High School for Pre Professional Ballet Student

[Zanyan]

Hi Everyone,

 

Is anyone else home schooling a very focused (well, focused on ballet - not academics! :lol:) ballet student through high school? My dd is an 8th grader right now, but we need to start making decisions about how she will pursue her high school education. I could put her in a California charter ISP, but I would really prefer to continue on with what we've always done. My fear, though, is that in doing that, she wouldn't be eligible for entry into the very few college ballet based programs out there. If she just wanted to go to college and major in liberal arts, or medicine, or go into law, or accounting, I wouldn't hesitate at all to home school her independently. But, because the ballet world is so narrowly focused, and there are so few colleges that have ballet as their focus in their dance departments, I'm inclined to put her through the charter program just so she has the UC/Cal State requirements completed to their satisfaction. One of the best college level ballet programs in the country is at a Cal State University. The others that I know of right now are SMU, TCU, Juilliard, Butler University, and UC Irvine.

 

Of course, Dd's true ambition is not to major in dance in college, but to get a pro contract with a ballet company. To put this dream into context, there are about 2000 well trained, qualified girls who are on the audition circuit every year for the 150 to 200 paying positions available. In other words, she needs a back up plan! Has anyone else gone through this thinking process?

 

Thanks for your help. :)

Edited September 12, 2009 by Zanyan

[abbeyej]

Have you posted over at Ballet Talk? Apparently approximately half of the students in the pre-pro division of the ballet school where my kids take are home schooled. (In part because it's so difficult to fit traditional school *and* the hours fro pre-pro into any child's life!)... So maybe a more dance-oriented sight would have enough home schoolers to answer your question? My kids are younger, and while they love ballet, I'll be a little surprised if it's their singular focus by the time they hit high school... Not that we wouldn't work with that, if it's what they truly want. :)

[Zanyan]

Thanks, Abbeyej. I am positively addicted to Ballet Talk for Dancers - :D, but having been on there for years, I know that homeschooling threads on that site can devolve into the pros and cons of homeschooling rather than stay focused on the subject at hand. Most of the homeschoolers I know on that site (well - "know" through the site) are using programs like Keystone, University of Nebraska, Laurel Springs, or public charters and ISPs.

 

Many of the ballet students I know who home school start home schooling so that their kids can have the time to focus on ballet. They aren't home schoolers at heart or philosophically as much as they are doing it to serve a specific student for a specific purpose. In our family, we were home schoolers first. and intensive ballet came into our lives later which is why I would prefer to continue with our modified WTM approach. About half of the advanced students at my dd's ballet school also home school, but they all do it through a public school ISP, which I think is a very safe choice for keeping their college options open.

 

As I've been typing this, though, I did think of one very knowledgeable home schooling mom on Ballet Talk that I could PM. Again, thanks for your help. Any other ballet parents who want to chime in, I'd love to hear your opinions and stories.

 

Oh, and Abbeyej - When my dd was younger, I never would have guessed that she would choose ballet as her passion. She's a very creative, fun-loving, outgoing, life of the party type. The seriousness and detailed focus of ballet does not fit the rest of her personality at all. I thought she'd focus on jazz to tell you the truth. She used to take both jazz and ballet, but surprisingly to me, ballet became the genre that captured her heart. Now we drive 2 and half hours a day to get her to and from her ballet school 5 or 6 days a week! We live in a small town, and her little local ballet school took her as far as they could. So - you never know! Kids can surprise you. :D

[Willow]

My dd was PASSIONATE about ballet, it was her life. She wanted to be a ballet professional. She failed.

 

You NEED a back up plan. Do not expect your dd to agree with this idea.

 

Willow.

[Zanyan]

I agree with you 100% Willow! She needs a back up plan. I'm just trying to decide whether that backup plan should be focused upon getting her into college and not worry about whether or not she would be accepted to a particular college, which would mean that we could confidently continue with our modified WTM approach, and homeschool independently. OR do we make sure she is eligible to enter the dance programs at either the University of California, or the California State University. For both of the those options, it would be a bit more risky to not have her take pre-approved UC courses through a public school Independent Study Program. She and I would prefer to homeschool independently, but we don't want to hinder her chances for getting into a public university and majoring in dance if that's what she wants to do. I was just wondering if anyone else had continued to homeschool their serious ballet student independently through high school. The advanced students at dd's ballet school who homeschool all do so through a public school Independent Study Program.

 

We have a local friend who tried and failed to become a pro ballet dancer. She was homeschooled her whole life, and she did not prepare to be accepted to college dance programs - though she most certainly would have been accepted to one had she been prepared on the college entrance requirements side of things. She put all her eggs in the ballet basket, it didn't pan out (she really didn't try very hard, or for very long, but still....). Now she's at a community college and there is no place she can dance at the pre-pro level she was used to, and she's only just turned 18. Ballet is so specific, and it is so difficult if not impossible to find professional level training that continues on after the high school years if one is not in a college level program and has not been offered a company trainee/apprentice position. To stay in the running, or to eventually teach, a college program seems essential to me. Guess I just answered my own question! :D The public school ISP it is.

 

Training for a career in ballet is not the faint of heart, that's for sure! Believe me, I tried to offer her anything else - musical theater, jazz dancing, modern dancing, anything related to the theater arts, but she is only interested in classical ballet. If she wanted to pursue any of those other interests, we could definitely continue on with WTM, but the ballet world is so narrow, and there are only a handful of college level dance programs in the country that focus on ballet.

 

Thanks for the advice and help! :)

[anissarobert]

My dd is pre-professional as well. I can't imagine having to drive so far. You deserve a :grouphug: for that! I complain about driving accross town 5 or 6 times per week. DD will not be able to attempt a pro career, but I know she wants to continue to dance in college. I didn't realize that there are so few colleges will ballet available. It is my understanding that most colleges will accept independent homeschoolers. Are the public schools in CA different than everywhere else?

[Sandra in NC]

http://www.uncsa.edu/dance/admissions.htm

 

My son attended 11th and 12th in visual arts.

 

It's a beautiful, small school in Winston-Salem and it's goal is to nurture and train professional artists. In my son's graduating class, there were many out of state high school students (some even from other countries). I think it costs about $11,000/yr for OSS. NC residents pay nothing for the high school program.

[abbeyej]

How is she at test-taking? Don't most of the Cal State and UC schools have an alternative admissions policy based on test scores? Granted, that only works if she's a strong test-taker.

 

If I were you, since she has such a specific list of schools she's considering, I would call them directly. Ask how they handle independently home schooled applicants (it seems some may simply lump them in with the requirements for out-of-state applicants), and what you can do to assure your dd has the best chance at admissions.

[Zanyan]

The public schools in California are different than everywhere else. It is actually easier for homeschoolers to get into the UCs than the state universities, which is weird, but true. (UCs have more difficult entrance requirements than the state universities and are considered more elite I guess you could say than the state universities). Homeschoolers do get into the UCs, but as Abbeyej says, they must score very well on tests. Of course, if she went to community college for a year or two, there would be no problem transferring, but there are no good ballet based community college programs, so how would she continue to dance at a high level until she was eligible to transfer? Many CCs have dance programs, but none have pre-professional level ballet programs.

 

No, so far my dd is not a good test taker. She takes an online math course right now, and she gets 100% on the questions she answers during the lesson, and Cs and Bs on the tests. She gets similar scores with her online Language arts program: As on the lessons, Bs on the tests. She's also tried our state standardized testing a couple of times (which is not required, she just wanted to try), and did not do really well on the tests. So, I think she needs to have a strong avenue into college via approved classes and grades. I am planning on having her improve her test taking skills by taking an SAT vocabulary program, and an online class in test taking skills.

 

Sandra - does UNCSA accept home schoolers regularly? I know they have a great ballet program. Theirs is one of the few college ballet based programs I know of. I think I forgot to list it in my post the other day, though.

 

Anissarobert: Thanks for the hugs! :) There are many college based dance programs, but the vast majority are modern based with ballet classes only included because of the technique and strength they provide the dancers. Ballet based college level dance programs are few and far between.

 

Well, I have a lot to share with dd when she comes home today. I hope that this inspires her to want to work harder on her academics.

Edited September 13, 2009 by Zanyan

[Mary in VA]

My 9th grade dd is at a pre pro school associated with a professional company. She dances 13+ hours a week. She can audition this year for the professional training program which has students 14-19 yo from all over the world. In this program they dance 26 hours a week, so many of the HS students are homeschooled. She will be trying to decide if she want to follow that dance path by this spring. She has been homeschooled since 1st grade, so is a homeschooled dancer, not a dancer who homeschools :001_smile: We are homeschoolers at heart. We are trying to balance everything and make sure she has the best dance training we can give her and the best college prep education we can give her. We don't want to close doors prematurely. She currently takes rigorous courses through a co-op, online with The Potter's School, and a small group language class.

 

With that background, I just wanted to share a few observations with you. You may have made the same observations yourself, so I don't know if this is at all helpful. I hope so.

 

It is the exceptional, one-in-a-million dancer that goes straight from high school to a company. Most who eventually make it to a company go to a trainee/apprentice program, then a studio company, before going to a company. Many of the ones who do so have done well at ballet competitions, such as Youth American Grand Prix. It is very illuminating to see these dancers. They are amazing and it is good to know the caliber of dancers you will be competing against for jobs :001_huh: I think my daughter was amazed when she switched to this school. These dancers are intimidating and inspiring at the same time. It certainly pushes her harder when they take class with her! Also, very few who pursue ballet in college go on to dance ballet professionally. I've also noticed that most college dance programs have the students dancing fewer hours per week then they are dancing in their pre-pro programs in HS.

 

I would look at each of the colleges your daughter my be likely to attend and see what the program requires for admission. Call the admission department and ask questions. Try to keep her HS program as competitive as possible, for both ballet and other majors. Has she attended any summer intensives? It is a good way to be exposed to other teachers and is also a good way to see how she is doing in the "big pool" of dancers. I hate to say that, because it makes dance competitive, but ultimately it will be :confused: Some of the girls at my daughter's old studio have never taken classes anywhere else, even over the summers. And some of them would like to pursue dance professionally or in college. She says they don't have a clue about the level of dancers "out there." They will be in for a big shock when they go for auditions.

 

When I hear about the university system in CA and homeschooling on this board I am always thankful we don't have to deal with it. But I noticed one big ballet school you didn't mention in your list, Indianna University has a VERY well respected ballet program. They are one of the few that has graduates dancing with well known companies. I also know that North Carolina School of the Arts has made the admission process for homeschoolers easier that it used to be. It also has graduates with companies. Gillian Murphy with ABT came out of their HS program, but she's probably one of those one-in-a-million I was talking about :001_smile:

 

Hope this helps in some way!

Mary

Edited September 14, 2009 by Mary in VA

[MgoBlue]

Dd--8--ballet teacher was trying to direct us to the american school or something in Fort Wayne, IN. They do school during the morning & ballet in the afternoon. Many of the students get accepted into prestigious ballet programs in the country....I'm not a ballet person..but I remember SF, maybe NY? Don't remember? Anyway, dh is unemployed now...so unless I were to find a job near the studio--45 mi away-it's not going to happen. The give financial aid & they're a high caliber school academically. And high caliber ballet wise. This kid picks up ballet stuff quickly & I have no idea where she got it from It's a right/left mind thing...I think perhaps sort of like piano? I don't know.

Paula

Edited September 14, 2009 by MgoBlue
tmi

[Mary in VA]

If the dancer wants to focus in dance after HS but not go to college, there are some residence dance programs that accept students up to age 19 or 20. Some students go for a year after high school for more intense training before auditioning for company programs. I know Atlanta and The Washington School of Ballet do this.

 

Mary

[Sandra in NC]

I don't know how prevalent homeschoolers are at UNCSA, but I know it's a good program. My son's "muse" is a ballet dancer. After the high school program, she spent a year in the Richmond ballet. My son said she's in New York now, but I don't remember to the details of what she's doing,

 

My son said that ballet is a difficult program. Some of the dancers he knew tried to transfer to contemporary dance. No luck.

 

I remember once when he was home on break.... he was talking about the dancers and said, "I never knew feet were so important. They can talk for hours about feet."

[MamaT]

Another vote for UNCSA. My 12yo went there for an intensive last spring and will go again this year hopefully (it is by invitation only). One of the girls from her company just started her 9th grade year there. It seemed like an exceptional school as much as I could tell from the info we got and from being there over a weekend.

[Zanyan]

You are all so helpful! Thank you! American School is one high school program I've been looking at for dd. It is a well respected correspondence school, and the flexibility and price look just right - but, of course, they are not UC approved courses!

 

Some more background: Yes, my dd has been to a summer intensive. She went last year to The Rock in Philadelphia. She auditioned for intensives this year when she was still 12 and was accepted to Boston, The Rock, and Joffrey. Those were the only auditions she went to because during the audition process this past winter, she really realized that she needed to go to a better school if she wanted to be competitive. Clearly, she was already at a good school, but she saw something in other dancers at the auditions that showed her she was missing something. She auditioned for several schools - all 70 miles away since all the schools that were closer were no better than the school she already attended. We chose a fantastic school from which the dancers who graduate get wonderful offers. She has been there 6 months now, and attended their summer intensive. We are under no illusions. We are aware that there are no guarantees that the same will happen for dd, but we do know that if she didn't go to a school like this, the already slim likelihood of success would be even slimmer. This past spring, 3 girls graduated, and 1 boy. All four got fantastic offers. One girl is a full scholarship trainee at Boston, another girl is a full scholarship trainee at San Francisco Ballet, one girl is in Moscow studying at the Bolshoi Academy in their highest level, and the boy is in the top level of the school at San Francisco Ballet School. The graduates last year had similar results. The AD only selects those students who she thinks have a real shot at a career into the most advanced level at the school. My dd will be eligible for that level in probably 2 years. We've already gotten some indication that they see that promotion in her future - while knowing that things can change between now and then.

 

I am also aware that taking the college route into a professional career is not the norm. We're just trying to keep all her options open!

 

Mary - You've given me an idea that I'd forgotten about, frankly. I know that Kirov, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Rock also have graduate level programs. I know that she could go to CPYB without question, and unless things change drastically for her, I'm as sure as I can be that she could get into The Rock as a graduate. Stephanie Spassoff seems to really like her. This line of thinking has me feeling happy and relaxed. I'm going to reflect on this possibility more. Thanks!

 

MgoBlue - some kids are just naturals and some are "work hard and then get it" kind of kids. Mine is somewhere in the middle. She has to work hard to get things, but once she gets them, she gets them very well.

 

UNCSA sounds like such a fantastic program. I wish their audition tour came anywhere close to us. I will definitely keep this program in mind for the future.

 

Thanks again, you guys. As usual, the gals on the WTM forums have the best advice on the web! :D

Edited September 14, 2009 by Zanyan

[Zanyan]

Replying to myself! I don't know why I didn't have in mind that she could keep training after high school at another school. Again - thanks for reminding me of that option. Since I posted my last post, I also called her current ballet school and asked about training post-high school. She would be eligible to stay and continue training in their advanced level for one school year post high school. I just don't know why I didn't think of that before, but again, I thank everyone for their responses, and especially for reminding me that there are other options besides getting a trainee position or going to college right out of high school. Phew!

Edited September 14, 2009 by Zanyan

[Mary in VA]

If so, I believe NCSA considers dancers for their high school program when they are at the summer intensive. Doing a summer intensive there would also let your daughter check it out and see if she would be interested in their college program. Unfortunately, their web site doesn't have their summer intensive audition schedule on it yet - a little too early.

 

I know it's so much to think about and figure out. Right now my daughter is thinking she doesn't want to pursue dance past HS, but she wants to keep dancing at the level she is. Just like your dd, she switched to the school she is at now because she wanted to have the best possible chance to succeed in dance if that is what she decides to do. So much to balance at once!

 

Keep us WTM ballet moms posted :001_smile:

Mary

[Zanyan]

We're not considering sending dd to a high school residency at this time. The school she now goes to is as good as the residencies, and we would prefer to drive her the distance than send her away. If we lived any further from her current school, I think we would be considering residencies for her future. Thankfully, we now don't have to.

 

I do know people who have sent their kids to residencies for high school, and I admire them very much. It is a tough decision to make, and I respect the decisions and understand well the circumstances that lead to parents sending their kids to residencies. But we were hoping to find a program that would be just as good without having to send her away, and we have. :)

 

ETA: At her pre-pro ballet school, the director prefers that the students attend their own SI until they are in the advanced division. At that time, students scatter around the country going to SIs. That's how and where the girls who are going to Boston and SFB were given their offers for this fall. Now that dd's had a taste of going away, she's looking forward to doing it again someday. :)

Edited September 15, 2009 by Zanyan

[Guest Brooke]

I'm Brooke, and we're one of those homeschool ballet families. Oldest ds is 20, and an aspiring dancer with a late start. Next dd is 14, ds 11, ds 9, ds 6. They're all currently studying at The Rock School in Philadelphia.

 

Our deal with the eldest was, 'Give us 2 years of college and you can audition.' He decided ballet was important midway in our college process (17 college visits, start early, girls.) By the time we'd finished the application process he had the satisfaction of turning down prestige colleges who offered scholarships for annually more than my first house cost. (Not that that covered it all. :eek: ) . But we continued the academic focus and now he has two years of college (not in dance) that he can transfer to a college program if he wants or needs to.

 

Spring semester 2008 he had 15 tough academic credits, two jobs, and danced 30 hours a week. In the fall he only took 12 credits (because that was all he could get) and danced 45, but had to drop his jobs. As of January he finished class and was 'full-time' in dance. :lol: :blink:He recently got a great opportunity when he was accepted as a Trainee with a company (again, substantial scholarship), but we had to turn it down because the costs were too high. That was tough. :(

 

He's not interested in a BFA or college program. At all. And most of them are NOT at all pre-professional for ballet. The training is not intense enough. But honestly, and looking at my other dancers coming up, I would REALLY hesitate to trust any residential programs with my children, or their education. I just am not sure that their understanding of the children's welfare is consonant with mine.

 

Good thing I like the kid. ;) If anyone had told me 15 years ago that I would be housing a child of 20 with this many gifts, I'd have said they were crazy. Ballet is a tough row to hoe.

[Zanyan]

You've been down the whole road, and are still chugging along it, Brooke. Thanks for your input. :)

 

My dd attended The Rock's SI in summer 2008 for 4 weeks. She was not quite 12 years old, and she stayed in the dorms (!) We live in California, and I took her there myself, got her settled into her dorm room, and I went back to observe classes for 2 days and bring her home. Still, many people thought we were nuts for leaving her there. The Rock's SI is one where the younger kids are VERY well supervised. The ratio of dorm mother to student is 12:1. My dd's dorm mother kept in close e-mail contact with me, and I felt very happy with her experience there - as did she. :)

 

Her favorite teachers were Jen, Gabriel, and Servy. Jen and Gabriel encouraged her to keep dancing and saw her potential. When I met Jen on the last day of dd's SI, she encouraged me to find the best training I could for my dd - so it's her fault I'm driving 140 miles round trip 5 or 6 days a week. ;) Dd keeps in touch with many friends she made there. Her roommate from that summer is now a full time student at The Rock. I know the Rock has boarding students who are past high school age, so that is a program we would consider in the future.

 

As you know, boys, too, have a tough time getting ballet traineeships and jobs with pro companies, but as tough as it is for boys, it is far far tougher for girls. Our main consideration is, even though it is harder to go pro after being in a college program, there are a few that have had good success, especially with girls who didn't find positions or even traineeships straight out of high school. It keeps them in fighting shape so that when audition season rolls around, they still have their chops.

 

Anyhoo - we have decided, for now anyway, to enroll her in one of the public school ISPs locally, and have her plug away at the UC a-g requirements. That way, she can be ready for college it that's what she wants. She can go to a regular brick and mortar high school later on if that's what she wants, also. We've realized that going that route would keep the most options open for her. Of course, we reserve the right to change our minds (again!) at any time... :D

[Guest Brooke]

I LOVE the faculty at Rock. After the first observation week I could attend, I told all the kids, "Look, it's hard for you that I've seen this, because all those people have awesome technique and are really working to teach you something, so if you are having a problem, I'll know you're wrong." lol, I'm so supportive. :laugh:

 

But I do worry that some of the residence program kids (and I mean everywhere) don't get the academic background I think they'll need, just because so much of the programs are self-directed distance learning, and not every kid thrives on that, kwim? I went to boarding school, I know how easy it can be to do something else. ;)

 

We look at all of it, every year. Eldest was a swimmer... all we needed was a measured amount of water, and then THIS happened. :tongue_smilie: I know the others have surprises waiting for me, too.

 

I look forward to hearing your updates. :)