Education Question: High school diploma - is it necessary?

[Guest vwguy]

I am hoping to audition for a company, either this or next year. and I was wondering how important a high school diploma is.

I an almost 19 and was home schooled and did not recieve a certificate of any kind. also I havent gotten my GED. I am currently coing to college but have nothing to show for it yet. anyway, I was wondering if it is a big deal if I audition without any kind of cerificate. or could I not get into a company because I have no diploma. . I would appricate any advise.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello vwguy, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers!

 

A ballet company is not going to ask for a certificate. They will ask if you have finished high school, but they will not ask for proof. They are concerned with your ability to dance, not your education.

[tsavoie]

My oldest son "graduated" from high school last summer. He has been homeschooled since 2nd grade. I prepared a transcript for him and printed up a certificate of completion of high school studies. All of the colleges he applied to last year accepted that paper as his diploma. These included private and public colleges. You could have your primary teacher write up something of this type for you, with the transcripts to back up the certificate.

[Mel Johnson]

And if you get into an AGMA company, Career Transition for Dancers will have you building up an education portfolio as early as you want. As a matter of fact, they will probably start selling the program to you as soon as you enter the union. It's never too early to start lining up the ducks for later life!

[Guest PAmom]

vwguy, my son was/is your situation. I am not sure if the state you homeschooled in required you to have a yearly evaluation or not. My son's evaluator signed a "diploma" for him upon his graduation. He has never needed it and is currently employed by a ballet company.

 

He did tell me that many of the members in his company finished their high school education through homeschooling. What made him feel awkward about fitting in with his education as a young teen did not matter to him when it came to employment.

[tsavoie]

We had a yearly evaluation and included those in the portfolio that I sent to the colleges along with the transcript. The transcript was basically a one page easy to read summary of the other items we included. If it was all they wanted to see, it was concise, and if they wanted to see back up stuff, I included it. I will do the same for my dancing son, just so its available if its ever needed again. I expect if anyone goes to grad school we might have to dust all the papers off.