When is the latest you can start ballet?

Che’lynne Martinelli: When is the latest you can start ballet?
I want to be a professional ballet dancer, it would be amazing! But the downside is, I am 15, and have been dancing for 6 months, I am natural talented at dancing, but passe releve’ and stuff are super hard, any tips on that?
And also, can I still be a proffesional?

Answers and Views:

Answer by star2b
I have been dancing competitively since i was in 4th grade, and i am fourteen.
As far as passe- releve stuff, the onnly help i know of is to ‘cheat’ which will mess up your posture and blance, so just practice in your room as much as possible.
Something I am sure you know, Is that there is a lot of tough competition in the dance industry. If you spend the majority of your free time working on dance, you probably have a chance. Just remember, you will be up against girls that have been competing since they were in kindergarden. If you are serious about this, look into taking multiple classes a week for maximum practice <3

Answer by moe is me
if you work hard enough and have passion for dance, you may make professional. if you are having trouble with passe releve and things like that that you think are hard… i think it would be a good idea to take many classes a week with instructors that you know will whip you in to shape. it is never a good idea to cheat in steps, because it messes up your technique and then you WON’T be able to be a professional. so keep working on it and ask your teacher if you’re doing steps correctly and maybe if you’re not your teacher can show you the right way and it will be easier for you.

i hope that helped 🙂

Answer by pandaguin
At 15? Reality is, you would have to be ridiculously good to become a professional. But you’re never too hard to take recreational ballet classes. Passe releve is a basic step that young dancers have already gotten. I dunno, You would have to work really hard and be really talented to even catch up to some other dancers.

Answer by SandraLAVixen
At 15, if you find passe releves hard, then chances are you may not have the talent.

Very few professional dancers start their training at your age.

You should continue your training a bit longer to see if you actually enjoy ballet, since you have not even taken it for a year, it’s too early to really gauge if you truly love it or not.

Answer by Ballyhoo
Please don’t listen to the advice that tells you to practice at home as this can be dangerous and also you are likely to pick up bad habits that you will then find hard to unlearn.

It is very late to start if you want to become professional and most dancers were almost born with the desire to do it – it is instoppable. I wonder if you really know how hard it is to be a professional dancer? Why not talk to your teacher about what it entails and whether you have the potential and if you still think it is for you you can take it from there. You will need to be taking a whole load of extra classes, though!

Answer by lizardmomma
I am not aware of any pre-professional schools that would take you at your age. I’m sorry but I’m being honest, your training should be almost complete and you would be getting ready to audition for companies at 16-18. I just started ballet classes at 33 so you can still learn and have several years in which you can become the best dancer possible, I just don’t see a career being possible. For the passe releve, work on your abs and core. Your core strength will help you balance better. Calf raises on stairs will help you build leg strentgh so you can stay en releve longer. I do hope that you stick with it.

Answer by Haley Malone
You can start ballet whether you’re 5 or 50, it doesnt matter, but to be a pro, than you would either have to have tremendous talent naturally or do it from a early age, i say its possible but you’ll have to try hard, and probably come pro at a later age, just think when you’re 30 you’ll have 15 years under your belt, which is really good and you would have alot of talent… The only problem is that not many people would want a dancer that age… And dont listen to anyone who says you cant get into classes at your age cause you’re still young and there beginner teen classes and private company classes (Where you’re by yourself, i do that but it is expensive so if you’re not serious dont waste time or money) I think you can do whatever you are dedicated to to, i think you should go for your dreams… I mean you only live once eh?