FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENTS� DROPPING OUT OF A DANCE CONSERVATORY

Abstract

Ana García-Dantas y José Carlos Caracuel

This research studies the main factors which influence the retirement in the Professional Dance Conservatory of Seville. 119 students (males and females) between the ages of 12 and 27 responded to a questionnaire designed ad hoc. Participants belonged to the first, second and third year. Perceived competence was the main reason for participants dropping out, together with the basic and daily motivation and teacher support. All of them showed a negative and significant relation with the retirement probability (p<.01). Equally, it illustrates gender and course differences regarding the pressure suffered by dancers showing that the higher the year they are in, the higher the level of pressure they suffer. Moreover, females show a considerably greater level of pressure -general stress and particularly, lack of time for studying- than males. On the other hand, a high percentage of people have thought about retirement and currently, more than 12 per cent wants to do it. That justifies a future line of studies about the reasons which lead dancers to take this decision with the aim of contributing to decreasing those levels and about ways to improve the quality of life of those who continue learning in the Conservatory.