I'm not going to lie-- when I decided to major in dance my senior year of high school, I got a lot of funny looks. I also got a lot of half-hearted good for you. While I dropped down to a minor now, I must say that I honestly do not regret my decision to dance in college. Dancing professionally after graduation is still something that I would love to do, and dancing seriously throughout college has kept that door open for me as well as opening even more. With all that being said, I'd like to tell you all why I'm happy I decided to dance in college.
1. The Comradery of the Dance Program
The media likes to portray ballerinas as a bunch of stuck up, cut throat, troubled, mean girls. While I have to admit that some dancers are like that, I haven't experienced that in my college BFA program. In fact, as an out-of-state student, the comradery of the dance program is one of the biggest reasons that I can feel at home despite the fact that I'm 1,000 miles away. These dancers are my family and I love them. I met my best friends before school even started because we had to move in three weeks early to go to dance summer intensives. Throughout freshman year, our class had every single dance class together, as well as a majority of our gen eds.
2. The Escape from Reality
How people can just sit in class all day and party at night, I will never know. I cannot fathom living like a typical college student. My biggest blessing throughout my college years has been my daily dance classes. In the midst of friend drama, English exams, and breakups, ballet has always been there for me. As soon as my fingertips touch the ballet barre, all of my typical, ordinary college problems evaporate. All that I'm left with is the combination and the artistry.
3. Health Aspects
How do you get a ballerina body? You work your butt off (literally). While staying thin and avoiding college weight gain is for sure one of the benefits of dancing, it's not the only one. Some college students struggle with insomnia, but I sure don't. After dancing anywhere from 2-10 hours a day (not an exaggeration), you're always tired at night. True, you're sore about 98% of the time, but it's a good kind of sore that reminds you that you're not ordinary. You're also a lot more mindful of the types of food you put into your body because you need proper nutrients to help you get through the exhausting days.
4. Self Expression
Personally, I've always been incredibly artistic. I love to draw, paint, write, and obviously, dance. Studying dance in college has allowed me to enhance my artistry. Dance is the way that I express myself when I don't have the right words to write.
5. The Opportunities
I can't speak for all dance BFA programs, but my school is wonderful when it comes to providing us with opportunities. We've had absolutely incredible guest artists come in and teach our classes as well as set pieces. Aside from that, dance can bring you to so many different exciting cities. For example, there are fantastic summer intensives all over the world. In 2015 and 2016, I got to train at the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive in New York. Additionally, this past summer, some of the dancers at my school (not me) traveled to Italy to perform.
6. Passion
Pursuing your dreams is underrated in today's society. Everyone's always concerned about how much money they're going to make, but dancers don't dance for the money. I think that's a big difference between dancers and other college majors. I don't mean to say that other majors don't love what they do, I love English-- but it's nothing compared to my love for ballet. I can't wait to get up in the morning and go to class. That's something that I don't know if every college student gets to experience on a daily basis. It's my passion and it always will be.
I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't decide to dance in college. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made and I don't know who I would be if I hadn't continued to study dance.
