Career Development Plan - High Hopes and Huge Ballet Dreams

by Angela
(USA)

Career Development Plan - High Hopes and Huge Ballet Dreams

Hi I'm Angela and I'm 14 years old and currently pursuing a career in ballet. When my older sister began ballet lessons in middle school, my interest in dance sparked. I can remember teaching the other little girls in my second grade class the positions of the feet which I had learned from my sister lol. Up until the October of 2012, everything I knew from ballet came from YouTube. Literally every single thing. Now when I began dancing at around 8, I was only doing modern and liturgical with my church. Later, I begged my mom to allow me to take a jazz/hip hop class but that lasted for a couple of months.Still, I danced modern with my church during this time. Then at school one of my friends told me about her really nice dance studio that was extremely cheap. For one class per week, they only charged 45 dollars! I can remember my friends laughing at me exclaiming 45 dollars over and over! So I asked my oldest sister(in my family I have 3 sisters AKA 3 extra mothers since I'm the youngest) if she could call the studio and have me do a trial class. I was sooooooo nervous.It was a teen beginner class but still. That was the first time that I had actually taken a real ballet class and everything that I had no idea how to do ran through my head. I felt like they were going to expect me to whip out 32 fouettes! I got to the class a little late and found a spot for me on the barre and found myself shaking. From a young age, I had always been a perfectionist so I wanted to do things right! As we started our plies, I began to think about all of the videos I had watched of famous ballerinas and the Vaganova Academy ballet exams that I watched and I tried to mimic them. I was surprised that all of my stalking of dancers had paid off lol! After my sister and I went to the front desk to sign me up, the teacher came out into the front and told them to put me in the slightly advanced teen beginner ballet class. I was ecstatic! My first real day at ballet I felt a little down because there were many things that I did not know but I was still excited to learn more! As the classes continued, I began to really feel like God made me to dance well ballet specifically. Every week my teacher gave me a correction( which I desperately want and need) and some sort of praise. I feel beautiful in ballet. As we neared the end of the year recital, one day I was getting my costume from the studio and when I came back to the front desk the director of the studio began exclaiming in how beautiful my body was and that I have the "perfect body" for dance. I was very shocked and flattered! She said I was a distraction. Earlier this year my teacher told me that she wanted me to take summer classes so that I could be put on pointe in the fall. When I tell you that I wanted to go skydiving! I was so happy I almost cried! I was dying for them to notice how hard I'm working and they did. Ballet just seems like it was absolutely made for me. I thought I just liked being a student but I learned about the adrenaline rush that you can get from performing! It feels so wonderful to hear applause and to really get into your character. God I'm getting excited just thinking back to it. I have been extremely blessed. If I go on pointe in the fall then I won't even have been training for one full year. And my teacher and the director really want to work with me. The only thing that I hate is that money limits me. My parents cant pay for more than one class right now. I don't think that there's any type of scholarship system or work study thing at my studio. Right now that's all that I want. How do I go about asking if there's ANYTHING I can do. I'm trying to save up to pay for one more ballet class but I can't pay for a full year of dance. I feel like I have everything I need( ability, the body, determination,passion) but money is stopping me. I'm turning 15 this year so I already know that I'm like 90 in ballet years lol. I don't have so much time. Buy 17\18 I would be looking for a job. I'm come so far just this season of dance. I couldn't even do one of splits when I first started now I at least have my left but my technique has grown and I learned new things about myself. I would love to get into a real ballet school that is Vaganova based (Ellison Ballet or Kirov Academy in DC). How do I start preparing myself for when I want to audition in like 2 years and how can I ask my teacher for more hours now. I want this so bad.

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Reply by Odette
To:- Career Development Plan - High Hopes and Huge Ballet Dreams

Hello Angela,
Thank you so much for your passionate message, I am utterly impressed by your love and determination for ballet. I am glad my website attracts young dancers like yourself in which I can guide and help you forward in your dancing dreams.

It sounds like you have everything going for you and a sturdy potential in ballet. Yet I understand you need more lessons and therefore money to make this happen. Even though your current dance school may not offer scholarships, there is no harm in asking and bringing up the possibility of getting one. What have you got to loose? You can speak to your ballet teacher and director to explain how much you want to take ballet seriously as a profession and therefore you absolutely need more training.

It is clear by what you say that the school is interested and see potential in you as a dancer. Therefore, you are in more of a chance for them to help you out. Remember, you are an excellent role model to the other dancers and an example of someone who began at this school.

You must be active and research every possibility to push you forward. Especially look at summer schools you could apply to, where there will most definitely be scholarships to offer.

I explain more about how to rise above and beyond your problems to become a ballet dancer in my new eBook "7 Virtues of a Professional Dancer".

For you, I recommend Virtue 2:Circumstance and Virtue 7:Savvy.

There is so much advice I want to give you and guide you forward, which is why I formed my eBook to have all this essential information in one place.

Please keep in touch and let me know your thoughts. I want to hear how you are progressing in ballet!

Best wishes,
Odette