Reply to George Mason University OOS

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "George Mason University OOS"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just had a conversation last week with someone who was a serious dancer in high school, like I was. Both of us pretty much agreed that majoring in dance in college is a huge disservice to the student. If you aren't picked up by a company by 18/19, it is over.
If you like to dance, then continue taking classes at a local school. To blow 4 years of tuition and young adulthood on that is very sad. I was roommates with someone who did dance in college and she mightily regretted that all she could do for a living wage was temp work. Then there were the dance friends of the woman who runs the dance dept. at U. Of FL who complained that all anybody appreciated of them was baking ability / babysitting / admin work. 
Sorry, the idea that a dance major will be good at teaching dance isnt true. The best teachers had years of professional stage life. The college trained teachers would do the same exercise routines over and over again.
Do your kid favor and encourage endeavors that will actually feel productive for them. [/quote]

Would you say the same to an athlete getting a scholarship to play a sport? As a professional dancer who has always balanced artistic and administrative work, I can say from experience that there are many ways to build an artistic life. I’m sorry you saw no way to do that yourself, but it sounds like OP’s kid has a different vision. The kid is planning to get two degrees. Awesome. But even if she wanted to do nothing but dance, that’s fine too. Mason’s dance program is amazing and she would be exposed to way more opportunities to grow as an artist than she would by joining a single company. And not all dance majors want to teach. I performed for 20 years without teaching. Every serious young dancer I know is great at managing their time and juggling academics and dance. I see no reason why OP’s daughter can’t make this work. Good luck![/quote]

I agree that the PP has a very limited vision of the opportunities.  Sure it's not the same as getting a pre-professional major that sets you up for a clear trajectory, but people make it work and do far more than babysitting and temp work.  That said, it's important to have some realism about it.  I would look to graduates of GMU program and get insight on the range of things they have done and try to set herself up for paths that look most promising to her.  Dancers are often highly disciplined, socially skilled (it takes a lot of social awareness to respond to partners/align yourself in choreography and communicate non verbally to an audience), and have body language that communicates confidence and poise--even if they decide not to pursue dance as their primary profession, these qualities are valued in a wide range of work environments.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics