Dear Katie: Help! I Don’t Know How to Choose a Dance Studio!
In our Dear Katie series, Miami City Ballet soloist Kathryn Morgan answers your pressing dance questions. Have something you want to ask Katie? Email
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Dear Katie,
I want to change dance studios, but I’m not sure if I should look for one that has a strong pre-professional program or one that has a student company I could dance with. I know rock-solid training is important, but so is performance experience, right? Help!
Rebecca
Dear Rebecca,
There’s no doubt that performance experience is wonderful. But in your case, I’d suggest choosing the strong pre-professional program. If you want to have a career, you need to focus on training first and foremost. You must build a technical foundation to support your performances.
I actually know this from personal experience. When I was younger, I had an amazing time dancing with a youth company. But I realized that I wasn’t getting solid training. There weren’t enough classes; often, we’d just take barre and rehearse for our next show. That’s why I went to the School of American Ballet. Their intense focus on training got me to where I needed to be technically. Do the work now, and it’ll pay off later!
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