Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 3/6/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dianne,

I'm 22 and I want to take up ballet. I can't dance at all but would like to be able to. I am thinking about taking up beginners ballet (for adults) and the same for street dance.

The trouble is I am very overweight and unfit. I hope to be able to change this but don't want to have to wait for possibly years to start dancing when dancing would actually help in my weight loss too.

Is it practical and worth it for me to take up ballet and street dance or would it just be a waste?

I don't want to dance for anything other than my own enjoyment and just to learn a new skill. I am already training classically as a singer.

Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Charlotte. There is no reason for you not to take ballet. It can help you lose weight, while developing muscle mass and shape that you need to stay healthy.

I've written many articles about adult beginners in ballet, weight loss, healthy fats, and more, to help ballet dancers.

I write at http://www.balletshoesandpointeshoes.blogspot.com

Here's a link to an article about ballet and weight loss:

http://balletshoesandpointeshoes.blogspot.com/2007/11/ballet-for-weight-loss.htm

You may find some of the other articles useful as well.

Dance is always useful for a singer, It enhances the grace, balance and control you need to sing. It improves heart health, lung capacity and reflexes.

You might also like to look at http://www.alsearsmd.com

He is really an expert on training for heart health and weight loss. He encourages the eating of healthy fats and the limiting or not eating carbs, to lose weight.

If you enjoy my blog please become a follower and also sign up to get new posts by e-mail. (Google guarantees your privacy they will not share your e-mail with anyone.)

Let me know if you have any further questions, all the best, Dianne


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Dianne,

Thank you so much for your response. It was really helpful and I will be reading all of the archives of the blog!

I was just wondering, as an adult beginning ballet, how far can I expect to be able to progress and how quickly?
I know that speed of progression is based on dedication and the individuals own skill levels but as a generalisation or average...how long does it take to be able to have a basic level of dance?
Also, how long is it generally or what are the fitness or ability requirements to get onto point work?

Thank you

Answer
Hi again Charlotte. Your progress will depend upon whether you take one class a week, or two or three classes a week. It's hard to tell for every individual, but it's possible that if you took one ballet class a week for six months, and one Pilates class, you could progress more than if you took two ballet classes a week. This would be different than for a child.

Pilates would develop your core muscles, which would help your progress in ballet faster, as an adult.

So your progress would depend on this, plus the quality of teacher you have (for technical accuracy), and on your overall health. Eating well, sleeping well, not stressing too much, would contribute to your progress in ballet.

Pointe work would probably not follow for three to four years. The general guideline is three years of training, as well as three classes per week for the past year.

I hope all these general formulas aren't too mind-boggling. There are exceptions to  every rule.

When you've done a few months of ballet classes, you might want to get The Perfect Pointe Book (the author's link is on the left sidebar on my blog) which outlines very specific details on strengthening for pointe work. It also provides self-assessments for exercises required to progress on to doing ballet in pointe shoes.  Foot types are illustrated for you, and a lot of basic ballet techniques and ballet positions are described and illustrated as well. It won't mean anything to you until you've learned some ballet, but at that time, you'll use it for a reference for a few years.

Ballet takes time for your body to learn, and this can be a little frustrating for adults because intellectually you'll learn it quickly. Even for the physically gifted, patience is your best attribute.

All the best, Dianne