Career Development Plan - Ballet as Hobby or Profression?

by Laura
(Bristol)

Career Development Plan - Ballet as Hobby or Profression?

I am 19 years old have always been interested in dance, but have never took it up which i really regret. I did ballet and tap classes when i was really young but quit (for a reason i cant remember)I would love to train professionally and be in competitions and shows, I've recently started a adults beginners ballet class but just feel like the people in there are much more advanced than me and have a background in dance and also a lot more flexible and i just came out feeling depressed that i didn't carry on dancing when i was younger. I don't know where to start as i feel somethings missing if i don't do dance.
Is it to late for me to be a good dancer and gain flexibility? and seeing as i don't have a background in dance do you think to late to start a training course in different areas of dance?
Thanks

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Reply by Odette
To:- Career Development Plan - Ballet as Hobby or Profression?

Hello Laura,

Thank you for contacting me, it is great to hear from you. It really depends on what you want to achieve as a dancer, if you want to dance professionally it would prove a challenge since most ballet dancers start training at an earlier age and as young as 11. However, I absolutely think you should keep dancing up as a serious hobby to start with. You can still take it more seriously and start training to get advanced as the others in your class, then see where it leads you.

If you have always been interested in dance, why not give it a go now? Even as a hobby, it can be enjoyed just as much rather than taking it as a commitment for a full time career. Every dancer has to start somewhere, so if you want to one day be in competitions and shows, keep that as your motivation to keep working hard in your classes.

Don't be too hard on yourself, you have only just started ballet classes again! It takes a lot of time and patience to feel you are progressing in ballet, so you must keep at it in order to see any sort of result. Take one step at a time and let your first aim to be securing the basics of ballet so you can feel more confident in your classes.

You absolutely have a passion for dance, I can feel it through your message and writing... so you must follow this feeling and keep dancing. You can still be a good dancer and you can do it for yourself if anything to fulfill the interest you have always had. Otherwise, you will go on thinking 'what if?'.

I personally think it is never too late to start studying dance as a serious hobby. In terms of dancing professionally or having it as a career, that is a different matter. But there are no rules to who or how old someone should be to dance... if you want to dance, then dance! Nothing should stop you.

I absolutely recommend you taking classes in other areas of dance too such as contemporary, tap or jazz as it will all contribute to shaping who you are as a dancer.

I do have a high background in dance and I am telling you to keep at your dance lessons. You can achieve something great in yourself to know you pursued something you wondered so much about. And, honestly, dance IS just as much enjoyed as a hobby. That is what dance should be about ? The fun, enjoyment, passion without the pressure of having it as your full time profession and career.

So, Laura, have the freedom to dance and begin your journey slowly to master those basics of ballet.

Best wishes,
Odette

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