I am glad to hear from somebody with knowledge of the ballet world - when I was coming along, it was before the Twyla Tharpe/Barishnikov collaboration, and Ballet People and Contemporary Dance People didn't even speak to each other.
I read your earlier post-- good thoughts there.
Your advice about staying with dance but not as a profession is also good. I gave it up quite early because my body was REALLY wrong for ballet (no such thing as a C-cup ballerina with short legs! :D) but I know two women who danced for local semi-professional companies while pursuing degrees in engineering, and both loved the experience.