Expert: Jennifer - 5/15/2003

Question
Hello Jennifer,

I am 25 years old and I just started Jazz-Dance and Classical Ballet this month. I ALWAYS had the biggest passion for dancing, but never really had the money, time or family support for classes. But now I finally started and I am very happy about it...

Now, this might sound a little bit stupid and naiv, but would there still be the slightest chance for me to become a professional dancer? I am still very flexible and skinny. And I think, my body is quite underdeveloped... People thind I am around 18-20 years old and I always get asked for an ID, wherever I go. So I am not an "old" 25 year old. I know, that you might not be able to say anything, because you don't know me in person. But is it theoretically possible?

And something else, it might be an age problem! I sometimes habe probems remembering the steps in a dance and my biggest problem:
Whenever we are doing turns, I get VERY dizzy, it gets to the point, where I have to sit down, hold on to something, or even I cannot see properly any more. Does that go away with practice or does that mean I am not made for dancing...

Please answer all the questions honest... I do have a profession and a very good paied job, so it will definately not destroy my life long dreams and give me bad depressions, if you tell me that I am too old to become a professional dancer (for example a dance instructor, jazz-dancer in video-clips, or even in musicals, classical ballet...)!

Thank you very much for your time!

Nadine

Answer
Nadine~

Thank you for asking a question. I am so sorry it took me so long to answer it! I was stuck out of town for a few days, and I apologize.

It is certainly not a naive question to ask. Unfortunately the dance-bug isn't very nice about *when* it chooses to bite us! It sounds like you are aware that it is, though still possible, very rare that someone our age is able to cross over into the professional realm of dance. It has certainly been done before though! I have one friend who never set foot in a dance studio until she was a ripe old 27 years old, and in her thirties ended up dancing for a regional company in California! This, though quite inspiring, is still a very rare case and making it from being an adult beginner requires a tremendous amount of work, talent, and luck. You will have to make sacrifices as pre-professional training is expensive and time consuming, and it is often hard to find a teacher who will take your goals seriously.

Since your time is a lot more valuble to you at your age, you need to make sure your are at the right studio. As a beginner it is difficult to judge the quality of a teacher, but this is probably the most important thing to achieving your goals. Once you decide on your teacher, make sure she knows what your goals are. Adults come into dance studios with widely varying goals (and most of them are very casual) so make sure your teacher knows what you want! After you find a studio, take as many classes as you can and gain as much experience as you can... but please don't abuse your body because you don't heal as well as children do and at this point the health of your body is very important to you!

Combination memory is just a matter of practice. When I first began dancing again, I could never remember what I was supposed to be doing, but about a year later, after a lot of work, I was remembering better than anyone in the class. I think what helped me remember the most was trying to remember the combinations that we had done in class for later that evening so i could walk through them myself at night, and, often, annoy my boyfriend by telling him exactly everything we did in class that day! It really helped me practice my memory even though it seems silly.

Spotting is indeed very difficult to get a hang of, especially in travelling turns (like piques and chaines). The only way to get better at spotting is practice! Try to focus on one specific thing on the wall when you practice your turns and do everything you can to keep your focus, even if you have to slow down the speed of your turns for a while. It will help you out in the long run! Even spotting something at home while spinning in a chair will build your muscle memory for the movement!

I hope all this helps you. If you would like more explaination or followup questions please dont hesitate to email me.

Good luck!