All for Dance: Selling the House to Pay for Ballet School
Sep 10th, 2008 | By Blog Editor | Category: Newest Posts, Teaching, Education & CareersYour parents may have sacrificed lots of time for your love of dance: they drove you to lessons and attended performances. And you may also owe them for several years’ worth of tights, tutus, leotards, pointe shoes, and lessons.
This week, Dominic, of Penygroes, South Wales, UK, earned a place in the Elmhurst School for Dance, England’s oldest dance school. Dominic was one of only ten boys selected for this year’s enrollment. Recognizing the importance of this opportunity, Dominic’s parents sold their family home to pay their son’s tuition.
Yesterday, UK newspapers reported that the Handford family had moved in with Mrs. Handford’s mother after selling their four-bedroom house. In support of Dominic’s dream to dance, Mr. and Mrs. Handford and their other three children–13-year-old Yasmin, six-year-old Charles, and 4-year-old Connor–will now share a two-bedroom home with grandma.
Dance often requires sacrifice, and Elmhurst’s £22,000 annual fees cause many families to choose between their accustomed luxuries and their children’s dreams. The Handford’s chose the dream.
“When we were told he has something special, and we realised it’s what he lives for, there really was no option,” Mrs. Handford told the Birmingham Post.
Of course, Dominic–who began ballet lessons at age six after watching the cartoon Angelina Ballerina–is quite sure that his parents did the right thing. He told the Times Online, “My parents are the best in the world.”
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I can respect sacrifice for pursuit of a dream. And I can see selling the house to move closer to the school or to an area where a student has more or better opportunities. Selling the home just to pay tuition, however, puts a lot of pressure on this young man to succeed and make a career of dance. If along the way his dream changes or he decides that maybe he is not suited for this life, will he feel pressure to stick with it because of his parents’ sacrifice? A lot of child athletes are put in this position, I guess, but I wonder if it is fair to them. I’m sure the parents have put a lot of thought into what must have been a tough decision and I don’t fault them. It is a very loving thing they have done.
It brought up a few questions for me though. Where are the scholarships or grants for kids like this? Is study of this caliber only for the financially wealthy and, if so, is there any wonder why ballet (and sometimes dance in general) is considered an elitist art form? Are there schools where a top education in dance is possible without the extreme cost of tuition?
@ danceadvantage:
I think you’re right to mention the association between ballet school tuition and the view of ballet as an elitist activity. I’m sure that high tuition rates and low financial aid forces a number of parents (who don’t want to/can’t make the sacrifice that the Handfords made) to discourage their children from seriously studying dance.
I’m not sure how much government aid is available to new students entering a ballet school. It seems that aid may be more available to students already enrolled, who have already demonstrated their merit. I’m not sure….maybe another reader help answer this question?
Thanks for the comment!