Dancers of all ages face the challenge of balancing their love of dance with the importance of keeping up and excelling at their school work. You may desire to be the best dancer you can be, but you and your parents want you to make your commitments to completing all your homework and earning good grades.
This can be a complicated task of balancing homework, tests, extra-curricular school activities along with dance practice, recitals ,and possibly competitions. Consider the suggestions below in helping you find the proper balance between dance and school.
Plan Your Schedule
With the demands that both school and dance present, one important first step to help you strike the right balance is to understand the commitments you have at school and your dance studio.
Ask your teachers at school, and the studio owner where you dance, to provide you with an idea of key events and activities that are scheduled for the semester or the year. Take this information and input the key responsibilities into a written or electronic planner or calendar.
This simple process will allow you to review your calendar a week or two ahead of time and make smart decisions on how to spend your time and not be forced into last minute decisions or missing important practices or school commitments.
Put School Commitments Ahead of Dance
Some days it may seem to you that you would rather attend dance class than finish homework or a reading assignment. Look for ways with your parents on compromises that allow you to participate in dance while at the same time finishing school work.
Remember, succeeding in the classroom for most, if not all children, will have a greater positive impact on their life than missing a dance class or practice. A good dance studio owner will want their students to enjoy the whole academic experience and can appreciate the need of a dancer to put school work ahead of dance at certain times.
Make Smart Use of Your Time and Be Organized
The first point made above was about planning your schedule. As important as that is, it is equally important to be organized. You must use your schedule effectively to make sure you are doing the right things at the right time. Otherwise procrastination on some things might have your world come crashing in on you.
Have a plan, work your plan, and keep in control of your schedule. If you make a sincere effort doing this, you might find you have enough time to excel at school activities and have time for ALL your dance commitments.
Considering Home Schooling
A growing number of children in the United States are participating in programs involving home schooling. If a dancer is seriously looking to make dance their lifelong pursuit, this can be a valid approach to balance school work and dance activities. It may make sense for a dancer and parents to discuss whether or not it would be practical to look at this educational approach.
This is a very important decision, so both the dancer and the parents should think through this approach very carefully. It certainly isn’t the right approach for all dancers and their families.
In Summary
You can balance your commitments to school and dance, and make it work for you, to keep your grades strong while still enjoying your passion for dance. It takes some planning, organization skills, and occasionally some hard decisions on what takes priority.
Learning to balance school and dance is a skill set that will serve you well as you grow older.
