I am questioning my studio

[ccdancer4life]

I am currently at a small studio with just 2 teachers. It's not very well known and has a very relaxed enviroment. I have always loved dancing there but I was wondering if I should switch to a more serious studio so I can have a more serious dance enviroment.

 

With the one I am looking at I would have more oppurtunities to perform, more teachers, and more classes.

[Mel Johnson]

I have absolutely no idea how to advise you on this, except to say that if you are getting good technical instruction, it would be risky to jump ship just because of performing opportunities. And it doesn't matter how many teachers there are in a school, if they're good, they're good. Of course, that also holds if they're bad....

 

What exactly do you mean by "serious"?

[Victoria Leigh]

ccdancer, it might help if you tell us more about your training, especially your schedule. Also, your age, and what SI programs you have attended would be good to know.

[ccdancer4life]

I am 14 and I have been dancing for nine years. By serious I mean that it would be preparing me for college and my dance career, they have a pre-pro program, something that my current studio lacks.

I attend 6 hours worth of class a week in ballet as well as tap and jazz. I have always just done the summer program at my studio. This year I am doing a intensive with a Carolina Ballet Dancer.

[Victoria Leigh]

Okay, it sounds like you do need to make a change. There is not enough training in classical ballet there to get you to the level you will need to achieve either a good college program or a career in dance.

[ccdancer4life]

Thanks for your help.

 

Would you recomend cutting out my jazz and tap?

[Mel Johnson]

Oh wow! Six hours a week and a goal of college and/or a vocational track in ballet ain't gonna feed the bulldog. You need to get into a school with a curriculum that prepares a student for the kind of hard work and technical advancement that will enable you to compete successfully for the slots at university level or at an entry level in the job market. At age 14, you should be taking at least one 90-minute ballet technique class six days a week.

[Victoria Leigh]

Plus pointe classes.

[Mel Johnson]

And if your career goal is ballet, now is the time to lose things which take up the time better spent in ballet class. Usually, at 14, there's some wiggle room, but you have a LOT of catching up to do. You're plumb out of wiggle!