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Summer school whilst at upper school?


swanprincess

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Just wondered what people's thoughts are with regards to doing a summer school in the summer before 3rd year of vocational upper school..... Am torn between wanting to go to a summer school or having the summer off to relax & rejuvenate....

any advice appreciated! :) x

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I think I read on here a while back that many students at the top Upper Schools all attend Summer Schools, Master Classes, extra coaching. Whatever they can lay their hands on. But of course, it is entirely up to yourself how much or how little you want to do. Perhaps you might want to give your mind and body a complete rest for a couple of weeks; which would be completely understandable !!

Edited by Lisa O`Brien
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An example from outside the dance world that might be relevant? Recently me and my non dd were lucky enough to attend a talk given by a successful TV presenter of wildlife and archaeology programs who is also a chair of a major wildlife charity and mum of 2. One of the questions that she was asked, was 'why her?' what was so special about her that she had succeeded in a hugely competitive environment. She thought for a moment and then said it was because she always planned ahead with her career, and that while her fellow uni students were enjoying long holidays she was volunteering at wildlife centres, running errands and doing all manner of unglamorous jobs. That she never missed an opportunity to network and get exposure (2 job offers came from chance meetings in the BBC car park whilst doing the tea run). Of course everyone needs a break, but perhaps now is a good time to think where you would like to go when your current course is completed. Then, depending on what that might be - teaching, performance, something else entirely you could think about spending some of the holiday getting relevant work experience (if you want to teach see if you can help at a summer school for younger dancers).

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How much time have you got off?
What are your plans for after you graduate? A summer school could be a chance to make connections that will come in useful later.

If your summer holiday won't be super short, you could do a week close to when you finish for the summer then you'd still have a decent amount of rest.

Are you having to work during the summer too?

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By all means have a look at summer schools or workshops but you should also perhaps be thinking of a change of focus for what you want out of a summer school as for your last summer before graduation you perhaps want to look at making contacts or widening the breadth of your dance cv, rather than improving technique perhaps. So perhaps summer schools/workshops/classes associated with ballet/dance companies to widen your experience - just ballet or ballet/contemporary or wider styles. If you are about to enter graduate year you start to become eligible for some of the workshops aimed at professional dancers . So do your research. Some to perhaps look at : Ballet Cymru (summer school), Birmingham Dance Network (weekly classes run by guest teachers from Midlands dance companies - drop in and mostly contemporary) and keeping an eye on websites like dancingopportunites.com and Article19 (Shout) as both have sections on workshops of various lengths rather than just auditions

 

But it is equally important to get some rest as graduate year is extremely busy.

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