One wants to try a different studio and one wants to stay where we are. I know it would logistically be a challenge but I’m more concerned about the social and emotional part of it. Anybody live this life?
Do your studios encourage support at competitions across different ages and numbers? If yes, do you feel that people generally follow this. If no, do you ever have experiences where you feel there isn’t very much support for certain dancers or groups? How important is this for you?
My daughter has been at her studio for many years. I don’t think they encourage support very much at all. However, it typically works out that her teammates are there for each other. We had a really rough experience last weekend where her solos were in a different block from the rest of her teammates and friends from other groups. Her closest friends and a few other people from the team left to go do something for the afternoon. One teammate was there for her solos. My daughter showed up early the day before and went in early that day to support the other dancers. Obviously she was heartbroken, and I think it affected her performance because of course she looked at social media and saw that they were together. We have other reasons we’re considering leaving, but this is a big one for her. Whether we stay or go, I’m considering bringing up the lack of encouragement from the studio for dancers to support each other. Am I overreacting about this? Is this not as a typical as I thought? I appreciate everybody’s perspective.