Hi..me again

As you know,I'm 15 and live in Leicestershire, England. I love to dance, I've been doing street dancing for many years now but have only recently started tap and ballet lessons in which i will be taking grades in soon.
I'm also trying to get myself into as many different styles of dance as I can.

My school didn't offer GCSE dance when I started year 10 but now they do, which I'm very upset about but anyway...
I've decided that I'm going to complete my GCSE's and then stay on to do my A-Levels; one of which will b dance...of course !!

From here...I am stuck!
I'm not really sure what to do.
I would love to be a professional dancer; especially in musical theatre and then go on to open my own Dance Academy to help kids that aren't as priviledged. This is my dream!

I suppose my question is, What's the best path to take after A-Levels?
Thanks so much and keep on dancing

L xx

Okay Canadian here-so slightly differnt. But dance is dance and I know here if you go on to study dance in college/university you can then go get a teaching certificate and teach it in the actualy school system. If you want to teach in a studio you go through the levels and im not sure where it goes but i know alot of people 17/18 teaching dance. I think that's what you wanted to know...then again different countries.

If you want to become a dancer, then university is not the best route. You're better off studying in a dance academy, saving university for later when you're more interested in academics. If you want to be a dance teacher, then university dance programs can open up opportunities.

As a dancer who went through University in the dance program, I would say that it can open up great opportunities for a professional dancing career, not just a teaching career. I can't comment on ballet as I went through a contemporary dance program...but I am now dancing professionally as an emerging artist, presenting and performing my own choreography as well as dancing for other choreographers. I would say that my university experience has opened my eyes and mind to a more varied range of dancing opportunities. Although I would love to dance with a major contemporary dance company, there are so many other things that are for me just as exciting. And we all have to start somewhere, right? I know that there are a lot of SFU dance grads who have gone on to have amazing professional performing careers with internationally renowned companies...

Anyways my point is that training in a university is in my opinion a good idea for dancers, especially for those who are also interested in the theory and history behind dance, and especially if you are interested in choreography at all (but it depends on which university you go to - all their programs vary). And as with anything it has its good points and its downfalls. It depends on what you are hoping to get out of it.

However, I do agree that training at an academy is a more intensly physical process (although for the most part at SFU we were dancing 4-6 hrs /day, so I think it is comparable) and that there are different strengths/weaknesses for each route.

I do think that it all depends on your talent and drive in the end...dance is so personal that it is hard to apply the same statements to everyone, and every program is different, it depends on which academy or university you go to.

Anyways, enough rambling...I better get back to work.

Shallom

If you want to perform first and teach privately later i.e have your own school then I would advise auditioning for some musical theatre performance courses after your a levels. Many of these courses also offer the option to study for associate teaching qualifications with bodies like the ISTD or IDTA. Urdang Academy, Laine theatre Arts and London Theatre School all offer such courses but there are many other schools that offer such courses as well.

I agree that going to university if ultimately you want to perform first will not be a huge help. However if you want to teach in state schools you will need a teacher training certificate from a university to do this.

I would advise speaking to a trusted dance teacher as to your chances of making it into a musical theatre professional course as the audition process is very competitive. That should help you make a decision as to the route to focus on.

I never wanted to perform professionally but I wanted to get my associates in ballet and tap. I went to university to study drama but studied for my assocaites privately alongside. This enabled me to take over a private dance school and enter the pupils for exams. I needed the associates to do this but didn't need my degree to do this. However I would advise anyone in a similar situation to go for a degree if you can as it is more or less expected in the UK for many jobs if your chosen dance career path doesn't work out.

I hope that helps you.

hey im 16 and studying A level dance at a college in Newcastle_upon_tyne, like yourself im not sure how to progress, i love dancing, but ive had no training, that's what im starting this year. The only thing i can suggest is using the internet to see what schools there are near you, in the UK, and across seas. Look at millenium dance 2000 website,use google 2 find the web address, it is situated in hamstead upon heath in london, this is one of the main schools that i am auditioning for, look at italia conti, and obviosly english national and RADA if ballet is your thing! Their is also trinity college in london. Most of those schools will give u musical theatre training. If u r thinking about university,(which is probably the safer option-atleast u will get a recognised degree)Carlise have a really good dance degree, again use google for the email address. Auditioning for dance schools is the best way to progress in to dance career, as teachers link you with the dance world and tell u who is running auditions etc. hope this has helped give u ideas good luck for the future.

University is a common route for training in modern dance, and is well respected in that community. But if you want to be a classical ballet dancer, it's better to go through a ballet academy. The reasons for this marriage between modern dance and academia go back to the beginning of modern dance.

Hi Citibob, whilst that may be the case in the US in the UK the best chance of becoming a performer in modern/contemporary is still to take a performance course (some of these are degree courses) but they will be through institudes such as Laban, NSCD etc and not a traditional university on the whole. I am not saying that it has never happened that someone has gone to university and then gone on to perform but on the whole they would have perhaps done a postgrad performance course as well.

As our original poster is from the UK I thougfht I should clarify the UK perspective - I hope you don't mind.

Good advice from all. Adding on my own, two-cents' worth with things I often like to advise are: Stay taking classes - as many as you can and as long as you can. The more you know, the more you bring to both performing and all phases of your dance life, certainly teaching. Build your knowledge too through reading, seeing dance live and on video, learn about music, read good books; live life. It will make you a better artist and a strong, contributing member of your community. And, as your on-line name itself suggests, never, never give up!