Height ranges for ballet dancers

[mylildancer]

In Gretchen Ward Warren's book "Classical Ballet Technique" it states that the ideal classical ballet height for females is 5'2" - 5'8". Can anyone venture to guess why it has changed? It definitely has become a little taller than that.

[lillianna]

I dont' think that it is taller than 5'8" . As a matter of fact, a woman of 5'8" would have a very difficult time finding a job dancing in this country. There are a few companies that accept taller dancers, but being over 5'5" can make it tougher. The problem is whether the girl will be too tall for the guys when she is on pointe. Smaller companies often only have smaller guys so cannot accommodate taller women. My 3 daughters are on the taller side. My oldest is about 5'8" and had a difficult time finding a company. It was easier for my middle daughter who is about 5'5 1/2" but even she found the "you're so tall" comments. Now my youngest at almost 5'7" is running into the same issue. When she has gone to take some company class auditions she realized that she was the tallest girl in the room. She is also hearing that she may be too tall for the company at her home school. There are companies that will accept taller dancers, don't misunderstand, but being over 5'6" does limit the possibilities. I think the absolute ideal height would be between 5'3" and 5'5" .. But, of course, there is nothing our dancers can do to affect their heights. So they just must make wise choices of companies to expend their energy and resources to attend auditions.

[Guest BalletAuthor]

In re YYT, she must be 5' 8" or 5' 9" and is extremely thin so she appears even taller. Basically, in real life her feet appear proportional although it is hard to tell from some of the photos!

 

She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! When moving and when not!

[mylildancer]

We are in total agreement with you. After watching Othello on PBS, YYT became my dd's newest favorite dancer. Absolutely mesmerizing! Now she wants the video to add to her library.

 

Oops. Sorry.

[Redstorm]

We have season tickets to SF Ballet and saw YYT for the first time 2 years ago. From that moment on, DD has been her biggest fan.

Recently at an audition in SF, YYT came through the lobby after class. She stopped and chatted with a couple of the girls. I thought my daughter was going to fall over. I found it so amusing that most girls her age would be acting this way over someone like Brittney Spears or Jessica Simpson, but not my daughter....YYT was it for her! She was so excited she couldn't even talk! Then, she got to see Murial Maffre practicing. It was quite a day for her.

Isn't it nice to have such wonderful role models for our children.

Oh, and you are correct Ballet Author, YYT is about 5'8" and Ms. Maffre is closer to 6'.

[Guest BalletAuthor]

You're so right, Redstorm!

 

The ever exquisite Ms. Maffre is around 6' on flat (ds - just a touch < 6' 4" wasn't as tall as she until he was almost 15, and he was nearly 6' at 14). He used to take the open class with her at Lines/SF Dance Center when the school was on break so he often stood next to her. I believe she usually lists her height as 5' 9" , Both she and YYT are BEAUTIFUL dancers!

 

P.S. I'm jealous about the season tickets to SFB. For many years I attended at LEAST once a week and now that I am in LA, I sorely miss seeing them!