Many individuals stress the importance of arts in education, but it is rarer for individuals to stress education in arts. Let me explain. Professional artists and dancers and musicians generally measure their experience by the companies with which they’ve performed or the galleries in which they’ve been featured. While some have graduated college, others have not even graduated high school. In the arts world, that is okay.
A recent New York Times article, though, entitled “Exchanging Slippers for Schoolbooks“, discusses how a recent trend in the ballet world has been a return to collegial education. Certain schools, such as the Columbia University School of General Studies, are targeted towards encouraging continuing education to “nontraditional” students, and dancers have been taking advantage of such programs.
They are beginning to realize that their bodies will not last forever. At twenty-four years old, many are already feeling physical strain. Dancing is not something they will not be able to do forever. However, the mind does not fade so easily.
Our new generation is stressing the focus of education and its everlasting nature, and I think this is incredibly important, both in the arts world and in every sphere of life.
Interesting. The combination of the “school of hard knocks” and a more formal education is the point at which a person is truly educated. for those who go straight through their formal education, they can come out without a real sense of the real world. for those who go straight to the real world, their experience could be improved and expanded with some “book learnin'”. Once again, balance is the crucial goal. Nice perspective, nice post.