Beginning Ballet - Late Teens

[Moomintroll]

Hello! 

I am 15 and I would like to start doing ballet, however I am quite overweight (which I am currently fixing) and as a result of sports I also have some (quite bulky) muscle, I'm also quite short, so no ballet body unforunately. 

I have had some experience with ballet, I danced until the age of 7 but then quit (as quite of lot of people do) 

Despite this I would love to eventually be able to go en pointe and maybe even take part in competitions, I don't want to be professional. 

So my main questions are, will I be able to keep up? Will I ever be able to compete? And does anyone have any advice?

Many Thanks!(^-^)

[Nicola H]

Will  you be able to  keep up ? keep up with  what  ?  you  sound as though you have a reasonable level of fitness, you have some  knowledge ( and  probably muscle memory) from previous experience  ... 

15 is a slightly  funny  age  thanks to the  wonderful world of safeguarding , so you may have to shop around a bit to find a  dance school that  fits  ( rather than putting you  back to where you left off  with the  pre-teens that will depend on the attitude of the  principal(s)/owner(s) and the other  teachers)  some might say you are too young for 'adult' classes   -  but safeguarding is a sideshow  in this and the site has had enough  arguments on the topic  as it is  -so it;s just really to  point out it might  be an issue). 

The world is moving  on from the balanchine body  a bit,  and as you have  no desire for a pro classical ballet career it again is a bit of a sideshow, regardlessof presentation I don;t have a 'ballet body'  although with  some serious work in the gym i could probably get an approximation of one ... 

Going on en pointe   is ,  barring any  structural / orthopaedic/ podiatry issues, going to be down to  your level of commitment ,  there;s no need to slow  progression of the post -pubesecent dancer towards  that aim ,  where for the little  kids  firstly it;s cognitive development that means progress is slow and then  the bone structure stuff that keeps the  'tweens'  off pointe until their foot bones are sufficiently ossified and their  intrinsic muscles developed, the  limitation really is your pre existing  condition with regard to your ankles and feet and  the time / commitment  you have. 

If you  look at the forum and read the  posts / threads of other late beginners  you will see what is open to you ...

[Moomintroll]

3 minutes ago, mph said:

If you  look at the forum and read the  posts / threads of other late beginners  you will see what is open to you ...

Thank you so much for your advice! And to be honest, I'm not sure what I meant by keep up  I hope to have private lessons (as long as I can convince my mum) which will hopefully mean that I won't have to look around too much, but if not I've found a few local dance schools which have 13-17 beginner classes, so that should be okay. 

Thanks again! ( ^ω^ )

[Viv]

I just want to say, you won't know if you never try. I decided I wanted to start dance when I was 15, but it took me another 5 years to work up the courage to actually find a class. I regret that 5 year delay more than any of the 15 years that came before it because I knew what I wanted and talked myself out of it. You know what you want. Make it happen.

 

As for what you can achieve with it, as mph says that's down to how hard you work. If you want it badly enough, there is no reason why you can't compete. Don't expect to start pointe for several years after starting, but while that's an eventual goal for a lot of us starting, you soon learn that there's so much more to ballet than just pointe work! None of us can say 'yes' you'll be able to do pointe but I think we can safely there's enough to learn without pointe shoes to keep you challenged! And I went en pointe at 23 so it's definitely possible

 

Also, while private lessons can be valuable, if you can find a group class as well I'd definitely recommend it, it's a really nice social environment and you end up with great friends who can help you when you're struggling, or just understand what's soon to be your next obsession.

 

Have fun and good luck!

[Moomintroll]

12 minutes ago, Viv said:

Have fun and good luck!

 I've actually spent the last 3 years or so trying to work up the courage to start ballet, also I think I would start with a few private lessons just so I have an idea of what's happening and then move on to group lessons.

Thank you!(*^ω^*)

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Moomintroll and welcome to the Forum!

 

Good luck with your quest for a class.  As mph mentioned (and although you are not that age yet) we have quite a few adult members who post about the experiences of starting or restarting ballet at an older age.

[LinMM]

You should have no problem learning/starting ballet at 15 and even eventually going on pointe.

 

its usually recommended 2-3 yrs of dancing before going on pointe though ....obviously dependent on level of general fitness.....and exactly how much dance you eventually commit to each week.

At 15 you may still have a little bit of growth to still do so don't be in too,much of a hurry with the pointe shoes!! 

 

Im not so sure about competitions though.

There are lots of opportunities to perform as an older dancer ....eg: quite a few amateur ballet companies around....and if you wanted to could still go,through the exam system and pass exams such as Intermediate and Advanced one and two etc

but competitions with older dancers are rarer .....as the time it would take to get to a reasonable standard may mean you could be the oldest one there by far!!.........I may be wrong but most people over 16 don't seem to go in for ballet completions that much but if you didn't mind this at all then I'm sure you could do this as well. There are other types of Dance competitions  though which may apply more to older pupils just not so sure about ballet.

Good luck with it all.

[Moomintroll]

19 minutes ago, LinMM said:

You should have no problem learning/starting ballet at 15 and even eventually going on pointe.

 

its usually recommended 2-3 yrs of dancing before going on pointe though ....obviously dependent on level of general fitness.....and exactly how much dance you eventually commit to each week.

At 15 you may still have a little bit of growth to still do so don't be in too,much of a hurry with the pointe shoes!! 

 

Im not so sure about competitions though.

There are lots of opportunities to perform as an older dancer ....eg: quite a few amateur ballet companies around....and if you wanted to could still go,through the exam system and pass exams such as Intermediate and Advanced one and two etc

but competitions with older dancers are rarer .....as the time it would take to get to a reasonable standard may mean you could be the oldest one there by far!!.........I may be wrong but most people over 16 don't seem to go in for ballet completions that much but if you didn't mind this at all then I'm sure you could do this as well. There are other types of Dance competitions  though which may apply more to older pupils just not so sure about ballet.

Good luck with it all.

I finished growing at about 11(I'm only 161cm tall) so that shouldn't be a problem(＞人＜;)

and competitions aren't necessary, the only reason I ask is because my sister does gymnastics and my brother football and both have rooms full of trophies-even though they're younger than me. All my achievements are academic, I'd just like to do something different and be good at it too. 

Thanks for your reply!(*^ω^*)

[Moomintroll]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Hello Moomintroll and welcome to the Forum!

 

Good luck with your quest for a class.  As mph mentioned (and although you are not that age yet) we have quite a few adult members who post about the experiences of starting or restarting ballet at an older age.

Thanks(*^ω^*)

[ArucariaBallerina]

Get in that ballet class now! it is such a great thing to do, and as you don't want to go pro you have many options! Dance because you love it! Also, it is possible to enter local dance festivals with a ballet solo, or any type of solo/group, until you're 18, which you can win trophies or medals for. 

[Moomintroll]

30 minutes ago, ArucariaBallerina said:

Get in that ballet class now! it is such a great thing to do, and as you don't want to go pro you have many options! Dance because you love it! Also, it is possible to enter local dance festivals with a ballet solo, or any type of solo/group, until you're 18, which you can win trophies or medals for. 

Thank You! (´･ω･`)

[Kate_N]

Moomin, you'll be FINE! Find a studio that can cope with a late starter, and join in. Remember, everyone's so busy working on their own stuff, that no-one will notice you (although I don't know whether that's the case with teens sometimes!). You'll probably be put in a class with 11 or 12 year olds to start with, but if you've already got a pretty good sense of movement, from playing sport, you'll catch up quickly.

 

It's a wonderful art, and a lifelong pursuit of perfection. 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Kate_N

[Moomintroll]

8 minutes ago, Kate_N said:

Moomin, you'll be FINE! Find a studio that can cope with a late starter, and join in. Remember, everyone's so busy working on their own stuff, that no-one will notice you (although I don't know whether that's the case with teens sometimes!). You'll probably be put in a class with 11 or 12 year olds to start with, but if you've already got a pretty good sense of movement, from playing sport, you'll catch up quickly.

 

It's a wonderful art, and a lifelong pursuit of perfection. 

I really do hope so and thank you for the encouragement ☆

Edited May 7, 2017 by Moomintroll

[Colman]

Go have fun: there are a good number of us who were thirty years or more older than you starting ballet.

 

Don't worry about competitions or exams for a while, but if you feel you need some external motivation and some

certs to hang on the wall the exams are a possibility. 

[Nicola H]

9 hours ago, Viv said:

<snip>

 

Also, while private lessons can be valuable, if you can find a group class as well I'd definitely recommend it, it's a really nice social environment and you end up with great friends who can help you when you're struggling, or just understand what's soon to be your next obsession.

 

Have fun and good luck!

nevermind 5 years talking oneself out of it  try closer to 20 years of talking oneself out of it and  afew more of not knowing to  re-broach the subject with parents before that.

to be honest a group class comes 'before' the private class ,   adult 'beginner' classes are quite a broad church from  complete beginners , through the returners and  those who have been dancing for a bit  through to people who are approaching  the standards of the higher grades / he vocational / exams/ pre-pointe  ... 
one would assume this would be the same  with a teens beginners class with people  moving to  the higher grades  and/or  IF/Elementary as they  progress. 

the adult 'Beginner' class i attend is an absolute hoot , there's banter , in-jokes  etc.  etc . we probably know sectrets aobut each other than colleagues or friends don;t ...

[taxi4ballet]

It might be easier to start in a group class, as the other students will be familiar with the steps so you will have somebody to copy and follow 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, taxi4ballet said:

It might be easier to start in a group class, as the other students will be familiar with the steps so you will have somebody to copy and follow 

Definitely !! I started ballet as an absolute beginner at the advanced age of 46; my teacher was very kind and let me lurk at the back of class for at least a year. I made friends with a really good adult returner and she was a great help. I did eventually get the hang of it and its loads of fun. In some areas there are classes specifically for teen beginners so it might be worth searching for these.