Overworked and Frustrated!!!!

[DanaD]

Hello.

 

I am in a pickle. I am feeling quite overworked by my schedule. I have posted it below:

(just to put things in perspective, I get home from school at 4:30 and my dance studio is 30 minutes away)

 

Monday:

Level 2/3 modern, pilates, and level 3/3 ballet all at school.

6:30-8 PM: technique

8-9 PM: pointe

 

Tuesday:

Level 2/3 modern, pilates, and level 3/3 ballet (on pointe) all at school.

7:30-9: technique/pointe

 

Wednesday:

Level 2/3 modern, pilates, and level 3/3 ballet all at school.

5:30-6:30: rehearsal en pointe

6:30-8: technique class (sometimes on pointe)

8-9: pointe

 

Thursday:

Level 2/3 modern, pilates, and level 3/3 ballet (on pointe) all at school.

5:30-7: technique

7-8: pointe

8-9: rehearsal

 

Friday:

Level 2/3 modern, pilates, and level 3/3 ballet all at school.

 

Saturday:

9:00-10:30: technique

10:30-12: technique en pointe

12-2: rehearsal

 

My schedule has not varied much outside of school from last year. However, I am so worn out from my classes at school. They are not very hard, and no one has technique in class, but I try my hardest every class that I take. The teachers at school do not correct me on anything. I feel frustrated. I also have Snapping Hip Syndrome, and a torn ligament in my knee. I have doctor's notes about both of these injuries at school, which state I should modify, but the teachers do not allow me to. They say I have too many injuries, and believe I am faking them (they have bluntly stated this to me several times). With them, I am not allowed to modify, it is either do the whole class full out, or don't dance at all. I do not think this would be such as big of an issue as it is if I was not getting graded at school for my performance.

 

I do not know what to do! I would drop a class outside of school, but those are the only classes I get real technique and corrections in. Help?

 

-Dana

[Victoria Leigh]

Dana, we discussed this schedule once before. I think it is too much, and the injuries are a result of that. Something needs to go, and naturally it should be some of the school program. I don't like it at all that the teachers make you do everything when you have a note from the doctor. Perhaps another note that is more specific about exactly what you can and what you cannot do? And is there any way you can drop some of the school classes, like modern and pilates, since you can't drop the ballet because of grades?

[DanaD]

I am graded for Pilates, Modern, and Ballet.

 

I have tried a note from my doctor saying that I am not allowed to jump, and I have to modify anything that hurts. Unfortunately, this did not work.

[Clara 76]

Dana, do you want a career in professional ballet? If you do, then you're going to have to get these injuries healed- properly, or else it won't be a question of how much you can do in class, but of whether you'll ever be able to dance again.

 

It's time for you to do some sorting out and figure out what's best for your health. You live in your body- not anyone else- so only you can determine when to say, "When".

 

Good luck. It's a lesson every dancer must learn.

[DanaD]

I did take all of December off, and most of October off for injuries.

 

I want to be a professional very much. I'm guessing that I should try and find a way to drop some of the dance classes at school...?

[Mel Johnson]

I think that would take some looking into. You're getting injuries which require a physician's attention, and pain is nature's way of saying, "Whoa!" Go for the more professional course of study. If the school classes are less-than-serious, then they should be the first to go, if you have to cut your schedule. Also remember that if you aren't supposed to jump in school classes, then you have to limit yourself in your studio classes. Apply rest. Let your injuries heal.

[La_Bailarina]

I'm not sure if I'm able to post here because I'm 20 but I think it's important for Dana to hear it maybe from someone who has been in a similar situation. If at all inappropriate, feel free to delete and/or modify.

 

 

I was maintaining a schedule not too unlike your own during my junior and senior years of high school. I was taking modern, ballet, and the occasional jazz class at school and then taking class outside of school as well--in addition to doing some work with a regional professional company and a youth company. A friend of mine, alarmed at how constantly exhausted and overworked I always seemed, once added up the hours I was dancing each week--it was around 40 hours. But, being a teenager and a very driven one at that (I suspect you are too, most dancers are), I couldn't fathom cutting back on my schedule at all--dancing less meant less improvement and that wasn't an option as far as I was concerned not to mention, I just loved dance so much; why not take as much of it as I could fit into my schedule.

 

But I was constantly plagued with injuries. I don't really remember a time in those two years when there wasn't something going wrong with my body. First it was my hip which needed surgery (and was then the springboard for two further surgeries--it's debatable if my dance schedule caused the injury but dancing that much at the very least exacerbated what was already there). Then it was ankle stuff--strained ligaments and a very nasty case of achilles tendonitis. Then a pulled hamstring (or two) that took close to three months before it felt good again because I kept dancing on it. I also remember something acting up with my back but I ignored that entirely. And, of course, my hips were a mess through all of it and are only now, three years and three surgeries later, starting to be okay.

 

When things were really bad, I wanted to cut back on classes at school--aside from two of the modern classes, I wasn't really get much out of them and I was just exhausted by the time I'd get to my other classes that day; the classes I actually cared about. Unfortunately, that wasn't entirely possible because I had an agreement with my school that, in exchange for allowing me to take the additional classes outside of school (to make a long story short, I was at a boarding school and I would miss required things while I was at class and/or rehearsal), I had to attend all classes available to me through their program.

 

I eventually did get the athletic trainer on my side; since it was someone at the school, they were more inclined to listen to her. As a result, I had alot more leeway in terms of what I was able to sit out for and/or modify in classes at school where they had previously been rather unaccommodating. I did have to accept a few less than stellar grades in my dance classes that particular trimester; I did have to check in with the trainer initially everyday before class, eventually it was just twice a week; and I did have to take a decent amount of time totally off to let my body recover.

 

I ended up in a college program--not one of the most prestigious ones, but probably the best place I could have hoped for given the physical mess I was at the time I was auditioning. It's made me realize alot of things that I wish I had known back then. The most important thing that I've gained is realizing that it's not the number of hours that you're dancing that make you a good dancer. I'm dancing a fraction of the hours that I used to--maybe 20 hours a week, if even that--but I've grown an incredible amount as a dancer. I'm so much stronger than I was, I'm sure due in a large part to my body not being totally overworked. I've also had the energy to work on moving beyond the technical aspect of dancing and focus more on developing artistry. In talking to my classmates, many of whom I consider to be very beautiful dancers, I've come to realize just how crazy my schedule was--we're all at the same level but where I was dancing 40+ hours a week at times, they were dancing 15-20. The quality of our training was equal, there just comes a point where you can't absorb anymore and you're just wearing yourself out.

 

 

I'm not entirely sure what advice there is to be given since I'm sure it's not all that possible to cut back on classes at school. Is there someone, like an athletic trainer or physical therapist, on staff that you could speak too, even if it is just getting them to relay the information from your doctor to your teachers? Sometimes they're alot more apt to listen if it's coming from one of their own. Or is it possible to take lower level classes at school so there is less you have to modify and it's less stressful on your body in general? I've found that to be an invaluable tool in improving--to take a step back and really just focus on the basics.

 

Good luck.

Megan

[Mel Johnson]

Listen to Megan. She's got the voice of recent experience in matters like this!

[DanaD]

I'm not entirely sure what advice there is to be given since I'm sure it's not all that possible to cut back on classes at school. Is there someone, like an athletic trainer or physical therapist, on staff that you could speak too, even if it is just getting them to relay the information from your doctor to your teachers? Sometimes they're alot more apt to listen if it's coming from one of their own. Or is it possible to take lower level classes at school so there is less you have to modify and it's less stressful on your body in general? I've found that to be an invaluable tool in improving--to take a step back and really just focus on the basics.

 

Good luck.

Megan

 

 

Megan,

Thank you SO much for your input. I agree, I am becoming a physical mess.

 

As for a physical therapist or athletic trainer, there is no one like this at our school. And the lower level classes conflict with my academic schedule, which I have tried to change before. I have talked to the counselor at school once before because of exhaustion, which was causing my grades to suffer. She has a soft spot for dancers, as she was on the path of a professional ballet dancer before she got severely injured. I think I will try to drop modern or Pilates first, since I seem to get something out of ballet. The teacher for Pilates and Modern seems to have some kind of vendetta against me, because I take classes outside of school.

 

I will see what I can do and get back to you.

 

Thank you all for your input.

-Dana