Expert: Jennifer - 9/6/2003

Question
Hi my name is Kathleen Perry.  I am 12 years old and I do ballet 5-7 days a week.  I want to go to an Ivy Leaugue college after highschool, but I would also like to dance if I could.  Is after college to old to be accepted by a major ballet company?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi, Kathleen.

Wow, you plan for college very early! That is a very good thing to plan so far ahead so you can achieve your goals, but me sure to remain flexible. What you want may change over the years, and you need to be able to adjust your plans to that.

Though it wasnt so common in the past, college and professional dancing are becoming more compatable. Some people defer college to dance professionally, and others choose to go to college first and then go on to dance. I fully encourage that. College will enrich both your dancing and your life, and it is essential to have skills even if you want a dancing career, because dancers' careers usually dont last very long.

Admittedly, starting your career late may lessen your chances of getting in to the huge companies like ABT, but then again, that may not be your goal because the huge companies arent for everyone. And they certainly arent the end-all be-all of professional dance! There are many mid-sized and smaller companies that are excellent... and if something like ABT is your goal, maybe you can shoot for that once you've gotten a bit more experience. One of my teachers started out in a very small company in North Carolina and ended up as a soloist at Boston Ballet!

By all means go to college and learn, and have a great time. But never stop your training one bit, because keeping in shape is essential.

Good luck!