How to Survive Your First Year as a Ballet Student
Find happy places in NYC
Cut your hair off
Buy a loud, busy ballet skirt from Russia or Germany that technically doesn't fit the dress code but wear it anyway.
Lift weights
Eat cookies but not all of them in one night.
Cut more of your hair off
Cut so much of your hair off that your teachers complain
Register for auditions even if your school tells you not to
Call your mom
Skype your friend in Wisconsin
Skype your friend in San Diego
Skype your friend in Ukraine
Buy books and read them during Nutcracker rehearsal downtime
Go to open classes for independent teachers and learn everything you can from them
Cook real food, even if you only have one stove burner
Wear leotards with stupid clashing patterns
Take private lessons with ex-Bolshoi people
Audition for schools run by ex-Bolshoi people
Go to Spring Intensives run by ex-Bolshoi people
Realize that all the ex-Bolshoi people you know also know each other
Skip classes that give you panic attacks but replace them with similar open classes with less hostile teachers
Write a novel
Take notes on everything, from detailed corrections on placement and descriptions of difficult combinations to pages that just read "I hate [teacher's name]" to get your anger out
Get out of the city for Thanksgiving and go to a farm in the middle of nowhere
Let your soul out for variations class if no other class
Hang out with friends who don't dance
Question every contemporary teacher's corrections for things like "more oomph" or "a little more ba-BA!"
If only your foot hurts, don't sit out, just work on your arms in the back of the class
Build a community of adult beginner dancers because they know everyone in the industry
Go to more auditions
Skip class to go to auditions
Work so hard that the director plucks you out of your class for free private lessons
Ask questions on absolutely everything and anything
Get massages
Take care of your skin
Go to open classes at other studios--the lighting and mirrors are different and you will finally realize how thin you actually are
Take charge of your own dance training (especially if you are over 20)
Read the news even though your teachers tell you not to
Don't just do swimming and Pilates for cross training. Do Krav Maga and Kung Fu. Beat somebody up.
Laugh in class
Laugh in auditions
Give thumbs ups to other dancers at auditions
Go to every weird therapy thing NYC has to offer (infrared sauna, cryotherapy, salt rooms)
Don't overtrain
Get a funky piercing
Treat yourself to leotards that don't fit the dress code or uniform and wear them to open class
Learn the dance style that complements your body the best
Recognize when it is time to move on
Do thorough research for your apartment in another city
Get two more funky piercings
Keep auditioning
Cut your hair off
Buy a loud, busy ballet skirt from Russia or Germany that technically doesn't fit the dress code but wear it anyway.
Lift weights
Eat cookies but not all of them in one night.
Cut more of your hair off
Cut so much of your hair off that your teachers complain
Register for auditions even if your school tells you not to
Call your mom
Skype your friend in Wisconsin
Skype your friend in San Diego
Skype your friend in Ukraine
Buy books and read them during Nutcracker rehearsal downtime
Go to open classes for independent teachers and learn everything you can from them
Cook real food, even if you only have one stove burner
Wear leotards with stupid clashing patterns
Take private lessons with ex-Bolshoi people
Audition for schools run by ex-Bolshoi people
Go to Spring Intensives run by ex-Bolshoi people
Realize that all the ex-Bolshoi people you know also know each other
Skip classes that give you panic attacks but replace them with similar open classes with less hostile teachers
Write a novel
Take notes on everything, from detailed corrections on placement and descriptions of difficult combinations to pages that just read "I hate [teacher's name]" to get your anger out
Get out of the city for Thanksgiving and go to a farm in the middle of nowhere
Let your soul out for variations class if no other class
Hang out with friends who don't dance
Question every contemporary teacher's corrections for things like "more oomph" or "a little more ba-BA!"
If only your foot hurts, don't sit out, just work on your arms in the back of the class
Build a community of adult beginner dancers because they know everyone in the industry
Go to more auditions
Skip class to go to auditions
Work so hard that the director plucks you out of your class for free private lessons
Ask questions on absolutely everything and anything
Get massages
Take care of your skin
Go to open classes at other studios--the lighting and mirrors are different and you will finally realize how thin you actually are
Take charge of your own dance training (especially if you are over 20)
Read the news even though your teachers tell you not to
Don't just do swimming and Pilates for cross training. Do Krav Maga and Kung Fu. Beat somebody up.
Laugh in class
Laugh in auditions
Give thumbs ups to other dancers at auditions
Go to every weird therapy thing NYC has to offer (infrared sauna, cryotherapy, salt rooms)
Don't overtrain
Get a funky piercing
Treat yourself to leotards that don't fit the dress code or uniform and wear them to open class
Learn the dance style that complements your body the best
Recognize when it is time to move on
Do thorough research for your apartment in another city
Get two more funky piercings
Keep auditioning
Comments
Post a Comment