Too tall?

[Penguinboysmum]

Does anyone know what height would be considered too tall for a male in classical ballet. DS is 14 in October and is already just shy of 5'10". My husband is 5'9 and I am 5'4 so I'm hoping he'll stop growing soon but is it possible to be too tall?

 

Thanks

[Farawaydancer]

Generally men in ballet are getting taller, especially in Europe, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Matthew Ball is 6ft, although lots of the Royal dancers are shorter.  If he’s only 14 it’s unlikely he’s going to stop growing any time soon! My ds is 5’9 now at 16 and is one of the shorter ones in his year group. 

[Penguinboysmum]

18 minutes ago, Farawaydancer said:

Generally men in ballet are getting taller, especially in Europe, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Matthew Ball is 6ft, although lots of the Royal dancers are shorter.  If he’s only 14 it’s unlikely he’s going to stop growing any time soon! My ds is 5’9 now at 16 and is one of the shorter ones in his year group. 

 

Thanks, he started his growth spurt toward the end of primary school and has grown 8 inches in the last 2 years (4 inches a year) so I'm hoping he's an early starter. His dad remembers being the tallest at primary school then was overtaken by most of his peers during secondary. Reassuring to know that men in ballet are getting taller though because ballet is his end goal, although we have plan b and c too!

[meadowblythe]

 

Having worried all the way through about how short my son was (he's now just shy of 6 foot ) tall men are very much in demand in European companies.  Just need to make sure they have the core strength to deal with all the lifting, and is in proportion legs and upper body (DS is convinced second injury caused by too big in upper body in proportion to legs. )

 

DS didn't grow until he was 16 - others started and stopped earlier.   I would say very much at 14, let nature take its course.  There's little you can do about it except make sure he's eating healthily.

[Millicent]

Is there a general height limit for girls/women? My DD is the tallest in her year and I'm wondering if that is going to be a problem in the future. I'm 5ft 8 and DH is 6ft 2.

[alison]

I reckon most artistic directors would give their eye teeth for a quality tall male dancer, assuming that he has the requisite strength as well!

 

I think the tallest woman in the Royal Ballet is 5'9", but there are taller dancers in other ballet companies, although I can't remember the details at the moment.

[Farawaydancer]

I’ve always said to mine not to worry about their height, it’s probably just about the only thing they can’t control at all! There are lots of taller girls in American companies, which seem to be a bit more diverse in body types generally than European companies, but things seem to be changing even in Europe now with most companies having quite a range of heights.  

[tutugirl]

Hi there .

I echo what Meadowblythe said . My DS was deemed to be on the short side initially - but ended up at just shy of 5ft 10 ins . He was too short for some European companies - but is one of the taller ones in his current company .

The height requirements vary - which is good !

I really wouldn’t worry at all .

[Penguinboysmum]

Thanks everyone, very reassuring 😊 

[balletbean]

On 24/08/2020 at 13:01, Penguinboysmum said:

Does anyone know what height would be considered too tall for a male in classical ballet. DS is 14 in October and is already just shy of 5'10". My husband is 5'9 and I am 5'4 so I'm hoping he'll stop growing soon but is it possible to be too tall?

 

Thanks

Whilst height can play a key feature for all dancers  it’s more about a dancers physique and for the boys muscle strength incl silhouette, that will play a bigger role in their dancing career.  Along with their technique obviously.