becauseinthedaysthatfollowdancing,
havingafulleducation-andImeanthe
Higher School Certificate or its equivalent –
will be of great benefit. There are now many
dance courses in universities leading to other
careerpathsinthedanceworld,buttogetin
theHSCorequivalentwillberequired.
Astothepressureforyourchildtobedancing
fulltimebefore16yearsofageto“keepupwith
the others” – well, it is true that those who begin
full-time training early might win some
competitions because they’ve spent more hours
masteringdifficultsteps.Butmorehoursaren’t
alwayswhatisrequiredforimprovement.It’sthe
qualityandattentionofthosehours.Noristhis
arace.Ultimatelyitisaboutbecominganartist
andIwouldarguethatacomprehensiveand
broad education will develop a more interesting
dancer.
Aswithmostquestionsofthisnature,thisis
adancerbydancerdecision.Thereare
definitely situations when joining a full-time
schoolearlyismoresuitableforastudentand
their family due to geographic location and
opportunity, learning needs or perhaps
financial circumstances. All kids are different.
So my advice is:
1.Donotfeelpressuredforyourchildtobegin
full-timedancetrainingsoonerthanyoufeel
is appropriate, unless the suggestion is
comingfromaveryreliableauthority.
2.Ifyourchildisdeterminedtogotoa
full-time dance school, research all the
possibilities.Visittheschools.Speaktothe
teachers, other students and their parents.
Look at the curriculum and research its
outcomes.That’snotjustlookingattheprize
list,that’sfindingoutthecareerpathofall
thechildrenwhopassthroughtheirdoors.
3.Lifeisalllearning!Ifyoudecidetoletyour
childgivefull-timedanceagoforayearor
even six months and it doesn’t work out,
theycangobacktoschool.However,this
will be easier for all concerned if their
academic grades are kept at good levels.
Good luck!
JUNE / JULY 2017 | WWW.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU61
FURTHERMORE
Lisa Pavane,Director, The Australian
BalletSchool(ABS),Melbourne
Forme,thebalanceofhavingagreat
education and a great training is really
important.IthinkIseethatbecauseI
didn’t have it myself. I was given special
permissiontoleaveschoolwhenIwas13
to attend full time at my ballet school,
TessaMaunder.IcompletedmySchool
Certificate(year10)through
correspondence when I joined the ABS.
Luckily, I was successful in progressing
through to the profession, but I did go
backtoeducationlateron,havingnever
writtenanEnglishessay!
When to start full-time training is an
individual question. The Australian Ballet
SchooladdedLevels5(2001)and4
(2009)toitsfull-timeprogramsothatit
could work with younger students (from
13-14yearsold).Itisawonderful
opportunitytoseeyoungpeople
develop, to nurture them, and to let them
comealongasnaturallyaspossible.
Thereisnorush.Weareveryfocusedon
ourstudentshavingahealthylife
balance. So many things should be
considered when nurturing young people
intobecomingadultswhoaregoingto
surviveintheworldtoday–beyondjust
the dance world.
Another consideration is quality over
quantity.Wedonotbelieveinexhausting
young dancers at an age when they are
maturing cognitively, physically,
emotionally and socially. Working with
younger students means you are likely to
seemoreproblemswithgrowthrelated
injuries. At the ABS we ask that students
report even the tiniest hint of a niggle. We
canthenmonitorandassessit.Itis
extremely important for their health,
bones and bodies long term.
Becausewetakestudentsfromallover
the country, internationally as well, in
2016 we opened the doors to Marilyn
Rowe House in Parkville. All Level 4 and 5
studentsareexpectedtobe
accommodated there unless
accommodated with, and fully supervised
by,aparent/legalcustodianorasuitable
relative as approved by the School.
When students come to us at the age
of13or14,(usuallyacademicyears8or
9),theydoahalf-dayattheVictorian
College of the Arts Secondary School
(VCASS)andahalf-dayattheABS.
StudentswhojoinourLevel5program
mightbeinacademicyears10,11or12
andtheyalsodoahalf-dayatVCASS.
ByLevel6,however,ourstudentsdrop
a couple of school subjects because wecan’t support enough
dancetrainingatthat
levelwithafull
education. They are 16
or17yearsofageat
this point and we are
hoping they have the
potentialtoprogress
through their training years with the result
of being ready to enter the profession at
theendofLevel8.
It’sexcitingtodaytoseethenumberof
dancers in the Australian Ballet who have
graduated from our school going on to do
online university degrees.Sinead Vidler,Principal, Academy
Ballet, Sydney
I recently closed my full-time school with
no intention of returning to it the way it
was. As someone who finished school
andwenttouniversityIbelieveinand
value education and I think there are only
averyfewstudentswhoshouldthrowin
thetowelontheireducationforacareerin
dance.WhenIreopenmy"full-time"
school it will be within the parameters of
"normal" schooling.
Currently, most full-time schools are set
up so students do Distance Education but
I have not personally witnessed any
students' education be adequately fulfilled
through this method. The bare minimum
is enough and rarely do they finish.
Iwholeheartedlybelievethatmost
kids doing full-time training should not
be.Ithinkparentsgetcaughtupintheir
children's desires and are sold the dream
ofbeingaprofessionaldancerthatisnot
in fact a reality for their child. Dance, and
balletinparticular,issoabstracttomost
parentsandtheyareledtobelieveitis
achievable when for most kids, even
onesthatarereallygoodandreally
diligent,itisnot.
Ibelievestudentsarestartingfulltime
trainingtooyoung.I'mnotsurewhatthe
right age is and there definitely isn't a
onesizefitsallrule,butleavingschoolat
10,11or12islimitingyouroptions
beyond my belief. I believe in childhood
andIdon'tthinka10yearoldshouldbe
allowedtochoosetoleaveschool.
Ithinkballetanddanceschoolsshould
have minimum age limits for their
full-timecourses(Idon'tknowwhatthey
shouldbe)andIthinktheyshouldbeheld
accountable... in what other industry are
youallowedtotrainpeopleforajobthey
will never get or a job that doesn't even
existreallygiventheamountofkids
training versus the actual jobs available?Emma Sandall danced with
Bejart Ballet Lausanne, the Royal
Ballet,ScottishBalletandWest
Australian Ballet. She teaches for
companies and schools in
Australia, Europe and America.Send your questions to Emma
BY EMAILING [email protected].
All correspondence will be treated confidentially.