<p>I know I'm very young to be scouring CC ( I'm entering 9th grade next week) but I want to be a professional performer when I'm older, and am looking for guidance on how to continue my studies. My parents won't let me do shows outside of school ( I've done 11 full shows and two medleys with the Community Division of the Hartt School of Music). This is mostly because of our distance from any community theatres and because they're concerned about my grades. I've taken voice for about 21 months now with a woman who teaches out of her home. I've also studied piano with her for about 14 months. My problem is dancing. I completed beginner tap and jazz 5 years ago and never returned to dancing. I was going to start ballet at school this year for an athletic credit, but was advised against it because of pains I've been having in my back that increase when I stretch and may require phsyical therapy. I took tap for two weeks a performing camp this summer and loved it. But, once again, because of time, distance, and school, my parents don't want me to take lessons.
My school does one show every term, plus I can try out for the shows at our brother school ( I'll be going to an all-girls school). However, doing a show means I have to give up a sport. Though I am not very athletic, I am deciding between trying out for the fall play or trying volleyball, a sport I've always wanted to try.
I am only allowed one arts credit per semester, plays and musicals excluded. This is also a problem for me- should I go more with the "music" path or "theatre" with my courses for the next four years? I want to be a double English/Musical Theatre major when I reach college.
But if I'm not going to be able to have very good training all musical theatre areas, should I maybe just give up on the dream?</p>
<p>The first question I will address is "I am only allowed one arts credit per semester" - Is that a school requirement, or your parents? If it is a school rule, I would go to your counselor, explain that you want to consider a career in the performing arts, and that you feel you need to pursue more arts classes than that. See if there is a way to map out a course of study that allows you to take both music and theatre courses. If that's not possible - be aware that there are students who do either theatre or music courses in HS, and can still pursue this path. On the other hand, I know HS students who skip study hall, or take summer school so they CAN fit 3 arts periods into their HS schedules. (I've heard of schools REQUIRING arts classes - I've never heard of them LIMITING them - as long as all other requirements were met!!)</p>
<p>If grades are an issue for you, your parents are absolutely right that your studies need to take a high priority. Devote yourself freshman year to maintaining a good GPA, and managing your time wisely, and they may be more willing to look at you picking up more extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>If the ballet thing doesn't work right now, it doesn't mean you can't pursue that in the future. Get the medical issues addressed, then consider it for next semester, or next year.</p>
<p>If you're a rising freshman, and you've already been in 11 full shows, it sounds like your parents are supportive of you doing theatre. They may just want you to prove that you can handle the additional workload of HS, before you begin overextending yourself.</p>
<p>In response to the volleyball vs. ballet/jazz, I can't imagine that volleyball will be any less stressful on the back than ballet. In fact, beginning ballet (especially) should be lengthening and strengthening your muscles, and the pain you feel may simply be the discomfort of a "collapsed spinal structure" being asked to hold itself in alignment/structure properly (when it is not used to doing so). Only your doctor can tell...</p>
<p>But I played volleyball for two years in high school. The musles used are FULL BODY, everything from neck to toes, spine to fingertips. The simple act of "spiking" is extremely strenuous on the legs, neck/back and shoulders; "setting" involves the thighs, shoulders, neck/back, and arms/wrists/fingers; and bumping likewise involves the whole body. This is a very high impact sport. I cannot imagine that this sport would be any more gentle to your body than would ballet. In fact, besides swimming, I can't think of a more gentle sport for the body THAN ballet.</p>
<p>If you want to do musical theatre, especially if you are a girl, start NOW - dance, dance, dance; take singing lessons/classes, or join the choir; get into plays, and take acting classes. You are in for some incredibly fierce competition in three years when you audition for college placement. Women outnumber men five-fold. You simply cannot delay your training, if you hope to be at your utmost when it counts.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the responses.
MusThCC- Actually, it is a school limitation on the arts credits. And, as far as I know, there's no way to get out of it. And grades are not usually a problem with me ( except science...but that's another story).
Prof. Himmelheber- My back pain seems to increase when I stretch, causing my doctor to think I pulled a muscle. She wants me to stay away from ballet. And I was actually going crazy deciding whether to switch from volleyball to the fall play ( if I nail my audition), which I have to decide by Wednesday, and I decided that the play would be better because it would be less time-consuming, and it's something I enjoy a whole lot more, so if I make the play, volleyball's not a problem anyway.</p>
<p>I'm still not sure if I'll be prepared to perform professionally when I grow up though. I already take singing lessons, but since I can't do choir AND band AND drama like I wanted to, and since it doesn't look like dance is happening anytime soon...well, good preparation in high school prepares you for a good college and then a good job. I'm just confused and stressed about what to do.</p>
<p>Can you take private voice and/or dance lessons where you live?</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>I'd just like to share what my D experienced at her auditions. She is a very accomplished dancer. She also has a strong, natural, though mostly untrained singing voice, and is a strong actress. Although we received various info from all the colleges, most stated something to the effect that students must be strong in 2 areas, and show potential in the third. This lead us to believe that she was well prepared. What we experienced was quite different. We found out that dance absolutely did not matter, and in fact, having a well-trained or just naturally strong and powerful singing voice was non-negotiable in most of the "top ten" type schools. Some auditors actually admitted this outright, although their printed literature stated more towards what I said above. She knew of many non-dancers admitted to top programs, but none that had a basically untrained or weaker singing voice. She knows of a few girls who had a very rough time with the dance portions of auditions and were admitted to top programs. Also, she was actually told by one school that she "danced her way out of that school" because she was too good of a dancer. (Perhaps along the lines of what Dr. John said in an earlier post about matching the kid to the program-but we both thought this was a strange comment.)
The point of my post is that although dance can't hurt, and most certainly is beneficial for the overall package, VOICE is what matters most, at least this past year in what she experienced. As long as you move well, I wouldn't worry at all about the dance. Tap is rarely (never in any of my D's auditions) tested. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>I've heard that dance is the least important of the three musical theatre areas, but with so much competition for girls and women, I've been trying to really improve everything. However, I've been acting since I was 6 and I've been taking private voice lessons for 21 months from a lady who works out of her home and is not very well-known, but has produced some AMAZING professional singers. I want some background in dance, but my school schedule is very strange...Depending on the day, I can be there for 13 hours. And besides, not many places near the school will take beginners in high school.</p>