Dippycat

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply - lots of good advice and food for thought xx

Thank you - It’s one to consider but without science A levels it might be difficult. The dance science degrees have daily technique classes alongside the science classes which is an appeal as she could keep up her dance training.

My daughter is currently in year 12 and contemplating what to study at university. She has been a keen dancer since age 2 and is currently studying for RAD advanced foundation alongside grades 8 in tap and jazz. Her A levels include dance and PE and she’s considering a degree in dance science as she would like to maybe work with injured dancers but also feels that an understanding of dance science would be valuable if she later trained as a dance teacher. However there are only 3 institutions offering an dance science undergraduate degree so she is debating whether to do a more general dance degree first then potentially a masters in dance science / sports therapy. Or would she be best doing an general sports science degree first? She would love to follow her love of dance into a career in the industry whilst keeping her options open / having a back up. Does anyone have any advice as to the best way into a career in dance science/rehab?

Little one - well done to your daughter on her offers. My daughter is thinking of doing dance and PE at A level so it’s good to hear of students getting great offers. X

That’s encouraging to hear - would you mind me asking what A levels she chose and where she’s hoping to study? It’s so hard to know what to do for the best! X

Yes - 6ft exactly! She has beautiful long lines though!! Ballet is her first love but she does train in tap, jazz, contemporary, commercial, Irish and MT so does have other styles to fall back on. She has looked at the RAD degree and even emailed them - they will also accept BTEC dance which is useful to know. Trinity Laban are offering a new degree in dance science which may appeal too. Decisions/decisions ! Thank you everyone for some really useful info/food for thought xx

Thank you for the A level suggestions - some good ideas. My daughter struggles with heavily essay type courses. She currently does GCSE dance and really enjoys that especially the choreographic and technical analysis. So that will be a definite for A level if she goes down that route. She does well in science, geography and art too. She’s seen a couple of dance science degree courses so that could be a possibility for the future too. As an aside - how likely would it be that her height (6ft) would be a significant barrier to getting work as a dancer in the future? I don’t want to squash her dreams but need to open her eyes to reality as this may influence her choices after GCSE. Many thanks x

Some really helpful advice here - I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread as I have been searching too for some information on choosing BTEC or A Levels. My daughter is in Year 10 at present so just starting to think about her options post GCSE. At the moment she's leaning towards the A level route - Dance/PE and one other. Does anyone have any advice on which A levels to choose? She's conscious she needs a back up if applying at 18 to Uni/Dance college doesn't work out and after a recent minor injury is quite interested in sports science or dance teaching. She's worried if she did a BTEC then all her eggs are in one basket even though she would love to dance all day! She's doing GCSE dance at the moment, has just passed her RAD intermediate and trains in a wide variety of styles (grade 6 )including MT. Her dream would be somewhere like NBS but she is also trying to be realistic - and at 6ft tall she knows she will have a disadvantage height wise.