A dance teacher friend of mine said to me "Did you watch Dance Moms?" Did I watch what? She explained to me that there was a new reality show about to air about dance moms. I hadn't heard of it, but I was curious, having to deal with dance moms myself from time to time ;) So I watched it. Once. That was enough! Reality? I'm not sure whose version of reality this is, but I'm thankful to say that in the 36 years I've been dancing, I have never encountered anything remotely like it. Is the dance world tough at times? Yup. But most often the dancers are harder on themselves than their teachers. Elite athletes all over the world are the way they are because they push themselves to perfection. When I have had teachers who were tough, it was a tough love kind of thing. I knew they cared about my dancing and that if they didn't believe in me they wouldn't bother to correct me. Most dancers actually want to be corrected and hate not to receive any correction- how else do we improve? (I came across a nice blog about someone reminiscing about their ballet teacher. This is more the relationship most dance teachers and students have.)
But what I saw on that reality show made me shake my head. The odd thing too about it to me, is that the parents are taking the kids there because they believe the woman will make their children "a star." Yet, the type of competitions the kids are competing in are recreational competitions- they aren't the elite pre-professional and professional international competitions of the dance world, such as Youth America Grand Prix, Prix de Lausanne, Varna, Jackson International Ballet Competition etc. The winners of these competitions do become stars- they are offered contracts at major ballet companies and usually the medalists become soloists and principal dancers in the best ballet companies in the world- making them the top dancers in the world. The difference in level and technique between competitions like these and that portrayed on the show is night and day. It amazes me that the girls are being treated like that when it's not even a high caliber competition, and it's not going to make them "stars." If you want to see what a real elite level competition is like watch one of the videos below. No where will you see anything like what is on "Dance Moms."
nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks Andressa :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a very moving video - literally and figuratively! Thanks so much for posting what the real heavy hitters in dance work tirelessly to achieve. Thanks for the warning about "Dance Moms" - I will be sure to avoid it. Lovely blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Aliza :) There was a whole series of videos about the week at the prix de lausanne on their site last year- a documentary someone made and it was GREAT! Not sure if it is still around. Enjoyed your blog too!
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