Hello,
my DD is 12 and has been dancing since she was 3, at her current dance school since she was 7. she started off at this school doing ballet and modern and now does every style of dance offered there (well, I thought so until today). Recognising my own bias she stands out in her class.
I’ve been concerned for a while that she (her entire class) are behind compared to her peers who dance elsewhere as well as the stage the class ahead of her are at who are only a year or two older. She is currently in grade 3 for ballet, modern and tap. They plan to do grade 3 ballet exam this year, but they’ve been grade 3 modern for almost 2 years now with no hint that they might do their exam soon. I’ve done a lot of reading and spoken to people who know better than me and the general consensus is that grade exams are not the be all and end all.
This summer she went to the summer intensive at a different studio, she loved it, she did keep up but I think it’s given her a bit of a wake up call that when she auditions for her post 16 dance courses, these are the people she will be competing with, and while she is certainly one of the better dancers at her studio, that’s a pretty small pond really.
This is turning into a very long post so I’ll try to get to the point. DD’s class appear to have been significantly left behind. The class ahead of hers are significantly more advanced and this is the class she should be joining next year, the class immediately behind hers are on the same grades as her class. Their modern teacher has told them they are behind where they should be. The dance school used to offer a lot of opportunities to their students but stopped over Covid and have only really offered enrichment to seniors since then. There seems to be a degree of favouritism in the school, I don’t mean the usual who gets a solo or special part, I actually mean in terms of what opportunities can be accessed. I’ve also noticed a lot of the dancers her age leaving for other dance schools recently. I don’t really know what to do. If DD still wants to go to dance college at 16 - even if it doesn’t happen - I don’t want a lack of opportunity or a lack of support from us as parents to hold her back. The two owners of the studio are not particularly approachable (although I am autistic so I don’t find many people approachable) and I’m just not even sure how one addresses the possibility that they’re not delivering a good enough standard of training without being rude? Do I just move her? She doesn’t want this as she loves her dance friends. I also worry if she would have to join younger classes if she is behind.