Dance Major

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but if she's talking about "lyrical" dance, as the OP mentioned, she's a competition team dancer and not a serious ballet student at a pre-professional school, which is where professional ballet companies recruit from, to use a sports word. Lyrical is a blend of ballet and jazz and isn't taught as a dance form at serious schools (e.g. WSB, Maryland Youth Ballet).

My point is that the idea she should be starting a career in a professional ballet company now instead of going to college probably is not realistic or a helpful discussion because unless she's been winning scholarships at YAGP or is a prodigy, most likely she doesn't have the training for that.

Contemporary dance is another story, but they don't have the same strict requirements. Telling the OP that her daughter has already missed the boat if she wants a career in dance isn't accurate.

My college roommate was a dance and art double major and went to law school. Best of both worlds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but if she's talking about "lyrical" dance, as the OP mentioned, she's a competition team dancer and not a serious ballet student at a pre-professional school, which is where professional ballet companies recruit from, to use a sports word. Lyrical is a blend of ballet and jazz and isn't taught as a dance form at serious schools (e.g. WSB, Maryland Youth Ballet).

My point is that the idea she should be starting a career in a professional ballet company now instead of going to college probably is not realistic or a helpful discussion because unless she's been winning scholarships at YAGP or is a prodigy, most likely she doesn't have the training for that.

Contemporary dance is another story, but they don't have the same strict requirements. Telling the OP that her daughter has already missed the boat if she wants a career in dance isn't accurate.

My college roommate was a dance and art double major and went to law school. Best of both worlds.

Bingo!

OP is talking about a dance degree so discussion about professional ballet companies and how she missed her window already are not relevant to this particular discussion.

OPs daughter has many more windows open to her by going for a degree (hopefully with a practical minor) by ruling out ballet companies.

Modern & contemporary companies, Broadway, Disney/amusement parks, cruise lines, regional theater, regional dance companies (including ballet), commercial dance (LA), dance management, teaching dance, choreography, the convention circuit, competition judging, and studio ownership are all areas of dance that tend NOT to focus on teenagers right out of high school and prefer to work with dancers who are young adults out of reputable university dance programs.

Your window of access may be very limited in classical ballet, but that is a small, shrinking, niche area of dance.

The other areas have much more opportunity and access than strict classical ballet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but if she's talking about "lyrical" dance, as the OP mentioned, she's a competition team dancer and not a serious ballet student at a pre-professional school, which is where professional ballet companies recruit from, to use a sports word. Lyrical is a blend of ballet and jazz and isn't taught as a dance form at serious schools (e.g. WSB, Maryland Youth Ballet).

My point is that the idea she should be starting a career in a professional ballet company now instead of going to college probably is not realistic or a helpful discussion because unless she's been winning scholarships at YAGP or is a prodigy, most likely she doesn't have the training for that.

Contemporary dance is another story, but they don't have the same strict requirements. Telling the OP that her daughter has already missed the boat if she wants a career in dance isn't accurate.

My college roommate was a dance and art double major and went to law school. Best of both worlds.

Bingo!

OP is talking about a dance degree so discussion about professional ballet companies and how she missed her window already are not relevant to this particular discussion.

OPs daughter has many more windows open to her by going for a degree (hopefully with a practical minor) by ruling out ballet companies.

Modern & contemporary companies, Broadway, Disney/amusement parks, cruise lines, regional theater, regional dance companies (including ballet), commercial dance (LA), dance management, teaching dance, choreography, the convention circuit, competition judging, and studio ownership are all areas of dance that tend NOT to focus on teenagers right out of high school and prefer to work with dancers who are young adults out of reputable university dance programs.

Your window of access may be very limited in classical ballet, but that is a small, shrinking, niche area of dance.

The other areas have much more opportunity and access than strict classical ballet.

And none of these jobs pay squat. Seriously? Paying top dollar for a daughter to go and study "lyrical dance" at a college? No way, and I was a professional dancer for many years. Either she has the talent now and should go with it, or go to college and study something that has a good job entry point. She can then dance on the side for personal enjoyment as I did. No one can support themselves well on dance alone except for the rare stars that come along and in their cases you never hear what college they went to (Nureyev, Barysnikov). Even Twyla Tharp studied not dance, but history at Pomona College. I've never even heard of a "lyrical dance" major.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Congrats to your DD - best of both worlds! Hope she loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Congrats to your DD - best of both worlds! Hope she loves it.

So her two majors are dance and PE? Hope there's a teaching cert in there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Congrats to your DD - best of both worlds! Hope she loves it.

So her two majors are dance and PE? Hope there's a teaching cert in there too.

She can get a teaching certification if she wants to later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know many dance majors.
What kind of dance and where does she want to study?

Ballet, lyrical, and contemporary. She's interesting in NYU and Towson.

My niece danced her entire life, and goes to NYU nursing school with substantial merit aid. She takes weekend dance classes not affiliated with NYU and is involved with a small dance company. She loves it and makes it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Strange way to revive an old thread.

Your daughter is getting an MRS degree. Those fields don't have a lot of potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Strange way to revive an old thread.

Your daughter is getting an MRS degree. Those fields don't have a lot of potential.

As long as she loves her career, that's all that matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Strange way to revive an old thread.

Your daughter is getting an MRS degree. Those fields don't have a lot of potential.

As long as she loves her career, that's all that matters.

I work in professional theatre. That is the worst advice I ever got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Congrats to your DD - best of both worlds! Hope she loves it.

So her two majors are dance and PE? Hope there's a teaching cert in there too.

Kinesiology is a precursor to PT not teaching.

[Anonymous]

A great mom I know was a dance major.
Career in Nyc. Just a dancer in plays/musicals. Huge variety--she can do ballet or anything else. Like a backup dancer. Also taught dance on the side.
Married a college professor later in life. One kid. Now sahms in her mid-forties, now her career is 'retired.' But she very successfully teaches at summer dance camps for high schools, big dance conferences, things like that. Works well because her dh has a more relaxed summer and can take over with their child.

After birth she had to have hip surgery! She always felt like an older sahm, and jokes it makes her feel super old to have had hip surgery.

[Anonymous]

Seriously? $72,000 a year for "lyrical dance". Hell no. She can buy the best to train her in NYC for that kind of money. Those days of majoring in dance and getting into law school or grad school are long gone. You need a serious record of difficult courses, great letters of recommendation and great LSATs or GRE scores and ECs, just like for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is going to Maryland as a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. I'm ok with that.

Strange way to revive an old thread.

Your daughter is getting an MRS degree. Those fields don't have a lot of potential.

As long as she loves her career, that's all that matters.

I work in professional theatre. That is the worst advice I ever got.

So you should hate your career?