takeing up ballet at 16??

Question

my daughter is 16 years old and wants to start danceing ballet mainly... she been talking about it for a while now nad i think shes very serious about it what my question is do you think it is to late for her to take this up?

Answer 1

its never to late to tey something new. even some adults take lessons like these. if your daughter is sixteen, shes probably in high school. set some limits and tell her that she cant take ballet lessons unless she gets good grades. it will give her something for her to work for. Ballet also gives a great workout! Its very healthy for all parts of the body. Basically, no matter what age you are its never too late to start!

Answer 2

Support her in this. It is so beneficial in so many ways. How far she is able to go is going to depend on her body shape, her feet, her dedication, her teacher and many other things. It may be a tad late for her to join one of the top professional companies but she could well dance with a regional or local company.

Depending on what is available in your area it is best to start with the school that JUST teaches ballet and it is best to have a teacher that was a professional dancer him or herself.

Don't expect to see her wearing a tutu and on point any time in the near future......if you do you have picked a school which will do more harm than good.

Answer 3

I was that teenager! I turned out fine, but I would be very worried if my child was doing the same thing. Don't totally freak out, it's really normal, pretty much all kids go through this phase. You have to find that difficult balance between being too strict and making him hate you and being too permissive and making him think you don't care, which is about as bad. In that fine middle is the balance between good discipline (grounding is probably in order) and making him hate you (calling the cops on him or sending him to boot camp may never be forgiven). While a lot of people would recommend counseling, it really didn't help me at all, and I went to a bunch of counselors. Sometimes it's the situation you're in, maybe he needs a change of school or neighborhood. But probably the most important thing you can do is just let him know you care and talk to him as much as possible. Tell him how you are feeling and ask what he needs or wants. One of my biggest problems was that my mom never really listened to me... sent me to a school I hated and wouldn't let me change until I threatened to drop out altogether.

Answer 4

I fully support your daughter's decision. At 16 I wanted to be a cheerleader and an adult in my life told me that was not plausible. I never got the chance. Why take something like that away from your child? If she has the drive and determination jump at the chance of a lifetime.

Answer 5

no its not too late. she can take a beginner class.
she might be with little kids.
or she might be with all aged people, some adults.
but depending on how good she gets she can move ahead.
although it will take a long time for her to get in the group with other 16 year olds who have been taking dance since they were 3 or so.
but thats no reason for her to not try something she wants to do.

Answer 6

It will never be too late..if its her dream and she is very serious about it..then support her all the way. She will need extra support from her mom because she is older than most girls who have been doing for many years. It will never be too late to start anything.

Answer 7

She can try, It's probably to late to become a professional, but she should try and get as far as she can with it. It's a lot of fun.

http://www.dance.net/topic/3810308/1/Ballet-Beginners/I-m-sick-of-this-Follow-Your-Heart-mentality.html

Encourage her to try it. Reach for the moon, if you fall, you might catch a star. She should have fun! thats the whole point of dancing!

Answer 8

it is not late to start dancing, however hopes of becoming the best or adored by the teacher is very unlikely. infact, teachers might not like her at all because she has transfered later. but this is for companies. probably community classes won't mind.

Answer 9

16, yeah... it is a tad too late if she wanted to be a professional dancer.

But if she wants to do it as a hobby, then you should support her and let her take the classes.

Good luck.

Answer 10

I've heard of football players taking it in college to enhance their game, and Julia Stiles, who played a dancer in one of her movies, took it up in her early twenties--she'd never studied it before and says she thought she always had 2 left feet.