Career Development Plan - Talent and Expectation

by Grace
(Shreveport,Louisiana,U.S)

Career Development Plan - Talent and Expectation

Hey first of all i want to say thank you for this website! So i have A.D.D (attintion devisite disorder) and that effects my dancing.I am the youngest in my dance class and i have dance practice 2 times a week.I am extemely flexible and my teacher pulled me out of class and told me that she has only had 4 dancers that has a huge talent for dance in her 40 years of dance. I don't get how i'm that talented in dance because the only thing i'm very good at is flexibility. I am terrible at tap but okay at jazz and i CANNOT DO PIROUETTES!!I do not understand how i could be as talented as she says! There are tons of other girls in my class that are way better than me but im just the most flexible.This is a very hard expectation to live up to! If you have any advice about how to improve my pirouettes,help me pay attention,help me with tap,and most importantly,live up to that expectation.:)

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Reply by Odette
To:- Career Development Plan - Talent and Expectation

Hello Grace,

Thank you for contacting me, it is great to hear from you.

To have talent as a dancer is a rare gem. Some dancers are born with the natural talent and facility for ballet. Obviously no dancer can succeed without a great deal of commitment and hard work, but the demands of ballet are very physical which means few dancers make the cut for a professional career.

Dance talent requires extensive flexibility, turn out and a physique to produce the most beautiful lines. But also the great passion for dance and performance charisma. This is why few teachers find a huge talent for dance.

So if you are one of those rare talents and you have a passion for dance, then you must believe in yourself and use your ability to become a great dancer.

But mostly importantly, you have to have the drive and determination in yourself to succeed. No matter how much a teacher pushes you, the work has to come from no one else but yourself. If this is what you want, then that is enough to keep succeeding through dance.

You will have high expectations a lot of the time if you are a talented dancer, but you must not let this pressure get to you. Easier said than done, but you must remind yourself the passion for dance and remember you are doing this for no one else but yourself.

Pirouettes are to do with balance, so try balancing in retire on demi pointe to find where your balance is. Once you have found your balance, try just doing releves and then half and single pirouettes. It helps to break down the position of a pirouette, so always go back to basics when you are having difficulty.

Just like ballet, tap takes time to graso the technique and improve. It is different to ballet in the way you don't have to be as controlled in your movements so let go, relax and move those feet very quickly! The fast action of your footwork in tap and be a great help to ballet too.

Best wishes,

Odette

ps. To become the best dancer you can be, learn the Seven Secrets ..... go to my 'Seven Secrets of Ballet' page