ballet at 18

[stardancer]

Hi I was chatting to a lady yesterday who noticed my dd will be 18 next year and hoping to go to vocational school, she then went on to say her daughter went at 16 and 18 is too old for ballet, when I asked what her daughter s doing now she said she is teaching and has never danced,I wished her well and said goodbye.

Then five minutes later I bumped into a friend I had not seen for many years,she went on to tell me,her daughter went to vocational school at 18, and is now dancing with the new York city ballet, when I told her what the lady had said, she told me to take no notice, and went on to say it is how you look than your age, I then went on to meet my dd from the cinema, and she looked very upset, she then went on to say they refused to let her in as she does not look 15,I burst out laughing.

Could you tell me what you think

[BlueLou]

I listened to a talk at the end of a recent Central Ballet Dance Day. The man explained that most of their 1st years were 16 and implied that this was ideal because their bodies were still mouldable at that age. I think he was saying that by 18/19 there wasn’t so much they could do with a dancer because they were already ‘set’ (I’m sure someone else can explain this better!). However, they did still accept a number of 18 year olds, so clearly there are exceptions. I think this varies from college to college. Someone told me that at Rambert most 1st years are 18 - can anyone confirm? I think 16 is more usual, but every dancer is an individual so good luck to your dd

[taxi4ballet]

I listened to a talk at the end of a recent Central Ballet Dance Day. The man explained that most of their 1st years were 16 and implied that this was ideal because their bodies were still mouldable at that age. I think he was saying that by 18/19 there wasn’t so much they could do with a dancer because they were already ‘set’ (I’m sure someone else can explain this better!). However, they did still accept a number of 18 year olds, so clearly there are exceptions. I think this varies from college to college. Someone told me that at Rambert most 1st years are 18 - can anyone confirm? I think 16 is more usual, but every dancer is an individual so good luck to your dd

On the other hand, everyone's skeleton matures at a different rate - some students are not physically ready for intense training at 16, and starting later would be far better. It is quite common for students to start at 17/18 and contemporary schools in particular will accept students up to their early twenties.

[Anna C]

On the other hand, everyone's skeleton matures at a different rate - some students are not physically ready for intense training at 16, and starting later would be far better. It is quite common for students to start at 17/18 and contemporary schools in particular will accept students up to their early twenties.

Absolutely agree with this. I suspect that one reason for high injury rates in 1st year 6th formers is that some skeletons are later to develop than others so you could potentially be asking the equivalent of a 14 year-old body to be doing advanced work. I'm not saying this is the only reason for injury in 6.1 but IMHO it can be a definite contributing factor.

[Huddsballetmum]

Depends on what type of dancer you want to be I think.  Contemporary Schools such as Rambert and Laban prefer students to be older (i.e.18) as they require the strength and maturity.  I know most ballet schools take at 16, though there are exceptions to both rules and I think it is dependent on the individual as already stated.  Your DD should follow her dreams and not worry about what other people say though. 

[Regattah]

Someone told me that at Rambert most 1st years are 18 - can anyone confirm?

My DD is one of about 10 out of approx 40 in the first year who started at 16. The others were 18 or even older. It's definitely right that they want strength and maturity.

 

Whilst on this topic, my DD was assessed as having a bone age about 2/3 years younger than her age when she was tested at 11. She's been fine with the training, though, apart from a niggling knee.

[sarahw]

That is interesting Regatta - how was the test done?

[Regattah]

She had her wrist x-rayed, Sarah. The thing is, the consultant predicted she would be 5 ft 6 or 7. In fact, she is barely 5 ft 4, and at just turned 17, I'm presuming that that's going to be it. My sister had her wrist x-rayed when she auditioned for White Lodge. She was accurately predicted as 5 ft 7. At the time this was on the cusp of being too tall for them and they almost didn't take her because of it. Funny how times have changed so quickly!

[Dreamy11]

Regatta, So is 5ft 4 too small?

[aileen]

Not in the UK, I think, but it might be in some European companies, particularly in Germany.

[Dreamy11]

Thanks Aileen, what height is considered too small in the UK out of interest?

[aileen]

I'm not an expert, balletqueen, but there are certainly small dancers in the UK companies. Some auditions specify minimum heights for men and women. Are you talking about men or women? I think that being too small is more of an issue for men than women as it limits who they can partner. It hasn't stopped some very well known dancers though (eg McRae, Kobborg).

[Dreamy11]

I was thinking more women but interested to know both if anyone knows/has experienced this, thanks

[Guest]

At an ENBS audition workshop we were told that prospective female students should be between 160 and 170cm tall

[MAK]

Interesting, at what age would that be Mnemo? Is that for company auditions?

[Guest]

Hi MAK, this was for entry into full time training so at age 15-16 years.

[invisiblecircus]

Hi I was chatting to a lady yesterday who noticed my dd will be 18 next year and hoping to go to vocational school, she then went on to say her daughter went at 16 and 18 is too old for ballet, when I asked what her daughter s doing now she said she is teaching and has never danced,I wished her well and said goodbye.

Then five minutes later I bumped into a friend I had not seen for many years,she went on to tell me,her daughter went to vocational school at 18, and is now dancing with the new York city ballet, when I told her what the lady had said, she told me to take no notice, and went on to say it is how you look than your age, I then went on to meet my dd from the cinema, and she looked very upset, she then went on to say they refused to let her in as she does not look 15,I burst out laughing.

Could you tell me what you think

 

I don't know which school this lady's daughter went to, but there are some schools which will only accept 16 year olds into the first year so your dd is only "too old" if she wants to go to one of those schools.

 

There are several vocational ballet schools that accept 18 year olds into the first year, so your dd still has some options if that's what she's aiming for.

 

I disagree that it's about how old you look. Some schools just have a policy of not accepting anyone over 16. The schools who take older students don't care what age you look, they care about talent and suitability for their training programme and ultimately, a career in dance.