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Extra-curricular activities

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Confused! To go all out for dance or not!

28 replies

MaisyMoo123 · 21/07/2015 16:44

Hi all - my 9 year old dd loves to dance and has been taking ballet lessons for a few years, and took tap and modern up last year. She is relatively good at it - particularly ballet. She really enjoys all her lessons and lives and breaths it at the moment. I would be quite happy to potter on as we are with weekly lessons for each discipline and this is obviously an option. However, her teacher has contacted us to invite her to join the pre-vocational course that she runs alongside the regular classes. It basically provides a grounding in all disciplines and is aimed at children who have the potential to go on to dance school etc. Obviously we're proud that she's been picked out as good enough to follow this route but I am in two minds about it for a number of reasons - it would be a huge commitment (8.5 hours a week) which would mean she would have to give up every other hobby/interest and at the age of just 9 would not be in a position to realistically try anything else. I'm also not sure when she would do homework, play, be a kid. I obviously don't want to take the opportunity away from her but I equally don't want to narrow her opportunities so much that she misses out on all other things and spends all her time preparing for a career in dance that she's too young to even know if she wants. If anyone has any experience of a similar situation then I would love to hear your views! My head is spinning!

OP posts:
taxi4ballet · 26/07/2015 14:30

Maisymoo, just so you know, there is a lot of funding available for training at 16/18 following successful audition. There is the DaDa scheme and also many courses are funded by student loans.

dancemom · 26/07/2015 16:34

Dd is 9.

She does 8 hours of dance a week plus 2.5 hours of swimming and 1.5 of music.

Dance is her everything but I think it's important she does other activities to keep a balance. I'm also aware that an injury could take her out of dance long term so having other activities is important.

saintlyjimjams · 26/07/2015 16:54

I think 9 is young to tie yourself to a program, and you are wise to be careful. Ds2 is 13, has had reasonably large parts in national tours & knows he wants to go into performing arts. (Decided in the last year). He dances, but is unlikely to ever be a dancer, so in some ways has it easier (a wide range of life experiences being good for acting & singing not requiring the same intensity in training).

Could you talk to the teacher about taking some extra classes/dance summer schools etc & switching to pre-vocational/ vocational at a later date?

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