Am I too old/obese to become a dancer?

Question

I'm 18 years old, I weigh 165 pounds and I love to dance ballet. I also just love the performing arts, and want to learn to become a professional ballet dancer. Except I study full time and I don't think I'll have the time to take more than 1-2 dance classes a week. Plus I know that most pro ballet dancers start when they're around 12, more or less. Am I out of luck? Can I start when Im 20?

I'm about 5'3"

what if i wanted to become a contemporary or modern dancer, that doesnt necessarily specialize in ballet?

can you specify if u have any experience in dance and how much?

Answer 1

You can start now and learn everything you want to know. If becoming a professional is what you want to do, then you set new standards for what society consideres professional. If it s really what you want, then why not just go for it instead of worrying about whether or not society accepts your dream.

Answer 2

5'3'' and 165. You're too big now. What are you like a 11/12? Eat right, work out and loose the weight. You're also too old to just start and become a professional. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try. You know you can't be a world renowned ballet dancer but you still can be a ballet dancer. Discipline is the only thing you NEED. Get your body right and practice like hell. There will be opportunities for you to dance. Think of how many ballerinas injure themselves before their 18th birthday. Just train and stop making excuses. Because you're older you will have more to prove. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Yes, I'm afraid you're too old to be a professional in ballet, modern or contemporary dancing. You CAN still get to a professional standard, but by the time you do, you'll be 30 and that will be too late - no one will hire you.

However don't let that stop you dancing. You can still enjoy dancing for its own sake. And there are a some dance styles where you can start at your age - or even later - and still become a professional. I started studying ballet and jazz at your age, then eventually took up flamenco and became professional. I've also known belly-dancer, ballroom and latin dancers who've become professional after starting in their twenties.

don't worry about the weight - the dancing will help you lose it.

Answer 4

To be honest, you are probably too old to become a professional ballet dancer. And even if you start young, have the most supportive parents, and all the time and money in the world, you DO need to have the right kind of body and that is genetic. Whether your weight is OK for ballet depends on your height. But don't let any of this stop you from dancing. Think about maybe becoming a ballet instructor or a producer for dance shows... and keep dancing!!!
Yes, you could become a pro in another form of dancing. My brother is in the business end of dancing. He organizes huge dance events, DJs dances, built and rents out a portable dance floor, etc. That's where the money is . He is into swing and country western; these dancers are older and you do not have to have such a specific body type. :)

Answer 5

I would say that you're probably too overweight right now for professional ballet, and you may also be too old. But there's no reason you can't take dance classes now, even if it's only a couple times a week. The exercise will help you lose some weight and you'll be doing something you love. If you never become a professional, you will at least be able to participate as an amatuer. Just go for it and see where it takes you!

Answer 6

You're not too old or too obese. You can lose the weight though it will take some effort.

I've been working on transforming myself the past 15 months, and its been quite a journey. I've lost a lot of weight -- more than many in this forum have weighed, though not yet quite as much weight lost as you weigh at 18 years old, I will have lost your entire body weight when I reach goal weight.

I started ballet well past my 40th birthday. I don't expect to go pro, but last semester I took ballroom dance classes and audited more classes till I was up to 10 hours a week in instruction and going to clubs for more classes off campus.

If you want to go pro, you're going to have to put a professional attitude into ballet, which means more than 1-2 hours a week for ballet. I'm doing ballet 2 hours a week, which is a great workout for me, but it's not going to make me a ballet professional.

-EN-

Answer 7

You are not too old at 18. One of the female dancers in my folk dance group (we are an amateur group that practises once per week) was accepted into the Royal Winnipeg Ballet at a similar age. She practises at least 4 hours per day 5 days per week and has more natural talent than the rest of the group combined. She is also very thin and morale destroying flexible. You could still become a ballet instructor rather than a ballerina. Alternately, you could find a recreational group and dance as a recreation rather than as a vocation.

Answer 8

You can always dance for fun, but at your age there is likely no way you can become professional, unless you are somehow incredibly gifted.
Ballet dancers are also often very thin---eating disorder thin---and are made to be that way.
By all means, take lessons for fun, for exercise, to learn something new---but certainly don't count on going pro. Even if you only weighed 115 pounds, starting at 18 is next to impossible. Professionals are usually groomed and taught from the age of 6 or so---not 12.

Answer 9

If you like dancing dont worry about how much you weigh or how old you are. I weigh 175 but i still do pointe ballet because thats what i love to do!! I have been dancing since i was 3 though...... but one of my friends started when she was 14 and is the best in our class!!

Answer 10

Too old maybe not but you will need to lose weight I afraid just due to the expectations of society,

According to a research study conducted by Benn and Walters (2001), dancers studied were found to only consume 700 to 900 calories per day and many of the subjects were consuming less than 700. Surveys conducted in the United States, China, Russia, and Western Europe by Dr. Linda Hamilton (1998) found that female dancers’ weights were 10 to 15 percent below the ideal weight for height. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s official criteria for anorexia nervosa, the number one factor for diagnosis is if the person’s weight is more than 15 percent below the ideal weight for height. This is dangerously close to most dancers, according to research! Another factor for diagnosing anorexia nervosa is if the person has developed amenorrhea, that is if they have missed three consecutive menstrual cycles (Hamilton, 1998).

Answer 11

i all started dancing at age 4 at a dazzling studio it extremely is no longer in company. What I did substitute into take various different classes in countless dances and located those I enjoyed and narrowed it right down to those. when I did that, i substitute into advised via my dance instructor that i substitute right into a organic dancer and that i'd desire to learn Choreography. i did no longer pass to any fancy dance college to alter into expert. training isn't the comparable for each individual. There are people who're organic dancers the place each and everything comes comfy or you're a experienced dancer who examine for years on the topnotch colleges. There are would profession possibilities once you're youthful. Dancers have a "top" at which era they are seen too previous yet can prepare or choreography in basic terms. you could dance on point, substitute right into a prima ballerina, nationwide and worldwide performing excursions,on broadway-off broadway, las vegas exhibits, prepare and choreography. you additionally can substitute right into a historic past dancer in video clips, categorised advertisements and movies. Studios additionally seek for dancers. Hip Hop is lots exciting, and can be extremely taught. Its person-friendly steps plus an entire lotta recommendations-set. it could get frustrating (actual look) in case you decide directly to function a point to it.