Pro,but too late?

[Guest PrimaMe]

I love dancing and I want to try ballet,but i am 13 and I get really exited and commited when I like something ,and i luv watching ballet.If I really luv ballet do you think I could be a ballerina?Like pro dancing?I am kinda flexible because I do cheerleading,and I really will work hard,I am just worried that if I really like ballet that I might have no chance.Any tips for being more flexible and for my first class?

 

I really just want tips for flexibility and your opinions on if it is too late,because if someone says it is too late I will still dance.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello PrimaMe, and welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers

 

I'm really sorry, but there is no way that anyone here can tell you if it is too late to be a professional or not. That depends so entirely on things we cannot see, like your physical facility for ballet, which goes way beyond flexibility, and then other things like your musicality, expression, and very importantly, the training. Even with a great deal of talent and physical facility, you still need great training and a LOT of training, on a very intensive level. However, there is no way to know without trying, so GO FOR IT and see where you are after a a few years. You are young enough to try, and in the meantime you will get a lot of benefit from the training as well as a lot of enjoyment!

[lildancingchick722]

I started dancing when I was 13! I am now 16 and well on my way to becoming a pro. ballet dancer. I have caught up in a very well know school. It take's a lot of extremely hard work and 200% in every single class that you take. Like Ms. Leigh said you need to start at a school with great training. I was very lucky to have an amazing school close to where I live and to be able to go there right from the start. Now I am not saying that I WILL become a dancer, but I have caught up enough in these years that it is possible for me to get into a company at some point (at least this is what I have been told) I have been able to get into some big name SI. I was also blessed with good physical facility and musicality.

I was also a cheerleader for a year before I started ballet, but I was not very flexible. I had to stretch every single day for hours to get my flexibility. So just try out a class, see if its something you really love and get excited about. There are people out there who have started later and have been accepted into company's. I have seen it with my own eyes with the company attached to my school. Good luck!

[duhitsnicolette]

GO FOR IT

[dance91]

I am 14 years old but I am worried about making it in the dance world. I have been training serioulsly since I was about 8. I don't have a perfect body or perfect feet but I work really hard!! I also have a shallow demi plie. My dream is to be a dancer but is there any hope for me?

[Victoria Leigh]

Dance91, I really don't think that we can answer that question without seeing you. Students who work very hard and vey intelligently, IF they are receiving really good training, can often make a lot more progress than one might expect. However, the training is critical, and we can't see or know what you are receiving, nor how much ability you have. It's really important to be able to talk to your teachers about that.

[Guest PrimaMe]

Thanks lildancingchick722,duhitsnicolette,and Victoria Leigh,I am going to sighn up for the next session in April,I just need to work hard and GO FOR IT. Victoria Leigh,you are very helpfull here ,are you a ballet teacher?

Edited March 16, 2006 by PrimaMe

[Victoria Leigh]

Yes, PrimaMe. I am an Administrator of Ballet Talk for Dancers, and a teacher for the upper division at the Washington Ballet.

[joyofaleap]

phewwww! Thanks for answering that!

[dance91]

Thank you Ms. Leigh!