Challenging classes or more corrections?

[balletmania]

Am a pre-pro student in a full-time academy right now but I am having second thoughts about my school because the teachers don't give a lot of personal corrections and I just generally feel a bit ignored outside of privates. However, the classes often have difficult and complex combinations which I think are somewhat helpful. On the other hand, there is another school elsewhere I'm considering transferring to, and while the teachers there don't have spectacular CVs like the ones here do, I have attended a brief intensive there before and know that they give more personal corrections and attention to students. Given this, which is more important to my training and improvement: challenging steps/star-studded faculty, or individual attention?

 

Would appreciate any guidance! Thanks

[NeverTooOld]

I didn't do full time ballet school and have never danced professionally - very much more of a hobby (or obsession!) so there will probably be others here better qualified to answer in your personal situation but I would always prefer individual attention. It is all very well doing challenging steps with high profile teachers but if they are not correcting you, how do you know if you're doing it correctly? It is easy with ballet to get into bad habits and for wrong technique to become ingrained so I think it is much better to know that you are learning to do things correctly and build a solid foundation. That way, when you do more challenging things, you will be more likely to do them well.

[Ruby Foo]

Hi balletmania,

 

Obviously you feel that something is missing from your classes otherwise you wouldn’t have posted!
I’m sure the classes you’ve described will be helpful in many ways. As you are heading towards professional status, classes can be expected to be very fast, at a professional level because by this stage you should know what your issues are and how to think of them and work on them independently. They are also easing you in to audition practice and professional life. However, you are not professional yet and still have time to work with a teacher who can guide you and maximise your potential in this important year. There’s no easy answer to your question because both would be equally important. Having a mix of different teachers, some who focus deeply and slowly on technical skills and some ex professionals who work at a fast and furious pace will benefit you. If you have to choose then I guess you need to ask yourself if you have important issues that need help ( who doesn’t?). Maybe you could take class with a teacher that’s invested in you ( there’s a strong relationship between teacher and student) while doing the odd guest classes with an ex professional at Danceworks or similar ( not sure if you’re in uk)
Quite apart from the benefits technically and artistically of all this, it’s deeply disrespectful of any teacher to take class without involving the students in a personal way. I know it happens far too often, especially at the highest levels, and I would say these are not teachers but dancer’s taking a class.

[Kerfuffle]

16 hours ago, balletmania said:

Am a pre-pro student in a full-time academy right now but I am having second thoughts about my school because the teachers don't give a lot of personal corrections and I just generally feel a bit ignored outside of privates. However, the classes often have difficult and complex combinations which I think are somewhat helpful. On the other hand, there is another school elsewhere I'm considering transferring to, and while the teachers there don't have spectacular CVs like the ones here do, I have attended a brief intensive there before and know that they give more personal corrections and attention to students. Given this, which is more important to my training and improvement: challenging steps/star-studded faculty, or individual attention?

 

Would appreciate any guidance! Thanks

I think if you still feel like you want to perfect your technique I would go for the school that gives you plenty of attention. The fast pace can be helpful but only once you feel secure in how you’re dancing - it could do more harm than good. A teacher with a great cv will probably give you fantastic performance advice but maybe you are looking for more technical help and this is what you need right now. I don’t think you should have to be having private lessons to get any attention at all! Are you in the U.K. ? 

[Peanut68]

To be a bore….but just a note to also check the contractual terms & conditions as you may be liable to still pay the full course/year/or at least a terms fees in lieu of notice should you decide to leave - even if you have a government funded (MDS/DaDa in UK) or a school scholarship or bursary, the small print may mean if you decide to leave with no extenuating circumstances, you may actually even be liable to return any funding monies paid so far towards course. That not withstanding, happiness is key to being healthy both mentally & physically which is so important at this stage of your training & gut instincts can often be a good starting point in helping you to make informed decisions.

One other thought that crossed my mind also is if you feel ignored is it the same for others or are there some dancers who do get focussed on & corrected? Beware the ‘favouritism’ that some teachers/schools show which can completely stifle others & can really mean a waste of time & money could be spent better elsewhere possibly.

Definitely not a snap decision here but one to discuss with any parents/guardians/perhaps your previous teachers of mentors….&….deep breath…the  current academy teachers/management. Do not be fobbed off with the old adage of ‘I don’t want to be seen as a trouble maker’ that has kept too many of us in a less than perfect situation & enables the continuation of bad practise by teachers in dance training. 
Safety in numbers too…. But again, it’s often easy to find others voicing similar concerns but getting them to all collectively speak up is never easy….

Good luck x

 

[balletmania]

Thanks all for your responses! This is such a difficult decision and I'm grateful to have received so much helpful guidance. 

Peanut68, I appreciate your focus on practical concerns - to answer your question: I do think there is mild favoritism going on but in general I would say individual corrections are rare for everyone here... and I'm also worried that bringing it up with the faculty might change their attitude from apathy to antagonism. Definitely hard dilemma!

[Peanut68]

Apathy is bad enough…. Antagonism would be outrageous but I know first hand how this is all too real a situation in the dance training world. Isn’t it sad? I really do hate the insidious feeling of fear in this world of ballet….it’s what keeps the status quo & means things take longer to change for the better sadly. 
The whole industry power trip where ‘leaders’ all too often tell impressionable young dancers how ‘I/we can make you’ which sadly has the undercurrent & unsaid subtext of ‘I/we can also break you’ 

The power dynamic needs to shift back to ‘the client’ which is the student base.

And they deserve to get the service as advertised & as contracted & paid for.

Apologies to sound rather dark & fatalistic…but the dance world needs to get better at self regulation & indeed needs independent examination of practises IMHO

 

 

 

[LinMM]

Is there a chance ( especially if it turns out there are money ties to the school you are at) that you could have some private lessons every so often with a teacher to help with your individual technique concerns? I know some schools don’t allow this but could be an option worth exploring? 

[Peanut68]

Ironic really that often the ones getting all the attention are the best….& often they get to be the best because they are supplementing their training with loads of extra private coaching (often kept quiet from schools/teachers/fellow pupils) So the schools & teachers pat themselves on the back thinking ‘wow, what good teachers we are to get such great results’ and then if there is general mediocrity it’s kind of hidden…. 3 monkeys approach….

If you or a funding body is paying for premier training you should not need to pay for extra outside of it… indeed, young bodies require care & rest time too & training hours should be enough in full time vocational training & more could cause burnout/injury not to mention the money drain….

Lots to consider. I assume the poster to be still be a dependant…. This is something to really discuss with them & they should help you with this battle….

I speak as one who never braved doing this for myself & wasted years in poor training environment (& it killed my love of dance) but also as a parent who has regrets that I didn’t kick up more of a stink over poor practises for own offspring in dance & other fields…. These type of issues are multi fold in education sadly 

[Neverdancedjustamum]

5 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

Ironic really that often the ones getting all the attention are the best….& often they get to be the best because they are supplementing their training with loads of extra private coaching (often kept quiet from schools/teachers/fellow pupils) So the schools & teachers pat themselves on the back thinking ‘wow, what good teachers we are to get such great results’ and then if there is general mediocrity it’s kind of hidden…. 3 monkeys approach….

If you or a funding body is paying for premier training you should not need to pay for extra outside of it… indeed, young bodies require care & rest time too & training hours should be enough in full time vocational training & more could cause burnout/injury not to mention the money drain….

100% true. I am quite shocked at how much money and time is being spent these days by young dancers, whether or not they’re in full time school already. Often teachers and schools also prioritise those who have private lessons with them. I also find that in many occasions, associate places and/or scholarships for intensives go to those who are already in full time vocational schools anyway. These days also, just because someone goes to full time vocational school  doesn’t mean all the additional privates and all sorts of extras end. 

[Henry]

I notice that your original post was 01:38 in the morning.  I suppose that this is keeping you awake at night. 

 

Really, I think you need more informed advice that you can get from this forum.  You need to talk to people who are better informed about your situation, school, teachers  - and people who know you.  

 

Good luck

 

 

[taxi4ballet]

59 minutes ago, Henry said:

I notice that your original post was 01:38 in the morning.  I suppose that this is keeping you awake at night. 

 

Really, I think you need more informed advice that you can get from this forum.  You need to talk to people who are better informed about your situation, school, teachers  - and people who know you.  

 

Good luck

 

 

The OP is not in the UK, which explains the time difference.

[Beezie]

I would definitely encourage checking that the same teachers from the intensive are also teaching full time.  I would also do some regular weekly classes.  Intensives can be a recruiting mechanism, and can sometimes end up being a little ‘extra.’  I don’t think it is a guarantee of that the regular classes will be the same.

 

At the end of the day, just remember that the journey is as important as the end goal.  You should like where you are training.  No one enjoys every single minute or an activity, but you should enjoy the majority of your time.

 

Also, being from the US myself, I know that these studios have a way of ‘mentally securing’ students and families by discouraging choice through quiet and sometimes not-so-quiet disapproval.  I would recommend pushing through this, if you feel it is happening.  Trial another studio quietly, if you feel you need to.  You should never feel guilty about this.

[balletmania]

Yes I agree, the power dynamic does cause some issues in the ballet world.

 

Perhaps a relevant fact is that the privates at my current school are quite expensive and there are few slots available so I'm not able to take as many of those as I'd like.

 

Thanks all for the advice! I'm in the midst of discussions with my parents (weighing the pros and cons of leaving vs staying) so hopefully we'll be able to make a decision that is best for my training.