January 19, 1970
The N. G. Essay
Page 2
OUR YEARS of CO
RINA
--from Dance Magazine, an article by
Doris Hering
Should a ballet dancer who de
sires a professional career have a
college education? This question is
frequently argued by dancers, dance
teachers, and dance educators across
the country. By a professional career
these individuals are speaking of a
four-year liberal arts course leading
towards an academic degree.
A college education is practical
for most individuals. However,- for
dancers whishing to join a profession
al ballet company, a college education
is infeasible. The primary reason is
time. A dancer must dance when his
body is capable of meeting the physi
cal demands of his profession. The
period of agility and strength in a
dancer comes when he is young--be-
tween the ages of 16 and 35. Profess
ional ballet companies will not usu
ally accept dancers for the corps de
ballet who have passed the age of 26.
Secondly a dancer must be totally in-
Th^ Cnm&, jTHSf .
volved with the preparation for his
career. This young dancer must study
his art daily, and he must give his
work all the energy he has available.
Academic studies pull precious -time
and strength from potential profess
ionals. In this manner four years
of college is an impossibility for
dancers who desire to be prefessionaIs^
Several colleges throughout the
United States offer a four-year de
gree course in dance. Many of the
colleges are associated with region
al ballet companies. Often, the re
gional ballet companies accept these
college dancers for positions in the
companies, but this is not a profess
ional career. These same colleges
promote their degree programs for
dance by saying that the ballet dan
cers of tomorrow will need a good
solid college education. The prob
lem is that if a potential profess
ional dancer stops long enough to
receive a college education, then he
may never become a dancer of tomorrow.
Again, age is the factor involved.
Colleges also ask the following
The date was December 29, 1969.
The place was a cold and windy New
York City. To be exact, it was Times
Square, directly in front of the
George M. Gohan statue. The hustle
and bustle of this famous square
went on as usual that day. People
came, and people went. The lights
flashed, and the doors to the world's
most famous theatres opened again
and again to the throngs of people
who waited outside. Billboards with
titles like: MAME, HAIR, HELLO DOLLY,
THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, FRONT PAGE,
FORTUNE AND MENS EYES, and many more
lined the streets as far as the eye
could see.
Suddenly, from the corner of
that same eye, one could detect a
distinct movement. Yes, definitely
a movement...a group of people
sifting from the crowds. They
seemed to be collecting beneath the
famous statue of George M. Were
they famous people. In their own
respects: very. One day their
names, more than likely, will adorn
the same billboards they eyed with
awe.
They were students, all of them,
from the North Carolina School of
the Arts. There must have been’ at
least 25 or 30. Dancers, actors,
and musicians alike converged for a
meeting that, perhaps, will be
famous one day. The day they all
met, for the first time, together
in New York.
There were faces in the crowd of
students who had graduated from school
already, and were working in New
York, beginning to make their respec
tive marks in the city's theatre
world.
There was much laughter, wise
cracking, and a few shivers, but
beneath it all was a strange and
silent feeling of BEGINNING, of
future expectations or someday
dreams that lie just around the
corner.
One student said: "I came to
see if I needed New York. Now I
know it's the other way around.
New York needs all of the talent we've
got at the school and more."
Another student remarked: "I
wish the school could afford to
bring people up here to just show
them around. Directions are some
times confusing, and if you don't
know the city, it can be terrifying.
They are training us to face the
theatre world just fine. But
you won't even see the first theatre
when you find out you're lost on
the subways."
Still another student, on New
Year's Eve, in Times Square said:
"This is the end of a decade. Now
we're in the 70's. Do you realize
that if most of us are going to
"make it" it will be during this
decade. We're going to bust 1970
wide open, you know that?"
"We're saying a lot of big
things," another person remarked,
"And they might sound silly to
other people. But, hell, who
knows? John Barrymiore and Ethel
could have said the very same thing
at one time, standing right here.
"'John?'
"Yes, Ethel?'
"See that place, there?'
"Yes.'
"'Well, just you wait. There'll
be a theatre neamed after us right
there one day.'
"'Yeah, well, come on. It's
getting cold out here.'"
question. What are the pro
fessional dancers prepared to do
when their performing careers are
ended? By the time a dancer reaches
professional status, his love for his
art is firmly established. Therefore,
when professional dancers no longer
dance, they usually begin to teach
dancing. After so many years in his
beloved art, why would any profession
al dancer suddenly want to concen
trate on a new field?
Four years is too much time for
an aspiring young dancer to devote to
securing a college education. A dan
cer must dance when he is young; he
has no choice. If he desires a college
education when his professional
career ends, he is still able to
receive it. Years of strenuous work go
into the making of a professional dan
cer. Once the dancer is a professional,
he greatly loves and respects his
art. Therefore when his performing
years are ended, he will begin to
teach his profession to new, young
dancers. He has no need for another
occupation. For all these reasons, it
can easily be seen that a college
education is infeasible for a pro
fessional dancer.
neuu commiTTCG
by PlTZ:
A sub-committee appointed by the
Chairman of the All School Council,
Mr. Lindgren, met Mon. Jan 12th, to
discuss the Council's purposes and
limitations and to determine the
durations of terms for Council
members and the frequency of meet
ings.
It was emphasized that the
Council will be an advisory body in
teracting among all sections of the
school - artistic, academic and ad
ministrative but will not itself
operate in an administrative capacity.
When students require action on a
particular problem, their
S.G.A. representatives will present
the grievance to the Council for
discussion. The faculty, admini
stration and parents will also
work through their representatives.
In other words, if you want to
get something done you have to go
through the proper channels in the
proper order.
All S.G.A. officers will auto
matically serve on the Council for
one year from Sept. to Sept. The
chairman will be elected by the
entire Council to serve on year.
The faculty and administrative
representatives will also serve one
year from Feb. to Feb, Two parents
will be appointed to serve one year
with three other pairs of parents to
serve three months each. The over
lapping of terms is to ensure
continuity in the Council as new
members enter.
The Council will meet on a
monthly basis with unscheduled meet
ings called if the need should appear.