Don't feel bad about not becoming a professional dancer. You can join the millions of perfectly exceptional dancers who never made it either as professionals. It sounds like the pressure of becoming a professional and the realization that the odds are stacked so high against your favor is probably one of the major reasons you are so burned out...most of your energy is going to dealing with this stress as opposed to your dance.

To be a professional, one must pretty much begin dancing as a toddler (you can already check this one off since you started at age three), and continue dancing throughout years of training, dance schools and vigorous RAD exams. Her (or his) body must be willing to cooperate with the brutal demands placed upon it, and several classes must be taken EVERY day. Several thousands of dollars must be shelled out for private lessons and material necessities, and the opportunities must also be available in the area. And then don't get me started on the competition! And that's all just to earn a fighting shot at a professional career; even then the odds are against everyone.

I'm not saying that you should give up on being a dancer, just that maybe your goals might be a little too high. You might be fighting a battle that most dancers end up losing. And if your talent through RAD exams hasn't been recognized be now, I'm sad to say that it might be a little too late for you to be a professional. But most dancers aren't professionals anyways and they still happily bloom in the numeruous dance opportunities the world has to offer. Pursuing that in itself doesn't sound like a waste of your parents money or time, does it?

My suggestion to you is to try and pinpoint where your dread is coming from. You say you love to dance so the dancing itself is probably not the issue. So what else could it be? Are you stiving to meet your own expectations or could you possibly be trying to meet your parents' expectations? Is the skill level of your classes too high or too low compared to your own skill level? Are you having problems with your teachers or some of the other dancers? Are your teachers really enthusiastic during class or are they boring and lukewarm? You did mention a little unhappiness concerning a lack of serious training in your earlier classes, as well as your current classes' more modern-based structure and limited performance opportunities.