lots of questions!

[Guest lemony]

sorry everybody, i have alot of questions i hope you can help me with!

 

1. is starting ballet at 13 too late to want a professional career in it?

 

2. how many hours of ballet class should i be doing a week if i wanted to got to pre-pro ballet school in a year?

 

3. what grade do you have to be in to audition for pre-pro ballet school?

 

4. does it matter about weight and bone-structure?

what's the maximum weight a ballerina can be?

can ballerinas be 'big-boned'?

 

thank-you for your help

 

regards

 

emsyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello emsy, and welcome to Ballet Alert! Online and the Young Dancers' forum

 

There are no absolute answers to most of your questions. There have been dancers who started late and still managed to have a professional career, however they were the exceptions, not the norm.

 

As a beginner there are usually not enough classes available in most schools to prepare you for a professional school, unless you start out in one which has a full program from beginner to the most advanced. Are you thinking of going away, like to Harid, NCSA, Walnut Hill, or a school like that? I believe they start at the Middle School or first year high school, depending on which school. Anyway, right now you need to be getting as many classes as you can get, daily if possible.

 

The question of weight and bone structure cannot be answered here. We can't see you to tell if you look right and are well proportioned or not. And we do not discuss weight issues on the board.

[Mel Johnson]

I'm not sure how things are done in England, but if you're starting at 13, you should have, to start, at least two classes a week, just to catch the basics, then as soon as you've learned that, increase the load to at least three per week. The next year can increase the number of classes and/or their length to a full hour-and-a-half, and preferably both. As progress is made, then the number of classes can increase, and you can be "up to speed" by 16, but you may lag a little in pointe. It has to be an individualized curriculum, to compensate for age, but it is doable. You must, however, have the very best teaching available in your area.