Losing the love :(

[Nutcracker-x]

Hi, I'm hoping someone would be able to help me with the above topic.

 

Up until recently dancing has been everything to me; I would spend my time at school waiting for the end of the day just so that I could get to my dance lessons and then lessons would be a whirlwind of excitement and joy. However, since about March I haven't been experiencing that same joy and excitement and have almost started to look at dance lessons as a chore rather than a hobby that I love. (I no longer wish to pursue dancing as a career) since last September I have been doing GCSE dance and this may be the cause of my sudden loss of interest however I'm not too sure. During the course of GCSE dance, I have realised that I struggle with choreography work and this has made me dread dance lessons in school which occur 3 times a week. Also, the girls in my dance class have the type of personalities which as outgoing and judgemental which for me as I'm not very confident, means I dread having to perform my solos in front of the whole class. I have been wondering if this could be the cause of my lack of love for dancing and would be very grateful if anyone would be able to advise me on what they think.

 

Thanks, Nutcracker-x

[invisiblecircus]

Is it just the school dance lessons you dread? How do you feel about your lessons after school?

 

If you're not excited about your lessons after school anymore, maybe it's that having decided not to persue dance as a career you've lost your purpose and your orginal goal for those lessons. Of course, most people attend those classes just for the enjoyment and that's a worthwhile purpose in itself, but when you've previously been focussing on a career it might be difficult to switch your mindset.

 

Do you have another career path in mind instead of dance?

[betterankles]

Find another teacher...

[sarahw]

I'm sorry to hear that Nutcracker. How are you feeling about life in general and your other GCSES.

[Ellie]

I know lots of dancers who hated having to improvise or choreograph at school so don't worry ! - I've no personal experience of GCSE dance, but I believe it is more contemporary based. So, don't get hung up on 'the steps' (easier said than done as a ballet student - I'm assuming you are...) Think  about musicality and floor patterns. Go on youtube and find choreography you can relate to. It's fine to be inspired by other peoples work.

 

Maybe you're not enjoying your other dance classes because you're tired and stressed out with GCSE's. Or maybe you do need to try another teacher. Or maybe you just need to stop for a while and see if you miss dancing or not. And if not again don't worry, you can be an informed, experienced dance watcher ! X

[taxi4ballet]

I blame GCSE dance absolutely. My dd had a rotten time (and lousy teachers who disliked ballet) and loathed every second of it, so you are not alone in your hatred  

 

She couldn't get on with the so-called choreography either, and really struggled with it. Funnily enough, now she is at vocational school, she has started to enjoy choreography much more - she says that she's being taught it properly now!

[aileen]

I agree with invisiblecircus on the change of career point and taxi4ballet on the GCSE dance point. If you are in year 11 you may be feeling the pressure of GCSEs. If you are no longer planning to pursue a career in dance then there's the option of stopping your out of school dance lessons until the end of the summer. If you miss dance then you can start lessons again in the autumn. If you don't then it will have been the right decision to give up. There's no shame in changing your mind about careers and hobbies.

[Huddsballetmum]

You are under a lot of pressure at the moment Nutcracker.  Mock exams, pressure to revise etc.  My DD is in the same situation, where school is pressuring to do well in exams and tiredness and stress is taking over the house.   Perhaps you could cut back on your classes for a while, as others have said, if you don't want a career in dance then scaling back or taking a break will give you the opportunity to concentrate on your schoolwork. 

 

GCSE dance is very different to a ballet class, experiences vary from school to school.  Some have bad experiences, my DD has had a wonderful experience.  With regard to those you perceive as being more confident, they probably envy your technique.  In my experience, those who come across as judgmental are often insecure in their own abilities.  A trick to remember is that you dance for yourself, no one else.

 

Good luck in whatever you choose to do, and keep your chin up.  It's not always the most flamboyant that are the pleasure to watch in my opinion!

[Dance*is*life]

Not everyone wants to be a choreographer and if you don't relate much to modern dance composition - I am not surprised you are not enjoying the GCSE studies.  Do you have to do GCSE Dance?  Can you get a good enough amount of exams without it?  I mean will it make a great deal of difference to your results without it? 

 

It's true that I did dance professionally and have been teaching for nearly 40 years, but I still take class a couple of times a week, because even though I have a lost a great deal of my strength and technical ability and my feet don't hold me up on demi-pointe, I don't want to stop dancing.  It warms my soul......

 

I think you have to find out if it warms yours too.  You don't have to dance professionally to want to continue with class, you can take classes because it's something you do for you, because it's a part of you and you want to keep that.  Whatever you decide, make sure you do it without regret and know that there is nothing to stop you changing your mind later.  Adult ballet classes are filled with people who danced up to a certain age, gave it up when they realised they didn't want a career, but decided that they wanted to start again. Taking dance classes is such a fulfilling type of exercise.  It's much more enjoyable doing something beautiful, rather than running on a boring treadmill!

[LinMM]

It's a difficult one I very much agree with post 9

 

Perhaps if you gave up the GCSE Dance .....if you really hate it that much your joy for the ballet may come back.

But it's a difficult year and I ended up stopping ballet when I was 15 (took GCSE equivalent a year early) because of the amount of school work I had. I just couldn't cope with all the homework and going to dance classes four times a week! My dance teacher was not best pleased to be sure ....... but at 15 I was a bit "all" or "nothing" so the dancing went....and it was also at the point where I knew dancing would not be my career path.

 

However some girls did carry on dancing as well and didn't have a problem with this......we are all different.

 

I took up dancing again (the first time) five years later and have always enjoyed it as an amateur on and off since.

[kiwimum6]

It was exactly around now that my son began to hAve the colley wobbles about dance. He didn't do GCSEs dance but the pressures of GCSEs generally and a long term injury really brought him to the point of giving up dance. The dark nights and dark mornings don't help.

A year on he has moved school so the routine is all different and he is enjoying dancing again.

It was a bleak time for him so I hope you find a solution to make you happy... The most important thing.