What do you need to become a ballerina?

Answer 1

Body requirements: Anybody wishing to become a Ballet dancer needs to meet some requirements. They need to have a strong core, back, feet, and legs,a flexible body,be a graceful person when dancing, and are relatively healthy. They should be at a healthy weight. You do not need all of these to begin ballet, but it would be helpful if you wished to become a professional ballet dancer. Dancers are strong and flexible at the same time

Clothing: Having the proper clothing can be a big boost. Not only does it make you look like a pro, but some items will help support you, allow you to move, and even help with certain ballet technique i.e Pointe Shoes. For many schools, the basic uniform for girls is a leotard, tights, georgette skirt (thin cloth wrap-around skirt), soft ballet shoes (leather or canvas). Once you become more advanced, your teacher may allow you to begin wearing pointe shoes, and train to become proficient at pointework. This is a skill vital for professional ballerinas. Do not wear these before you are told as these can do serious damage to your toes, feet and ankles. A good website for UK and Ireland reader is www.dancewear2u.co.uk - they are very trustworthy and their prices are very low. They also stock some ISTD and RAD clothing

Training: This will be the hardest step if you are not already familiar with the ballet world, but many people have overcome it. When choosing a school, make sure that the directors are experienced, most likely having danced professionally before. See if any of their graduates have gone on to professional companies. Make sure that the directors are reasonable: there are many teachers out there who will stop at nothing to try to make their students perfect dancers. It is simply not reasonable. Being in training for a professional career is stressful; you don't want a teacher who is going to increase that stress. If you wish to take your dancing further, you may like to hire a teacher to teach you privately. Nearly all big cities will have a ballet school, i.e Boston Ballet School. Enrolling in these is for the experienced and can be expensive, but will look good for your future. Just having a good teacher or two isn't going to make you into a ballet dancer. You need to do everything properly as to minimize the risk of injury. Research how your body works in response to ballet (anatomy, etc.), imagery in ballet, and other things like that to help you get a better sense of your body. Analyze lead dancers (principles, soloists) from corps de ballet members ("background dancers" in a company) and students and see what makes them different. What do they do differently? How do they do it? Why? These and more are all questions you should ask yourself and apply. You don't have to do things single-handedly. There are tons of things you can learn from. Don't be afraid to develop your own ideas and opinions about your art form. Besides knowing these things, you also have to put it into practice. Stay after class to this if you will. While the other people dance and you are waiting for your turn, instead of talking or drilling, ask yourself what you can do to be better, more beautiful, more artistic... whatever. Know, then apply. Most importantly, you need to gain experience as a performer. Most schools have recitals in which their students can perform. If you want to take your performance level furthur, you may want to look into competing in solos in competitions, such as the Youth America Grand Prix. It is also helpful to train with different teacher occasionally, perhaps in a summer workshop. Sometimes you can get different corrections or inspiration from another teacher besides your usual teacher.

Extra Home Training: Ballet trains your muscles in specific areas and ways, so it is important to "cross-train" so you don't injure yourself by being unbalanced. Try yoga, swimming, pilates, hip hop, bike riding, hiking, or whatever else is fun. You need to supplement things like yoga to make you strong, but you also need acting and artistic skills because, well, it is ballet dancing. You can't go onstage and perform a bunch of tricks. Where is the art in that? You have to have feeling. Try acting in plays, art classes, gardening, etc. Even though it is good to work hard, also try to find time to rest and take a break from dancing. You don't want to get burned out.

Have a Good Mind- Think of how you can advance to the next level. Just having good technique means nothing if no one sees you. "Summer Intensives" are a good place to start. These are summer ballet camps organized by major companies. You must always be willing to learn a new thing, or an old thing in a new way. Get to know your teachers. Don't be an annoying suck up, but familiarize yourself with them. And remember, no one is beneath you. If there was a more senior member who thought you to be beneath you, how would you feel? Plus, if she suddenly wanted a favor or something from you, you wouldn't give it. So don't be that person. There are some ballet competitions formed to expose dancers to the directors of major ballet schools, and performing at these could be a way to get a good scholarship to them. But with the bonus comes the added risk. Ballet is a performing art, not a competition. Just remember that... The most important thing to remember at this step is to make friends with everyone to broaden your horizons. If you must move away from your family at 15 or 16 to increase your chances in you career, do it. If you want to. At this point, things are subjective. Everything depends on your choices. Just as if you were a junior in high school, what would you be doing to, for example, become a biochemist? You'd be researching and applying to colleges, studying as much as you can, etc. It is important to be seen and get your name out there. One more thing that can help you is if you feel unsure at times, try to find inspiration!

Extra Tips:

• Always keep in mind your dreams, your goals, and your purposes. With these, you cannot fail.
• Be positive!
• Proper clothing helps with movement and supports you.
• Never give up!
• At the end of the day, remember that even if your the best in the world...the only people that are ever known to be great...are those that become great and let a lot of people know about it.
• Get out of your comfort zone and compete in different competitions

Answer 2

This all depends on the person how fast they learn how much they practise and sometimes what your dance school is teaching you. its never about the age. Also u dont have to do gymnastics to be a good dancer there completley different :)