Sacrifices for ballet

[Guest jane]

I'm not really sure if this is the right board to post this on, but here I go...

 

Well basically, it strikes me that ballet dancers have to make quite a few sacrifices in their lives. This may sound like a really stupid thing to say but I am just interested in all your experiences. For example, I have just given up Jazz class so that I can fit in another ballet class. This isn't really such a huge thing but there are a lot of friends I am going to miss.

 

Plus wanting to have a career in ballet is a LOT of hard work for something quite uncertain. What do you guys think?

 

Sorry if this sounds like a really miserable post, its not meant to be! I am just marvelling at how ballet is one of those things that really tests and feeds passion.

[Mel Johnson]

Sacrifices for ballet? Well, it's never been documented to have worked, but you can take your little brother or the bratty kid next door and tie him securely to a stake in the ground, then...oh, not that kind of sacrifice? Nevermind.

 

But seriously, adolescence is a time when people start establishing their own priorities and styles, so deciding what to continue and what to leave aside is a natural part of growing up. You aren't yet to the point yet where you ask yourself "do I go the Senior Prom?" It was no contest for me; I had a performance that night!

[Victoria Leigh]

When you arrive at the point where you are considering your choices sacrifices, it is time to stop considering ballet as a career. :cool:

[Guest jane]

EEK! :eek:

I wouldn't want to do that! I must have worded my post melodramatically (sorry) !

[Guest Passion4Ballet]

I understand what you are trying to say, Jane. I don't mind or resent giving things up for ballet, but it does happen very often. I just find that I miss out on a lot of social occasions - parties etc. But then again it's nice because when people find out where I am and how serious I am about dance, I become known as "the ballerina girl" around Dublin! For example I have often introduced myself to people and gotten ,"Oh, you're the ballerina!":D

[Guest jane]

Thats a nice image to have!

Yes, you got it in one. Like you, I don't get to worried about missing these things, but I am aware what is happening.

[Dolphingirl]

It depends for me, whether I feel like it's a sacrifice or not. (And by the way, Mr. Johnson, I would love to tie my sister down, and split her chest open and pull out her still beating heart, like the Mayans. And especially in the name of ballet;)) I tend not to feel like it's a sacrifice, and I'm almost always able to figure out ways around it. All my friends are understanding, and so if I have to show up an hour late for a birthdayparty because I have a rehearsal, or I can't meet them for dinner, but I can go to the dance, it's fine. When I feel it is a sacrifice, it's usually not because I have a ballet conflict, but because I have homework conflicts as a byproduct of ballet. But I'd rather be in class, or rehearsing for a show than home doing work so I can go to a dance(there was one I skipped last night) in order to sit around in a noisy environment doing a style of dance that I'm not good at.

 

Dolphingirl

[LauraT]

I have missed a lot for ballet, mostly a large part of sleepovers with my friends, I always come late and I always leave early. Then I had to miss a lot of the set-up and clean-up for our school's freshmen dance (I'm on student council). But, I did help deflate the balloons (and killed some brain cells in the process)!

[Guest dancergal]

Well I've basically given up a social life out of school, and I'm almost always unable to go to the dances. I'm so busy dancing that I don't have any time to hang out with my friends or go to the dances. I spend all the time out of school going to ballet classes and rehearsals and then doing my homework.

[Mel Johnson]

I wouldn't worry about missing the dances. As the late, great tap dancer Cholly Atkins said: "I don't dance - except for money.";)

[Guest jane]

Its encouraging to hear of other people who love ballet so much, and also to hear of other people in the same situation.

This is a great board!

Partly because I started a fairly late at ballet, and partly because many people fail to understand that I really really love it, people think it is a bit weird that I miss things. Having said this, it gives the impression that I do loads of ballet. Though I would LOVE to do more, I only do a couple of lessons per week, but they mount up with other activities I do such as swimming, flute lessons and The Duke of Edinburgh Award. Plus I take school work quite seriously, and hate a half hearted piece of homework.

 

You guys are so lucky that your friends understand. Mine think I must be mreally dedicated to do 2 lessons each week! They obviously don't quite grasp just how much work goes into ballet!

[Guest Firebird3000]

Same with all my friends. They always ask, "Do you have a life beside dance?" and I always say NO! They mostly understand except for the few times when its important to them.

Also about homework I really like to do it well so having a good relationship with the teacher is really good. So if I can't finish some project on time because of dance I just talk to them and they understand.

[Mel Johnson]

You should try this line sometime:

 

Dance is complete life in itself. You should try it, you'll see what I mean.;)

[Guest flo]

Like many of you, I didn't feel like I was missing anything, and when I did try to do something I thought I was missing, I realized why I wanted to dance instead! Incidentally, this topic reminds me of one advantage of schools like SAB, Harid, etc. These kids have the same schedules for their academics, dance classes, and free time, so they can do their socializing together. The events are planned around their schedules so they don't have to miss them.

[BlackbirdBallerina]

Yes, I definitely make sacrifices for ballet, and they are sacrifices to me, but ballet would have been a greater sacrifice. Giving up something you regret giving up does not necessarily mean you'd rather have done that instead of dance. I was told recently I'd "Better be able to dance with Baryshnikov after all those lessons" I'd been taking.