Chosing a dance training style….

From time to time I get an email similar to the one below.

This email contains a very important question and one that needs a careful answer.

“Dear Mrs. Holt,

My daughter enjoys your ballet classes tremendously, and she says they are really helping her. But I have a concern: My daughter is hoping to get into the intermediate dance level at her high school next year as a freshman.  She wants to continue taking your class throughout the spring, but some people have mentioned that Jazz classes would better prepare her for the high school audition than ballet classes. Maybe both would be best, but sometimes class times conflict. …..what is your opinion on this?”

I am an expert on public school dance programs.  I created and developed outstanding programs at three comprehensive high schools. For nearly 30 years I helped students aged 14 though 18 work towards making their dance dreams come true.  If a dream is modest, and only entails being part of a beginning level quality high school program, or at best an intermediate level program, then basic ballet and a good dash of jazz (contemporary, fusion) spiced with some hip hop from a credible jazz based community dance studio might do the job.  If the dream is ambitious, and entails competing for entrance into state and national critically acclaimed universities with a major in dance, or entrance into a pre professional or professional ballet or modern academy, then outstanding classical ballet training from a talented and experienced teacher must be the foundation and continued focus of study.

O.K. Now to the email and its question:  What is your daughter’s dream? How big is your daughter’s talent? Are you ready to “set that course” now or do you want to “buy some more time?”

I opened up a classical ballet conservatory because as a high school teacher I saw too many dance dreams destroyed. Students were lead to believe that recreational ballet or jazz and hip hop were all they needed to “be a dancer.” Even in an average quality high school dance program, the best-trained dancers will always be the ones who “get used” or get featured.  And if the program is jazz based and doesn’t focus on ballet, then it’s a dead end for dance dreams beyond high school.

Classical ballet is the foundation for building the dancer’s body. Jazz will give the dancer aggression, hip-hop is great for rhythm, but ballet builds the muscle structures that create line, strength, flexibility, musicality, and artistry.

Since I am a professional classical ballet instructor, I will always advise a dancer to keep up the quality ballet lessons.  But if your dream is to “just have fun,” then by all means, give up the ballet and focus on the jazz. But be prepared to see the more serious dancers get front and center every time a new dance is staged!