Colorado Technical University

Training for a dance career?

So I am 15 and a dude, and I recently discovered that dance is my true passion. I do not want to sound pretentious or cocky at all, because I honestly am not that way at all. Like I know that I have sooooo much to learn haha, but I have been told by dance teachers that I really need to take dance because I have so much natural ability. I have been hesitant though because I've always planned on becoming an actor. Now I have 2 years before I start auditioning for colleges, and I have decided that I want to focus on dance. So my question would be do any really serious/professional dancers think that I'll have a chance at getting into any great schools for dance if I take like 5 advanced classical ballet classes a week, at a great school, for 2 years? or should I stick to taking 3 a week and then also doing theatre? ORR haha should I take 3 ballet and then take some jazz or modern on the side? I honestly am kind of ignorant. So if all those are stupid then offer any wisdom that you can haha. BTW I know that I won't be able to become a professional ballet dancer because of the lack of training, but I think it'd be best to have a super strong background in ballet because everything else is relatively easy. Thank you guys so much! I really appreciate any wisdom that I can get :) @DancerSamsung I know its not nessesarily practical or whatever, but under the circumstances, the ballet academy has already decided it would be acceptable to put me into level 8 if I chose. It's mostly serious, freshman girls who have been training for years, but the head of the school has seen me dance and thinks that after a few months I'll be able to catch up, and it'll save me from wasting any time.

Public Comments

1. That is so weird you sound like my friend Marc... But the thing is, you cant just suddenly take advance ballet if you haven't been in for long. You have to train with the beginners. And I know a girl who was in ballet for a year and then she went on pointe(: You'll get there, just keep going on.
2. Actually there are some men who have become professional ballet dancers who have started at your age. Woman can't because they need time to get strong and then learn to dance en pointe. They also have different requirements in the ballet. You need to start with beginner ballet or your technique will not be good. Ballet technique is not something you can rush. It takes time and there are no shortcuts. There is a lot of repetition so that you can build your muscles the right way while engaging your turnout and learning proper alignment. I really don't think you will have much of a shot at the very top dance college programs with only 2 years of dancing. Many have minimum requirements regarding how many years of training in order to apply to get an audition. You don't go to college to learn how to dance. You go to hone your dance skills and get exposed to choreographers who may hire you. Most dance programs are contemporary focus. That means ballet and modern classes. Dancers on track for a career in dance take at least 15 hours of technique classes a week. Anything under 15 hours is considered recreational training. For ballet we are talking about 20-30 hours of technique classes a week. If that is something you wish to pursue, you would have to go to a ballet academy which is a feeder school for a professional ballet company, where you would dorm and get your academics or be home schooled so you could take multiple classes a day. Because you are starting late, you may have to start in their open classes until you get some technique and can be part of the regular program if you have the facility for ballet that is. You must have certain physical requirements. You must have good turnout from your hip rotators along with a few other things. That is something you must be born with. For other dance, you are correct, you still need lots of ballet. With strong ballet, you can move almost seamlessly into modern dance and jazz. It is still a good idea to study at a ballet academy, because you want the best training. Because you are just beginning, you will have to ease into the training or you will hurt yourself. I would take no more than a ballet class a day for 5 days a week to start. Then slowly begin to double that amount. Then you can start adding modern class when you get strong enough.. Make sure it is real modern and not a generic modern. You would want to take either Graham or Horton or possibly Limon. Those are classic modern genres and what is necessary to get into a good school and to give you the training you would need. You also have to think about summer intensives for additional training. Next January and February auditions start for those and you can find them listed in DANCE Magazine January issue that comes out in December. I would recommend CPYB for you because although you don't need to audition for this, it is one of the best intensive for dancers who need basic technique work. They call it ballet boot camp. Elite dancers are in the upper levels and it is one of the larger summer intensives having around 25 levels not the usual 6 or 7. It is a great way to get a really strong foundation. Most likely your technique would not cut it for other intensives that you would have to audition for only having taken technique classes for so short a time. That doesn't mean you cannot get there. It will just take some time and that really depends on how hard you work and what your gifts for dance are. If you don't live near a big city that has a strong dance presence this is going to be hard for you. You don't want to get stuck in a recital school or a competition school where you will get recreational training. That wont due. At your age, you have to start with the best training because you are starting on the late side. To see the college programs, what they have to offer and what they require, you should look at DANCE magazine's college guide. when you are a junior in high school. http://www.dancemagazine.com/thecollegeguide/intro ***EDIT: not all ballet academies are professional level training. Any dance school can call themselves a ballet academy. Make sure they are a feeder school to a professional ballet company and that they have mens classes. If not, you are not in the right school.