What Do I Do About College?
WILL COLLEGE INTERFERE WITH MY CAREER PLANS?
"West Side Story" was Grover's 3rd Broadway show. He was 21 at the time.
Dear Grover,
I'm 13. I live in Michigan and have been dancing for six years. When I'm 18, I'm heading for New York to pursue my dream. I know there are others out there just like me. The competition will be stiff. But I feel I'm up to it.
The problem is my mom thinks I should go for a college degree. She's convinced that when I'm 30 and can't really dance anymore, I'll come back home and open up a studio. She says I'll need a degree to do that. What should I do?
My dream is itching to be fulfilled. I want to go on tour with a group like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, etc. I'd even like to be in one of those Gap commercials. Should I get a college education and hold back from going to N.Y. until I graduate? Please help me.
Confused.
Dear Confused,
Many dancers who graduated college have enjoyed successful careers. For every successful pro that swears by the college education they got, there are just as many who've made it without one. The closest example I can think of is my own. I could not afford to go to college. I boarded the bus to N.Y. at 17 with $130 in my pocket, a dream in my heart, and the willingness to work hard. The first year was financially challenging until I got my first job on the Jackie Gleason Show. Four years later, when my friends were graduating and chomping at the bit to get their first job, I already had an agent, three Broadway shows under my belt, twenty television specials, and a solid reputation. For me, the direct path to the biz worked. For others, the college route worked. It's a personal choice. Keep the passion alive and always focus on what works for you.
It would be fair to mention that I've headed musical theatre programs at two top American universities. In both instances, I discovered that their dance programs focused mainly on the aesthetics of dance...and did not provide sufficient training in the task of securing employment. This is a disservice to dancers and to choreographers who are looking for dancers who actually know how to navigate the workplace. If you choose the college route...and before you pay those tuition fees...make sure you're entering a program that will educate you about the realities of securing satisfying employment as well as dance techniques. Ask this question: How familiar is your faculty with the casting requirements of today’s dance market? If they can say they’re on top of the business, great. If not...you always have the option of using sites like this one.
LET'S GET PRACTICAL!
The college programs I'm familiar with...only accomodated 16 hours per week of dance classes. (the rest of the week was confined to academic studies.) How does that schedule accomodate a well-rounded education in dance? How do you stretch 16 hours into covering ballet, musical theatre, jazz, tap, lyrical, gymnastics, partnering, hiphop, free-style, contemporary, and aerial. How much time does that leave for essentials like picking up quickly, problem-solving, personal presentation, demo reels, motivating the movement, making yourself valuable on-the-job, and knowing how to function like a pro at auditions and behind-the-scenes? And we haven't even mentioned all of the advantages to be learned online?
Grover D.
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