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At what age can you still become a dancer for the Royal Ballet?


JellyfishXxx

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Hello Jellyfish and welcome to the Forum.

 

As an adult beginner it is extremely unlikely that you would be accepted into the Royal Ballet.  

 

There are lots of threads on the Forum about Adult Ballet.  I have added a tag so that you can search.

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I started at 9 and was too old really! ? Are you set on ballet as a career? I'd always advise people to have more strings to their bow. I eventually danced contemporary for a good 10 years. It's a little more forgiving on the feet! Worth thinking about, can be just as elegant and beautiful as ballet. ??? xx

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Jellyfish, sadly, and bluntly, there is no chance that you would ever become a dancer with the Royal Ballet, starting at 23. Ballet training to get you to that elite level (one of THE best companies in the world) needs to begin at age 8 or 9, but must be combined with the right kind of physical facility, and the ability of an performing artist to communicate.

 

There are many ways you can dance as an adult beginner, however. There is lots of discussion of these opportunities on this forum - there are open classes in dance studios across the country (I'm assuming you're in the UK), structured syllabus classes for adult beginners in various locations (RAD and Morley College are two that spring to mind), and then when you have a bit of learning under your belt (or in your feet!) you can participate in various amateur dance companies - again, a search of this forum will give you some ideas.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of adult ballet students!

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What a question. Not only has it distracted me from slavish viewing of Sky rolling news today but now I've also lost track of my prune count.

 

If I got to six then this is the magic number.

If it was only five then my healthy snacking will not be efficacious.

If it was seven then disaster could ensue.

 

Should I play it safe or risk it? What a conundrum. A pertinent one though I'm sure you'll agree.

 

Prune dilemma aside, I cannot wait to read more of the advice/replies to this thread.

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7 minutes ago, Petalviolet said:

What a question. Not only has it distracted me from slavish viewing of Sky rolling news today but now I've also lost track of my prune count.

 

If I got to six then this is the magic number.

If it was only five then my healthy snacking will not be efficacious.

If it was seven then disaster could ensue.

 

Should I play it safe or risk it? What a conundrum. A pertinent one though I'm sure you'll agree.

 

Prune dilemma aside, I cannot wait to read more of the advice/replies to this thread.

 

Best answer ever???

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8 minutes ago, Petalviolet said:

I need a prune re-count. Both my afternoon and that of the Borough of Kensington are balanced on the edge of a knife.

I hope you will consider standing in the next election (the prune party naturally). we all need something to put a smile on our face.

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27 minutes ago, Petalviolet said:

What a question. Not only has it distracted me from slavish viewing of Sky rolling news today but now I've also lost track of my prune count.

 

If I got to six then this is the magic number.

If it was only five then my healthy snacking will not be efficacious.

If it was seven then disaster could ensue.

 

Should I play it safe or risk it? What a conundrum. A pertinent one though I'm sure you'll agree.

 

Prune dilemma aside, I cannot wait to read more of the advice/replies to this thread.


do  you  feel  lucky  Petal ? 

 

well do you ?

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Taking the thread back to the original question,  it is extremely  unlikely that someone starting at 23 is going to have a  professional career as a performer in classical ballet.  The boat has been missed , the debate  is  how far and that assumes  that the  individual has the underpinning  characteristics and potential  io nthe first place. 

As we saw i nthe MCC/ boys thread  there is a question  aobut  is ' the system'  and the orthodoxy   so focused on the   traditional route to  professional performing  , that the wider  world of Dance is missing out ;   if you look at the theatrical world  there are innumerable amateur companies  doing  MT , G+S  ( as the G+S snobs will insist it;s 'light opera' ), 'proper' Opera  and Panto  ...  most decent  sized town have at least one  or two of such companies ... 

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3 hours ago, JellyfishXxx said:

So, I am 23 and will only be starting. When I complete my training I will be at least 30. So until when can one join the Royal Ballet and also up to which age can one stay in the Royal Ballet? There must be a way to enter later?

Welcome to the forum JellyfishXxx. Whilst the answer to your question is very obvious to those of us who have been around ballet for a good while, as parents, teachers, dancers or just fans, I appreciate that for someone who has just become interested in this lovely art form, things might not be so clear.

Ballet does unfortunately tend to require fairly intensive training from a young age in order to develop the skills needed to dance at a professional level. Most dancers in top companies will have danced from early childhood and been in full time training since somewhere between 11, and at the latest really, 16. There are occasional people who didn't start until their teens and go on to have successful professional careers, but this is not very common, and adult starters dancing professionally is pretty much unheard of in afraid. You need to consider that the career of a professional dancer is quite short - most will  retire from top level performing by the time they are in their 30s - so starting from scratch at 23 just wouldn't work.

That said, there is a thriving adult amateur ballet scene in the UK. Depending on where you live you will find a range of adult classes and there are also performance opportunities with various amateur companies. You will find lots of information and I'm sure a warm welcome on the adult ballet threads on this forum.

We often need to remind dancing children that there is more than one way to be successful and enjoy dancing. Whilst a contract with a top company like the RBS is the dream of many, it is achieved by very, very few. However, in my opinion at least, anyone who is dancing and bringing pleasure to themselves and others is a success. Your current dream is I'm afraid unrealistic, but look elsewhere and you will find success and enjoyment I am sure.

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1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

Jellyfish, sadly, and bluntly, there is no chance that you would ever become a dancer with the Royal Ballet, starting at 23. Ballet training to get you to that elite level (one of THE best companies in the world) needs to begin at age 8 or 9, but must be combined with the right kind of physical facility, and the ability of an performing artist to communicate.

 

There are many ways you can dance as an adult beginner, however. There is lots of discussion of these opportunities on this forum - there are open classes in dance studios across the country (I'm assuming you're in the UK), structured syllabus classes for adult beginners in various locations (RAD and Morley College are two that spring to mind), and then when you have a bit of learning under your belt (or in your feet!) you can participate in various amateur dance companies - again, a search of this forum will give you some ideas.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of adult ballet students!

Hi, thanks for the reply. So which amateur companies are these in the UK and can you actually earn a living as a performer in these? Do they take into account finished exams from a ballet school of another country, too?

I really think that it is strange and not good that a professional company would not take you on as older. There are reasons why someone with good potential may not have begun as a child.

You say it may be possible to join it as older and I am interested in the requirements?

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22 minutes ago, JellyfishXxx said:

Hi, thanks for the reply. So which amateur companies are these in the UK and can you actually earn a living as a performer in these? Do they take into account finished exams from a ballet school of another country, too?

I really think that it is strange and not good that a professional company would not take you on as older. There are reasons why someone with good potential may not have begun as a child.

You say it may be possible to join it as older and I am interested in the requirements?


I'm guessing  that  aren't a native english speaker. 

are you a beginner   or  do you  have training  from  elsehwere ?

You are not going to earn a living from amateur companies  , amateur being the key word  here , as  best it's money cost neutral and the cost is your time.

In the past i've done   amateur MT and G+S stuff  and  realistically   it  was cost neutral to slightly costing  me money  to  do so. 

 Unfortunately  the  requirements of  classical ballet  are such that unless you have the  physical potential AND it has  been identified and  trained  before the completion of puberty  you will not meet the standards required  of the professional companies , there aretiny numberso f execpetions to this , but even then  it;s  case of them starting   serious training at 16 - 18  rather than  as a child 

 

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Sir Matthew Bourne started his professional training around the age of 22.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Bourne

 

There are other forms of dance/MT where a background in ballet is useful and where an older starting age may not be insurmountable.

 

Where are you based Jellyfish?  I am guessing you are not in the UK.

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26 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

Sir Matthew Bourne started his professional training around the age of 22.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Bourne

 

There are other forms of dance/MT where a background in ballet is useful and where an older starting age may not be insurmountable.

 

Where are you based Jellyfish?  I am guessing you are not in the UK.

I am based in the UK, I was only asking.

My question is, is there any way at all to perform in ballet as an older/late-start dancer? And can you get paid for it? There must be some way.

I am not that interested in contemporary dance, at least for now.

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It is extremely unlikely that you will be able to earn a living as a professional ballet dancer when you are starting your training so late.  You would be competing with younger people who have been training for longer and from a much younger age.

 

Unless a dancer starts performing character roles and unless they are at the very top of the profession I suspect most dancers retire in their early 30s.  Obviously there are exceptions such as Alessandra Ferri who "retired" in her mid 40s and has recently come back to ballet.

 

Unless you are in the top flight of dancers, ballet is not very well paid.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

Unless you are in the top flight of dancers, ballet is not very well paid.

 

And as many parents of graduating dc know most first contracts don't pay enough to cover the most basic of living costs. 

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21 minutes ago, JellyfishXxx said:

And another thing is, up to which age do regular dancers in the Royal Ballet really dance professionally? Probably their whole lives?

 

Most corps de ballet dancers seem to have given up by the age of 30 or so.  Some Royal Ballet principals go on until their early 40s.  Character artists go on for longer, but the current Director seems to want to phase them out, I understand.

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Everyone is being very polite here and the facts have actually been perfectly well laid out.  A professional ballet career, starting at 23 is not going to be possible - as for asking about the royal ballet company, well I can't comprehend how you can think that is possible.  I really don't mean to be rude, and I apologise if this is coming across that way but please have a look at the company in class, look at the students who train there, in fact look at any of the full time students training in our top ballet schools, you will never be able to compete and 90% of them can't get a professional ballet contract. 

 

I am all for people following their dreams but reality has to be a factor.  Put your passion and energy into something realistic.  Ballet has to have been started young, bodies with masses of potential have to moulded. You are simply too late for a professional ballet career. 

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Just now, alison said:

 

Most corps de ballet dancers seem to have given up by the age of 30 or so.  Some Royal Ballet principals go on until their early 40s.  Character artists go on for longer, but the current Director seems to want to phase them out, I understand.

So what do they do once they leave? They have the ballet school behind them, not university etc.

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2 minutes ago, Harwel said:

Everyone is being very polite here and the facts have actually been perfectly well laid out.  A professional ballet career, starting at 23 is not going to be possible - as for asking about the royal ballet company, well I can't comprehend how you can think that is possible.  I really don't mean to be rude, and I apologise if this is coming across that way but please have a look at the company in class, look at the students who train there, in fact look at any of the full time students training in our top ballet schools, you will never be able to compete and 90% of them can't get a professional ballet contract. 

 

I am all for people following their dreams but reality has to be a factor.  Put your passion and energy into something realistic.  Ballet has to have been started young, bodies with masses of potential have to moulded. You are simply too late for a professional ballet career. 

So what do they do if they completed the training but do not get a contract? How can they still dance classical ballet?

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Matthew Bourne is a huge exception & he trained in contemporary/dance theatre. He formed his own company & although I'm sure is/was an excellent dancer is more known as a choreographer. 

 

I know a couple of ex professional dancers. They retired between the ages of  30-40.   In fact I'd say she 40 was unusual to still be dancing at that level. 

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9 minutes ago, Harwel said:

Everyone is being very polite here and the facts have actually been perfectly well laid out.  A professional ballet career, starting at 23 is not going to be possible - as for asking about the royal ballet company, well I can't comprehend how you can think that is possible.  I really don't mean to be rude, and I apologise if this is coming across that way but please have a look at the company in class, look at the students who train there, in fact look at any of the full time students training in our top ballet schools, you will never be able to compete and 90% of them can't get a professional ballet contract. 

 

I am all for people following their dreams but reality has to be a factor.  Put your passion and energy into something realistic.  Ballet has to have been started young, bodies with masses of potential have to moulded. You are simply too late for a professional ballet career. 

Great post. I could LIKE but I think I'm going to give it a Corbyn fist pump-high five-boob pat, if you don't mind.

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My son retired aged 23 having trained full time from 11-18 and then danced professionally.

He now teaches but ex Ballet dancers can be found in all walks of life.

 

My son has not ruled out returning to the stage but knows it is highly unlikely to be the Royal Ballet even though he is an ex pupil!

 

Many adults enjoy Ballet as an fulfilling extension of their lives, you don't have to have a contract in order to enjoy it! In fact I think that many amateur dancers get far more enjoyment than those trying to make a living.

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The 90% who can't get contracts?

 

They teach, train in other dance forms & perhaps perform in smaller dance companies, often on temporary contracts. They work in the cosmetics hall of Harrods whilst auditioning. They do cruise ship or theme park work. They move into areas such as physical fitness/training classes. 

 

Or they give up & do something else entirely. 

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Jellyfish, I think everyone is giving you sensible advice and that your aim is not realistic.

 

If you look at the biographies of dancers on the company websites (there are more ballet companies in this country than the Royal) you will see that all the dancers in those companies have had intensive training from a young age.

 

If you click on the Adult Ballet tag at the top of this thread you will find links to lots of information given by adults who enjoy and get fulfilment from ballet as adults but that is a different ball game altogether from wanting to become a professional dancer from a starting point of your 20s.

 

I do not want to seem harsh but I would say again that your aim is not realistic and if you did some searching around this site and the websites for ballet and dance companies you would perhaps realise this.

 

We are not trying to suggest that you should not take up ballet as an adult but that you should not think that you are likely to enjoy a paid career in ballet.

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Ex-dancers and dance students go onto a variety of careers. Some go to university or take open university degrees; there is no age limit for studying for a degree. Some continue to work in the field of ballet eg as coaches or ballet masters/mistresses in companies, teachers in local or vocational schools (some open their own schools) or on associate schemes or as choreographers. Others go into related fields and retrain as pilates teachers, physiotherapists or fitness instructors. There is an organisation specifically aimed at dancers who are retiring from dancing and looking to retrain. 

 

I see see that my post crossed with Picturesinthefirelight's.

Edited by aileen
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