Career Development Plan - Ballerina Body - Chest

by Jennifer
(Lynchburg, VA)

Career Development Plan - Ballerina Body - Chest

Is it possible for me to ever be accepted as a professional dancer with 32G chest... This if my biggest issue in dancing. In not heavy at all I have curves and a very flat stomach. But, this may seem silly would I ever be able to be a professional ballet dancer? They always seem to have qualifications of perfectly skinny with a "normal" (flatter) chest... It's really discouraging when the costumes don't fit my chest and in many of them I look like I'm huge because they hit me in all the wrong places. I just need a little encouragement saying it is possible... Thank you so much for all the inspiration and tips I have picked up from here :) God Bless, Jennifer.

============================================

Career Development Plan - Ballerina Body - Chest

Reply by Odette

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for contacting me, it is a pleasure to hear from you.

Firstly, I am so happy to hear my tips and inspirations are helping you. My goal within this website is to guide aspiring dancers like yourself, so I appreciate your encouraging words.

A ballerina's body is very subjective, we all have different opinions or conceptions to what is the 'perfect' body. Therefore, you have to bare in mind that each director of a professional ballet company will have an individual preference on what they want when it comes to body shape.

So it could well be possible to become a professional dancer, but you will have to do some research on ballet companies to see what their 'look' and style is within the dancers. You will find that in every ballet company, the dancers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are tall, short, athletic, lean. They are all indivudual. I advise you to find some favourite ballet companies and discover the variety in the dancer's bodies. Look at my 'ballet companies page for more information on this matter.

I understand you may feel discouraged if costumes don't fit, but you must not let it knock your confidence. Along with the physical ability and athletic body, it is absolutely crucial to be mentally prepared to succeed in ballet. It highly depends on your self-motivation to how you succeed in becoming a professional ballet dancer. The Seven Secrets, on the 'Seven Secrets of Ballet' page, will give you the key answers of how to thrive in the ballet world.

Each one of us is individual and unique, we all come in different shapes and sizes, so do not feel discouraged but accept your body and be confident with who you are.

I have known of so many of ballet dancers who have this slender body, yet they just do not have the technical, or mental, skills to succeed. So body image is not always everything.

Who is your favourite ballerina? Think about why you love them? - is it their body.... or the way they dance? The emphasis is not always just on body image. Find a dancer you aspire to be like and use them as your inspiration.

Obviously, the ballerinas you see on stage look very slim and slender but this has been achieved with years of intense training and committed practice. The 'perfect' ballerina body doesn't just come in a miracle, we all have to work for what we want.

My top advice is always push your body to the maximum in all your ballet classes and feel a great sense of length through your body. Feel as though there is a piece of string which is always pulling you upwards. With time, this will lengthen out your body.

Listen to these great quotes by successful ballerinas to inspire you:

"My body is my tool. In ballet, it's not about being slim and slender, you need to aim for muscle. " -Lauren Cuthbertson, Principal, The Royal Ballet

"You have to be your own icon." Laura Morera, Principal, The Royal Ballet

"I want young dancers to know that, yes, you have to make sacrifices, but at the end of the day we're not models - we need strength." Laura Morera, Principal, The Royal Ballet

Keep inspired Jennifer and believe in yourself.

Best Wishes,

Odette

ps. To become the best dancer you can be, learn the Seven Secrets ..... go to my 'Seven Secrets of Ballet' page