Blackboard on Mondays, Microphone on Weekends: How a Teacher Conquered the Ballermann Stage

Blackboard on Mondays, Microphone on Weekends: How a Teacher Conquered the Ballermann Stage

From teacher traineeship to the Megapark stage — and back to everyday life traveling between Son Sant Joan and Cala Major

You can spot her at Palma airport, suitcase trolley behind her, the sound of cleaning vehicles on the apron, and she smiles as if travelling were completely normal. Yet the life of 'minnie rock' — that's how she writes her stage name — is anything but ordinary: school bag during the week, stage outfit at the weekend. For a while she lived both worlds in parallel, a situation that mirrors Emily Gierten and the Invisible Island Everyday: Between Children's Laughter and Loneliness.

In 2017 she began performing at the Megapark alongside her teacher traineeship in Germany. During the week she worked as an elementary school teacher in Rhineland-Palatinate, with a classroom, homework and little disputes over packed lunches and punctuation marks. At the weekend she put on her stage boots and sang for an audience that often wakes up later in the day than her pupils.

The separation was deliberately strict: no Instagram stories for parents, no mingling of roles. Only the school administration knew about the shows — also because secondary employment must be reported. That changed when the responsible school authority in Trier eventually approached her and gave her a choice. Legally one might have contested that demand, she says now. But she decided for herself that music was more than a hobby. A civil servant career was over; parents thought it brave but understandably worried about the new uncertainty, a debate not unlike the one around Danni Büchner: Between Show and Protection – a New Summer in Mallorca.

Today she commutes regularly during the season between Mallorca and Germany. Two performances a week at the Megapark are mandatory, with calls to booking, outfit checks and social media work in between. "Many people think everything at Ballermann just happens by itself. But there is a small operation behind it: management, technicians, the whole setup. It's a full-time job — just different," she says, while the background hum of takeoffs and landings at Son Sant Joan drifts through the glass front.

Musically she processes life with a sharp tongue: in the song "Leererin" she alludes to the past without impersonating the teacher on stage. One line captures the tone: 'Halt's Maul, ich habe Ferien, denn ich bin eine Leererin.' The wink is intentional; the number pokes fun at clichés and makes clear that biographies can have many parts.

Anyone who sees her at the Megapark hears not only party hits, but an artist who organizes her everyday life. For example: last Sunday she had a morning flight and was on stage only a few hours later; afterwards she drove spontaneously to Cala Major to visit her parents, who were at the beach, a scene reminiscent of Holiday Sparks at the Playa: Heike Seeks Her Unknown Man from Bavaria.

Colleagues at Ballermann show respect for this path. Many seem surprised when someone comes 'from outside' with vocational training. For her it is clear: the change was not an easier life, but a different one. "I used to just go to work. Today I have to sort out a lot myself — that brings pressure and existential fears. But I don't regret it. This is my profession, my rhythm, my risk," she says.

For Mallorca this brings a small but noticeable enrichment: artists like her give the season operation faces, create jobs behind the scenes and keep the stages alive — also outside the classic tourist times. Walking along the beach and hearing the music from the Megapark in the evening, you experience not just consumption but people selling their craft.

Outlook: plans for the après-ski season are already in place after the summer season. Artists who work on Mallorca know how important versatility is — and how useful a double CV can be. For young people still deciding between profession and passion, this is an example: sometimes the path doesn't lead via calm, but via rides between two worlds.

On the way to the gate, one last look over the bay of Palma, then soundchecks again at the Megapark — for her both belong together. The loud happiness at the microphone is now the main job. The blackboard remains a memory and a song lyric. And somewhere in between lies her story: not typical, but certainly Mallorcan in the tempo of coming and going.

Tags: Megapark, Ballermann, Party tourism, Party