become a dancer or get a real job?

[Guest xoliveurdreamsxo]

well i've been doing ballet for numers of years and i'm strating to want to actually become pro or become a dancer when i'm older....the problem is that my parents don't support on this and they focus more on education rather ballet.....i really want to go to a good college with a good ballet program but everytime i mention to my parents they always say that education is more important and that i should be focusing more on my ademics........i want to try out for numbers of famous ballet academies at diff places to improve on my dancing skills but my parents dont support me on this anymore.....what should i do???

[Treefrog]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, xoliveurdreamsxo! I think the first thing we'll do is to move this over to the Young Dancers forum -- I'm guessing you're in the 13-16 bracket, but do let me know if I guess wrong. This forum is more for dancer who are quite close to the career/college planning process. Tell us more about how old you are, and how often you take class, and what stage of training you are currently in. That will help us to discuss some of the questions you ask.

[Guest xoliveurdreamsxo]

i'm 15 and a freshmen in HS. i take 15 hours of ballet each week. but i'm starting to look for good dancing programs for my future.

[Victoria Leigh]

I think the first thing might be to find a way to show your parents that being a dancer IS a "real job". While you might never make the same kind of money you would in the corporate world, the difference is that you would be doing what you really want to do with your life, and loving it. How many corporate people really have a love and a passion for what they do? Perhaps some, but my guess would be not the majority. It's a job. Ballet is a life. But, it's not an easy one, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Have your parents read this board. Put them in touch with the ballet world. Let them talk to the teachers and professionals here, and especially with the parents of all the other dedicated dancers on the board. Without their help and support it's going to be pretty near impossible to achieve your goals. Ballet is a commitment, a focus, a lifestyle, and a passion. It's like a calling. If it is something you HAVE to do, not just something you choose to do, then you will find a way to do it. If it is not something you have to do, but just like and want to do, fine, enjoy it, keep dancing, but put your priority on what you want to do for a living.

[Guest balletluver13]

My parents don't really support my going professional either. They want me to be happy but they think I should do something else. I really want to do performing arts. I sing, act, and dance.

Edited February 8, 2005 by balletluver13

[Guest xoliveurdreamsxo]

that's how it is w/t my parents too...they just want me to be happy eventhough they don't really want me to be part of the ballet world.

 

thank you victoria leigh......your reply really helped me. ballet is something i have to do not want to do and even if it means that i won't get paid as much for it i still want to do it because it's something i love. i'll try to get my parents to read this. thanx!

[Guest livebreathedance]

being a dancer is a real job....it might not be a six figure income but it is a real job and it is really hard work.Before you think too far ahead on anything else you NEED to see this as a real job - otherwise there is going to be no way your parents will see your point.there are plenty of professional dancers who go to college part time and get great degrees.Trust me it is hard to co ordinate the schedule but there is no reason why you can't be committed to doing both if you are hard working.

[balareena]

you should do what you really want to do, if you want to be a dancer then you should do that

 

good luck!!!

[pointe_bk]

I dont know if you have them in the USA but in the UK we do. It's like an academic Ballet School. You board there or go daily and basically you dance there everyday but also get good qualifications.

This means you'd have something to fall back on when you stop dancing or if you got injured.

[DewDrop5392]

I think we have a few of them here, like UBA and Nutmeg.

[Victoria Leigh]

And Harid, NCSA, Walnut Hill, SAB, and The Rock.

[Guest aenergizerbunni3]

im going to be a freshman in high school and i want to have a plan for college. I have to choose a learning community but i dont know what to choose, because for ever i have wanted to be a veternarian but now im thinking of trying to make a career of being a ballet dancer. The high school im going to has 4 communities, Science and tech, health and human services, buissnes, and arts and communications. so...say by the time i would be a senior and i was a good ballet dancer, would it be possible for me to be accepted in a college with a good ballet program if even if i didn't take arts in communications? or any dance or performing arts programs at my high school? would it change my possibilities of getting into a college with a good dance program?

[Victoria Leigh]

No, getting into a good college dance program will depend on your ability as a dancer. The dance departments don't care what you studied in high school in terms of academics. As for getting accepted into the college itself, that will depend on your GPA and your SAT scores, but not on which courses you took in high school.

[Guest aenergizerbunni3]

Thanks I have been wondering about that for a long time.