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The Harsh Reality

How to Survive the Harsh Reality of Grading in BalletAdvice from a graduating dance majorto an incoming freshmanby Janine MontagWhite knuckles grip the wooden barre, beads of sweat line the curves of your cheeks.You stare anxiously at your reflection hoping not to mess upthe combination. You take a quick nervous glance at the professors, hoping for a second that they might smile back. Theystare back at you with blank faces. Winter break anxiously awaits, and thoughts of this past quarter rush through your head—I hope I was good enough. College is known to be a time of growth, experimentation, and self-awareness. You step into a new environment and constantly meet new people. Your mind is like a sponge, soaking in every opportunity. You’re a student, same as everyone else, but there is one difference that separates you from the rest: You are a Dance Major. You’ve grown up learning time management because of your busy rehearsal schedule, teamwork due to your dance collaborations, and accepting criticism from the countless times your teachers have told you to “hold your core!” Like many of your fellow dance majorsyou’ve probably chosen to come to this university because you know you will graduate with a well-rounded education both academically and in the performing arts. Something that you may not know yet, however, is how much a grade is going to affect the very thing you love the most: dancing.My universityprogram gears students to become professional dancers, which is great, butstudents routinely believe thatyou have to be good at ballet to succeed as a dancer. Thedepartment systematically favors ballet by having five levelsof ballet, withaminimum three-day-a-week requirement—more resources than in any other form. Four out of the seven full-time faculty for technique classes are ballet instructors. For those dancers, like myself, who know they will not become professional ballerinas, this can be very difficult.Before becoming a dance major at university,you probably have never received a letter grade for dancing, and you assumed that if you did, itwouldn’tbe hard to get an A. You also know that after these four years you probably won’t ever be graded in dance again. Still, these years are crucial,and although artistry is very important, grades can be the defining factor in higher education andlead topaying positionsafterward