AshleighA

2 hours ago, Kate_N said:

Ashleigh, I'm a moderator on the US site (altho' I'm based in the UK): it's called Ballet Talk for Dancers. There's a large group of very knowledgeable & friendly adult ballet student posters there (some of whom post here as well). There's also very good information about college study of dance in the US. It's mostly aimed at those students who've studied ballet throughout their teens, and are looking for a good college degree in Ballet or dance more generally. I'd recommend spending some time browsing there - but a warning: it's addictive!  

 

The difference between a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the US (not the UK) is generally (but can be slightly different in each university), that a BA is a standard liberal arts degree over 4 years, in which you take a range of courses - including compulsory ones such as a language, some science, Freshmen comp, etc) - where by your Junior (3rd) year you specialise or "major" in a particular area.

 

A BFA is a much more focused degree with much of your learning through studio practice, in acting, dance, design, music etc. They are highly practically-oriented degrees, which often don't enable you to go on to a postgraduate (Graduate school) degree except the Master of Fine Arts (MFA). They are still 4 years, but instead of a widespread of subjects studied in your Freshman & Sophomore years, you'll focus from the start on your  chosen art form. There are some excellent BFAs in dance/ballet in the US, which give students the training they need to dance professionally as performers, but the really good ones are very competitive. It is unlikely you'd be offered a place as a beginner dancer.

 

College education in the US is very expensive, I know, so you might need to do some hard thinking and some sums, and come up with a game plan for the next 10 years. 

 

I think the first thing to do is find the best training you can, start going to ballet class 3 times a week, and also find a mode of cross-training which suits you (it sounds like that's weightlifting) and gradually increase your number of ballet classes so that eventually you're able to manage 5 or 6 a week. But that might take you at least a year. Ballet is quite hard on the body if your body hasn't had the training since your pliable child/early teen years. So take it slowly & don't develop bad habits in the effort to get your leg higher etc etc! Bad or sloppy technique generally leads to injury, once you start training intensively (and I'd say more than 5 classes a week for a 28 year old is intensive training).

 

You should be looking for a good school which trains children to go on into the dance industry, with a ballet focus (not the Dance Moms style "competition school"). You should look to see what their adult programme is, and are there levels through which you can progress. Then after 6 months or so, if it's feeling good, talk to your teachers there about your ambitions. I've seen quite a few young people (early 20s) start off in adult classes and progress through the levels and go on to further professional training. It can be done, but it will be slow, and you need to be open to thinking about many alternatives in terms of where you might end up.

Would the just the plain bachelor of arts make sense to get if I just wanted to teach ballet and not become a professional dancer?

17 hours ago, Mummy twinkle toes said:

You might want to look on the US dance forum: dancers invisionezone.com

I would contact the institution and ask them the difference and the entry requirements. University dance degrees in the UK vary. Some offer ballet whilst others concentrate on contemporary. In the UK most tend to be BA degrees- bachelor of arts. The Fine Arts one would suggest you may study other aligned disciplines with dance as the major but the institute should confirm. Check the academics too- is there a dissertation involved? Do I get assessed performing? Some UK courses have pure dissertations of 10000 words at degree level but other dance courses split this into a dance choreographed by you and a smaller essay in which you analyse the dance.

Good luck.

Thanks. I didn't mean to disturb a UK forum.

A few of you asked a few things about me and here are the answers:

I want to learn to dance because ballet has been an obsession of mine all my life and never got around to learning it. I don't expect to become a professional dancer but would enjoy working in the field possibly as a teacher.

And I am located in Virginia in the United States. There's a college near me that offers a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance and also a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Does anyone know the difference between those two degrees?

I'm 28 years old and have just started to learn ballet. I have a few questions.

Is it totally unrealistic to expect to someday get a degree in dance if I haven't danced since I was a child?

Can weight lifting contradict ballet?

What exercises are good for new dancers to do?

What would be a good diet for a ballet dancer?