<p>My jr dau has been on the pre-pro ballet track since about 8 years. She boards away from home, cyberschools (inc AP and college), dances about 28 hours/week at a pre-pro school. However, she has seen the Light of Reality. She doesn't have the perfect ballet body and there are darn few jobs. If you're really lucky you might get a non-paying traineeship after HS that proceeds to a minimally paid apprenticeship etc. So she is planning to quit after this year. She will live at home, continue cyberschooling and hopefully get into the Young Scholars program at the nearby Ivy (also I'm an alum) to take a class or two there. I would hope she would find time for some community service (some of her change of heart was due to her wanting to "help the world" in some way).
How will colleges view this?</p>
<p>First of all, she should do what is best for her.</p>
<p>This sounds like what may turn into a good essay topic when application time comes. Decisions like these are difficult and maturing. The only thing she should do for college is explain why she stoped; that is something the colleges would all be wondering about otherwise.</p>
<p>Well, her helping the world can have to do with ballet. At least part of it. There are many after school programs and many kids who will never have this oppurtunity that would love to be exposed to it and who it would help. She shouldn't stay in the pre pro track just for how it will look to colleges - but stopping that doesn't mean you can't expand on that theme. She could contact a local elem school, middle school, or rec center and try to get together a class for kids who need an after school activity.</p>
<p>Does she enjoy dancing?</p>
<p>Does she have any interest in continuing to participate - teaching, doing choreographing or performing -- as a "recreational" dancer?</p>
<p>At this point, she says she will stop completely after this year- it's all or nothing if she doesn't have performance opportunities. I think/hope she will change her mind, as it's been such a huge part of her life. She has helped teach younger classes before, so that would be a good possiblity.</p>
<p>I do think ballet leads serious student to believe that, they should train to dance professionally or not bother to train at all.</p>
<p>In my opinion, this is really too bad. If they enjoy dancing, they should dance.</p>
<p>If she comes home, perhaps there are less serious but still good schools where she could take class and have very good performing opportunities, albeit not professional ones.</p>
<p>We are in Massachusetts, and my daughter was in a performance this past weekend which included a number of schools, only one of which you may have heard (Boston Conservatory). But the dancing was great!</p>
<p>Im clueless regarding the college admission process but my advice is to encourage your D to take a break this summer but continue taking ballet/dance at a purely recreational level this fall. At this point it would not matter the quality of training, even a local Dolly Dinkle will do. If she continues taking one or two classes each week her apps would show she still has the same EC (passion) but her career goals have changed. Good luck to you and your D.</p>
<p>Family friends have a D who had a similar story... too tall and too busty for ideal ballerina body. She quit ballet after her senior year at an arts school. She would up focusing on languages in college, and did a semester in China studying the Shanghai ballet. </p>
<p>I agree with corranged.</p>