Should I wait to finish school?

Question:I am a fresman at Ohio University and I am going for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreogrpahy. I just turned 19 recently and I want to pursue a career as a dancer. Bloc Talent Agency, located in Los Angeles, would be my best bet at getting represented. I am going to send in a headshot and resume soon and I'm hoping I will get a callback for the auditions in April. I can't decide if I should finish school before moving or if I should transfer to UCLA or something. HELP!?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am a fresman at Ohio University and I am going for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreogrpahy. I just turned 19 recently and I want to pursue a career as a dancer. Bloc Talent Agency, located in Los Angeles, would be my best bet at getting represented. I am going to send in a headshot and resume soon and I'm hoping I will get a callback for the auditions in April. I can't decide if I should finish school before moving or if I should transfer to UCLA or something. HELP!?

Only you can answer this question; but there are definite pros and cons.

Pro Leaving School - A dancer's career is generally pretty short. If you have the training and can get represented, this might be your time to do so. You can always go back to school (as long as you don't pick up a family along the way - and as long as you have the money - and even then you might be able to do it).

Pro Staying In School - You might be able to strengthen your technique, your business skills, and just general maturity. You might have more opportunities and be able to network with your teachers. Does UCLA have a better dance program? Maybe that might be the best of both worlds - you could go to school and also be able to go on auditions and dance. You might even be able to take a leave of absence from school for a while if you have a longer job (like a world tour or something) and come back to finish school - so you might be able to do both. If you move to california, other opportunities might open up for you (maybe with motion capture in the motion picture industry for example) that might not be available in ohio. But ... you'd also have more competition.

Transfer or finish, you need a fall back

Stay in school. If you relocate for a talent agency and they screw you over, you're left in a new place with no school and no job to fall back on. Your school should come first, in my opinion--the opportunities will come if you dedicate yourself to your craft.