Ballet for Beginning Teenagers

[Guest BlisteredGrace]

Hey guys. I am 15 years old and i only just started ballet class! I am having trouble adapting but i love ballet so much!!! What age were you when you started?

Thanks

Anna

[Guest Terin]

I was 11 when I started, which is relatively late ( alot of the people at my school have been taking since they were three). I think you'll catch on fairly fast. They might start you off in a class of kids about half your height but you get moved up a lot faster also. The one thing that I think can be a problem is flexibility. Since people get less flexible as they get older, I think it makes a big difference to have been stretching since you were young, because that way your body is already used to it as you get older and less flexible. But that might just be me.

The best advice I can give you is that, yes, it is hard, and starting late can be a disadvantage, but you can make up for it with a lot of hard work! Good luck!

[Guest DancingBoi]

Hey! I'm older than 16 but I decided to post here since I am also new to ballet. I have only been to a few classes so far but I can already see improvement. Just stick with it and try to learn as much as possible. It's also really good when you get a lot of corrections. Some people don't like corrections but when you're new you really need them otherwise you wouldn't know what you are doing wrong. But hopefully you are in an environment where the teacher and other students are very encouraging and supportive of you. Don't be embarrassed when you bump into someone or fall, both I've already done! I will you the best of luck!

[Mel Johnson]

Hey, I used to run into DOORS! Actually, once, I went through a closed door! My teacher was surprisingly happy about it. She said a new door was the price of doing business. A new male student putting enough oomph into a step to bust a door was sufficient to show how committed and into it I was, spatial awareness could come later! Glad it was a hollow door!

[Guest a bee blu 426]

i was three when i started, but i find that starting early doesnt make a difference. its an advantage to be flexible, like Terin said, but hey.

 

the best dancer i know started when she was nine. some dancers who were in my very first class are now some of the worst dancers in the school.

so, it really doesnt matter.

[Guest ballet princess]

I started with creative movement when I was 3, and that led into pre ballet and then ballet. But I'm still not a good a dancer as I wish I could be

[Poppiedancer]

I started when I was 13, I'm now 15 and my new teacher just told me I'll be on pointe by Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that was after coming to ballet twice then four times plus a week!!!!! Yay! And also, one of my teachers told me I'd never go any where with ballet. So starting late sometimes doesnt matter. Maybe it just makes you more determined to get it right...

[Mel Johnson]

I don't know quite what to make of this post, poppie. Did the teacher who told you that you wouldn't go far say so recently or awhile ago? This development now gets you closer to "on track".

[Poppiedancer]

I learnt with a different teacher to the one I have now for 2 1/2 years. She told me pointe was out of the question as I was 13/14/15. The teacher, who I am presently learning with, said I'm almost almost almost strong enough to start pointe. I'm kind of glad to prove to my old teacher that its not impossible. Does that help?

[Mel Johnson]

Ah, yes!!! I know the feeling well. There is no revenge sweeter than success.

[Guest magickaldancer]

I did ballet when i was about 3, stopped when i was 7 cos i got bored. And now i'm 14 and i started again 2 terms ago. Catching up quickly tho! You have to work really hard!

 

Coral

[Guest tdancer]

i don't really think that there is a big problem with starting late. i started dancing when i was 6, but i didn't see any real improvement untill i was about 14. and this past summer when a was at a summer program my roommate (who was 15 like me) was just as good as i was and i was surprised to find out that he had only been dancing for two years. so i think it all depends on how hard you work for it and if you love dance no age is two late to start.

[Guest Terin]

Last saturday during class, our teacher gave us this long talk about how it is the length of time you've been taking ballet, but the quality of your effort and dedication that matters. (Of course she was saying it because she felt like we weren't trying hard enough, which is always disappointing.) But it also made me feel kind of happy. It's just a message to all of us late beginners out there that we can be just as good as any one else.

[Guest thumpinhippo]

I'd have to agree with tdancer - Although I've been doing it for years, it was only when I was 11 that I actually realised that I was doing Ballet. That's probably partly to do with the fact that it wasn't my choice to start with (although I never objected) or maybe that I was just having so much fun in class that it didn't hit me until then. I know it sounds weird but that's how it happened and also when I started actually working and consciously trying to improve.

[Guest jane]

I started a year ago this month. I feel amazed that i could have lived without ballet before that! I'm in love with it . I have a more realistic aproach to it than I did a few months ago. But I also take great pleasure in it. And I'm not at all out of depth in my class, although i was completely when I first started. It feels very satisfying that I have improved so much this year, and because I have felt the rewards i know i will never stop working at it . The girls in my class arent lazy, but they just dont seem to like ballet all that much. Its bizarre. . Sorry, I'm rambling on, but basicly what I'm saying is that with concentration and love you can make lots of progress. And dont worry about feeling like the worst in the class, because that can be changed. Good luck with your ballet!