Dreamsquashers >:/

[Guest Lukayev]

I just got off the phone with the Financial Office at UBA and as luck (or unluck) would have it, it turns out that this fabled "Financial Assistance", separate from scholarships, was a figment of a certain young man's imagination. Said man had told me, when I went in to talk with Madame Vinogradova, that families could put in a request for 'financial assistance' with their $1500 deposit, and some would be granted a 25% or more scholarship-esque sort of deal. My family had been counting on this to be able to send me off to D.C., and now that we know it doesn't EXIST, things appear grave for me and my artistic development.

 

UBA had also told me that scholarships were given out based on artistic growth and potential throughout the year, but my parents did not readily buy into this. For one thing, there's always the possibility that I won't receive a scholarship, and thus would not be able to afford the rest of the year. And another thing is that in the strange case that I did receive a scholarship, it wouldn't be enough to cover all the expenses that my family absolutely cannot afford.

 

I'm already applying to independent scholarship programs, but as my family cannot rest assured that we're going to receive any sort of financial aid whatsoever, I doubt that we'll send in the deposit in time... And there goes my dream. And the thing is, my teachers and friends tell me there's always next year, but next year I'll already be a senior and frankly I think that is just... too long of a delay. ARRGH! I have no idea what to do... if any one of you has ever found a solution to this incredibly ugly problem, please either PM or reply - perhaps there's some options that I haven't thought up of yet? AAAAACK!!!

[Victoria Leigh]

Lukayev, you may have said before, and I could have forgotten, but please enlighten me as to why it is so important for you to leave home this year? Are you not getting enough training where you are, or are you not pleased with the quality of training? Is it really essential for you to go away in order to receive the training you need?

[Guest Lukayev]

Hmm, I will back up and explain. My schedule throughout most of the year, in terms of ballet, is four times per week, for an hour and a half. If rehearsals are scheduled, that will stretch my time at the studio to about three hours. Now, for the most part, my teachers are very lax about pointe work and one can go for almost weeks without pointe work. The more driven students will opt to take center en pointe, but for the most part, my teachers don't have a set pointe class apart from plain Jane technique class.

 

I'm not exactly sure if it's ESSENTIAL that I move away, but I believe I know myself enough to say that there would be a great difference between the Me After a Year Away and the Me Who Stayed Here. Not only physically speaking, but I believe that having to be in a class where there are a lot of students "better" than me, and being watched by teachers who know full well "what it takes" to make a dancer, I would be more mentally prepared for "the real world", should I choose to pursue dancing as a profession. I may be one of the more hardcore dancers out here in the Pacific, but I would have a really rude awakening when the time came to audition for companies. I want that preparedness; I want those obstacles laid out plainly in front of me - it makes me work harder and keeps my mind tough. It's not as if I don't have a healthy work ethic while I dance here, it's just that the environment here doesn't force me to push as hard as I did while at the Summer Session. :/

 

So in essence, I believe that yes, it is quite essential for me to move away to receive the proper training and preparation for an actual dancing career. I didn't exactly state my case and defend it too well before, so here it is now.

 

If you need further clarification, please reply and I'll try to clear my thoughts up... they must be like mud right now.

[Mel Johnson]

...should I choose to pursue dancing as a profession....

Luka, that one phrase jumped out and hit me between the eyes as contradicting the whole rest of the tone of your post. As an entering senior in high school, if you're heading for a professional career in dance, crunch time is right now! You should be experiencing very little, if any, doubt about what you want to do for the next five years. Your choices are very narrow right now, when ballet is part of the equation. You might try actually sitting down and literally drawing your career choices and plan using a sort of logic tree. If you are still considering options as to career, maybe the course of action you have proposed is not as essential as you think!

[Victoria Leigh]

Luka, I agree with Mr. Johnson, however going to go with your commitment to doing this and say that I understand your reasons for feeling that you must go away. I'm confused though as to whether this will be your Junior year or Senior year? In either case, you do need to go, but it would be good to know this fact.

 

Anyway, have you considered options besides UBA? It may be too late now to get into another program, but it might not hurt to try. I think I read that SF Ballet now has a residential program, but not certain of that. Will try to check for you. Financially, that might be better than DC, and certainly not so far from home, even though still very far.

 

Harid might have been a better choice financially, but I think you must attend their SI to remain for the year. Other options would be NCSA, Walnut Hill, National Ballet of Canada, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet (not sure of residential program there, but I think so). Another really fine school on the western coast of N. America is the Goh School in Vancouver. I do not know if they have a program for year round students, but I do know that they are turning out REALLY well trained dancers!

[tutu14]

Yes, Royal Winnipeg has a residence for their full-time students. It is attached to the dance building. They go to a public highschool for academics.

 

 

Leslie

[Guest Lukayev]

Sorry for my poorly written entries that lead to confusion and chaos, but as this is something I feel passionate about, I often find that I'm not too careful about how I present my case so much as just writing ON and ON and ON about it.. Apologies for the mess.

 

Thank you, though, for pointing out these other options for me - I had no idea about the Goh School in Vancouver, so I will look into that ASAP!

 

To clear up the confusion, I will be a Junior this upcoming school year. And as for choosing dance as a profession, I KNOW it's safe to say that I will pursue it until the very end, should something that I absolutely cannot help prevent me from going further (financial/family/health issues). My mother and I had a discussion about career choices for my future, and she seemed taken aback by my newly 'revitalized' want to dance. I had thought I had made it clear to her before that my future was most definitely going to involve ballet/dance somehow, but I guess I articulated my thoughts a little better this time around. In any case, now that I think about it, I really do not know what else I am even mildly interested as a profession, outside of 'professional dancer'. Is that a strong enough case now? If any further clarification is needed, as I'm sure it will be (essays aren't my forté), please demand it.