.”
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