dancing at college

[Guest london_dancer]

is it a good idea?

 

I've seen one place that does ballet from beginners to advanced and i've been thinking of going. Should I or should I just go to a dance studio?

[Garyecht]

No one can tell you what you should or should not do. That is all up to you.

 

All I can say that the first ballet class I ever took was at my local community college. I was a ballroom dancer at the time and had taken an introduction to dance class the previous semester at the college. I felt comfortable with the both the school and the teacher. The community college had a dance program and the teacher was first rate.

 

That class had a real mix of people in it, ranging from students who had taken several years of ballet to raw beginners like me and some major league raw beginners, acting students who were required to take a dance class. I liked learning that way because I could watch others who were infinitely more accomplished than me and just try to do what they did. Always placed myself where I could see one of the good people.

 

After that semester, I started taking class at the school where I still dance. By the way, the community college teacher also teaches there.

[mermaid7176]

I'm starting up dance again in a few weeks at a community college with a great dance program. My opinion, if the school has classes of varying levels, it can be a great idea, particularly for a beginner. Often, when you start adult ballet classes as a beginner, you have to work at the pace of the rest of the class and try to "catch up" with whatever they may have been working on. But, in a community college beginner class, everyone starts on the same page, so I think it can definitely be a good fit for a beginner student (if the program is decent). My 2 cents.

[Guest london_dancer]

Thanks. I think i will take the classes.

 

One more question is it okay to do more than one style ie RAD and IDTA or should i just do one?

[Mel Johnson]

To start with, I think it's easier to use just one vocabulary. After you've got used to the generalities, then you can branch out into other methods.

[Guest kammij]

I'm going to "sit in" on a college level beginners class starting in a few weeks. What I wonder is how the younger college students will view me as an older male in what has traditionally been a their younger female dominated space.

 

I've decided I certainly don't care too much, but it will be interesting to see their reactions.

 

The best thing about taking it at the college is that class will be three times a week for an hour and a half each class. This seems to be really tough to find for adults in other situations, let alone afford.

[Guest london_dancer]

thank you all.

 

I did RAD for 8 years when I was younger so I think I should be okay.

 

Having looked at the college course more it does sound good. There's 9 different levels - introduction, basic, level 2, level 2-3, level 3, advanced, improvers (intermediate performers exam), ballet teacher exam. The last two are done as one i think.

[Garyecht]

Kammij—

 

When I took that first ballet class, I was 52 and the next oldest person was 21-22. There were two other guys, both acting students who really weren’t interested in learning much.

 

What you learn real fast when you are older is how self absorbed younger people are. You forget you were that way too once upon a time. Essentially, I found the other students, both female and male, ignored me. I don’t think they had much of an opinion about people outside their peer group one way or another.

 

One of life’s great experiences is to be an older person in a college class full of younger people. We easily forget what we were like when we were their age and taking a class is a good reminder. We forget that the name of the game is to get the best possible grade for the least amount of work. Learning? Development? Nice, but secondary in a young person’s mind.

[Sulan]

One of the reasons I picked the university where I’m currently law school is that they had an open dance program that is open to undergrads, grad students, faculty, staff and the community. Although it sometimes seems that majority of the students are those thin leggy 18 year olds, there is a nice mix of people in the classes. Not that I have any particular objection to 18-year-olds; in fact, these days I am thrilled to be talking to anyone capable of getting out a sentance without using the words "proximate cause." I’ve been impressed with the quality of the instruction at these classes. In fact, I think the instruction is as good as, if not better than, the open classes at the pre-pro studio in town, and the price is significantly lower. So as long as there is not a major financial commitment up front, I’d say that it couldn’t possibly hurt to try the university classes.