College

[prodancer95]

I know I am still young, but I've been seriously considering my future lately and I really want to be a ballet dancer. My parents think college is very important because a ballet career doesn't last forever and is risky in terms of injuries. I've heard over and over that ballet dancers don't go to college, and you get a job at 18. Is it possible to get a BFA and still get into a good company? I know it is a more common path for modern dancers. Does anyone know of any ballet dancers who went to college?

[Mel Johnson]

While the things you have cited are generalities, none 100% true, we've got more or less a standard answer based on the line, "We are too soon old, and too late smart." Make time work for you. Your body will be pliable and adaptable at 18-21 and maybe less so at 23-25. Why not pursue dance BEFORE college? You will always be smart, why not get some depth into your understanding of life, before college. You will not always be employable as a dancer. Whether your professional career lasts two years or thirty, go after that degree when you've been around a bit more, and know what you want to do with the rest of your life. It's really not fair to students to chuck them into academia at age 17.