qtpiedanzer01 Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 My life dream is to become a proffessional dancer but i don't know if it will happen. I have low arches and I'm afraid I will not be accepted to companies even if i can do everything the people with high arches can. I have a lot of passion and expression and am willing to work as hard as it takes. But is my dream reality or is it fantasy? :confused: Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Hi, qtpd01, and welcome to the Young Dancers' Forums here at Ballet Talk on Ballet Alert! Online! It's not possible for anyone to say if you can make it as a professional just from a post, and a statement that you have low arches. You have low arches in comparison to whom? Paloma Herrera? So does everybody else. As long as it doesn't look like you're dancing on a couple of ice-cream cones, you should be all right. Quote Link to comment
Guest ballet princess Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 High arches dont make a dancer, so i say you still have a chance. Maybe you dont have high arches, but you have excellent stage presence and the dancer with high arches has poor stage presence. What I mean is no dancer is perfect, so Go for it! Quote Link to comment
Guest dancergal Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 I have bad arches compared to everyone else in my class. I won't deny it. But as my teacher has told me, "There are things that make a dancer besides feet. There are things like presence, expression, intelligence, all that. If you really want to dance and make it to a professional company level, don't let your feet stop you. Just keep working hard and give 110%." Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted June 19, 2003 Administrators Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 Okay, I'm going to insert a little bit of realism here. Can one make it into a company without "wonderful" feet? Yes. However, there is a large difference between wonderful, okay, and not acceptable. There are some feet that are just not acceptable for ballet. That said, there is no way we can tell that on this forum. Therefore, we cannot tell you whether you can make it or not, but not only because of the height of the instep. There are factors such as overall proportion and size, rotation, flexibility, strength, musicality, and of course artistry. And then there is the training. The quality and intensity of the training. Add all of these things together, and it's possible to come up with a professional dancer who does not have absolutely EVERYTHING, however, it is rare to find one who does not have ALMOST EVERYTHING. Therefore, telling someone they can or cannot make it as a professional is useless here. Encouraging one to continue dance because they love it and because they want to become as good as they can be is fine. Encouraging them into the professional realm needs to be done by a highly qualified teacher in a professional program. I think it is wonderful that the young dancers here are supportive of each other, and I am not discouraging that. However, you are all 13 and up, and at some point realism has to set in. Maybe not at 13 or 14, but by 15-16 it should be obvious whether one has the talent and ability or not. And if not, then other goals need to be included in one's priorities, such as education. I'm really not trying to discourage anyone, but I do feel that those with good training will generally have a sense of where they are by the time they reach the teen years. If they do not, then I might question their training. There are no guarantees for anyone, and even with the most talented students we cannot tell them they WILL have a career. But encouraging those who have the ability to go for that career, if that is their top priority, is fine. Encouraging those who have a great deal but not all is also probably fine. But, encouraging those who do not have a prayer is cruel and wrong. That said, there is no way that we can do ANY of that here, since we have not seen you! Quote Link to comment
Guest Firebird3000 Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 Ms Leigh, What do you mean by " dancing on ice ceam cones". You've said this before but I don't understand that expresion? Alexandra Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 Where did Ms. Leigh say that??? Now, me, I say that. ;) It refers to a foot shape that's got no arch and a low instep when it's pointed; it's massively strong, but it just doesn't look good, even when everything else is fine. They really do remind me of ice-cream cones when the dancers they're attached to are standing on pointe. In previous generations, people could get by with them, but I don't see them in the current crop of professionals. They are enough to eliminate a dancer from consideration in a professional ballet job audition. Quote Link to comment
Guest Firebird3000 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 I'm so SO sorry Major Mel! I replied to this post late at night after cramming for one of my many finals at school!! I know the subject of feet has been stressed before but wouldn't a company want a strong dancer who can do stuff on pointe rather than a lovely foot thats very weak and can't balance? Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted June 25, 2003 Administrators Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 No, they want a lovely foot that is also strong and can do things Quote Link to comment
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