![]() ![]() The sad thing is that her daughter is very talented. Can you imagine how this child felt when she heard what her mother said? It floored me that a mother truly thought that her six year old, with only a one hour class per week, was going to turn into Anna Pavlova and do her dance perfectly the first time she was ever on stage. My colleague told me that she had tried to calm the mother down and tell her that this was common which is why we have dress rehearsal, that we would work on it before the show the next day and they were, after all, only six years old. I automatically put it on the schedule to be run the next day several times before the performance so the students would be more comfortable.Ī few minutes later, one of my colleagues came running backstage to tell me that there had been an irate parent screaming in the lobby that she wasn’t sure what she paid for all year when her daughter couldn’t even remember a dance, let alone look graceful doing it. Well, one of my beginning ballet classes had a complete melt down and forgot most of their dance, which is not an uncommon occurrence. There are costumes, lights, the stage, an audience…it’s very overwhelming. That being said, all dances were finished in a timely manner utilizing the last few minutes of each class and the students were encouraged to practice at home and were given tools to do so.ĭress rehearsal at the theater is always a stressful thing, especially for the younger dancers with little or no performance experience. We prefer instead to focus on barre work, technique, muscle development and proper vocabulary. We are not one of those schools that spend an entire year on our recital dance. I find myself using a line from a dear friend of mine who also owns a studio, ‘I am so sorry your child’s abilities don’t meet your expectations.’ The point being, it is important to celebrate your child’s strengths, but to also be aware of their weaknesses and be realistic with your expectations so your child can be realistic with his or hers.Ĭase in point, a few months ago, my school performed its annual recital. What I find after talking more than five minutes with some of these parents is that yes, their child is disappointed, but the parents themselves are sometimes even more so. Everyone has experienced disappointment and everyone has wanted something very much that they couldn’t yet achieve and it never gets any easier. All his or her friends got better roles, got moved up or got pointe shoes and now he or she is feeling left behind and left out. Their child is mortified and so disappointed. Every time casting goes up, every time certain dancers get pointe shoes and others do not, every time level placements come out, I receive the same phone calls from distraught and disgruntled parents. We also have a copy of the article posted on a bulletin board in the ABA lobby if you would like to read it here at the studio.Įvery year at about this time, I find myself having the same discussion with many parents. We hope you have time to read it in the near future. We think it is a helpful article for parents and caregivers, especially with Nutcracker auditions and casting happening this month. ![]() We were kindly sent this article by Miss Erin, which Abra believes is one of the best written articles she has seen on the subject of abilities and expectations. ![]()
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