Expert: Mindy - 10/11/2009

Question
Hi!



I love musical theatre and I love dancing and recently I've really began to appreciate it more, I've been singing for about 2 years now and i want to be able to dance in shows so that i always have some sort of way to be in the show. I love to dance, i love the gracefulness, however I'm now 17 years old having NEVER had a dance class and i want to go to a university where they study dance and musical theatre, I have been told i have "natural talent" but I'm sure what i have isn't enough to get me through, and with one year until the new school year, My question is, should i just give up with it..? By my age a lot of people have amazing experience so is it possible for me to still have a successful career when 17 and without dance training? I have done school shows but i know that real theatre is a whole other realm of skill, i want to take Ballet, tap, jazz, theatre and contemporary and i would also like to know a bit more about the theatre audition process for dancers, Im really interested in a dance university here in london, but these questions are really distracting me when trying to learn dance..

Also i was told by people that male dancers were only really hired if they were between like 5ft 5 to 5ft 9, and im 6ft :( is that true?

Thank you so much :)

Answer
My advice is always follow your heart. If you want to dance and have natural talent why the hell not. Go for it. I am 5' which is VERY short for female dancers. I did it anyway. My major in college was theatre arts with a dance concentration. So I did it all also. Act, sing, dance, direct even set design and costume design. If it is what is in your heart go for it. Every audition is different. Sometimes they just want to know if you have rhythm, can follow directions and know your right from your left. Other times they want you to learn full on pieces and preform them. Find a school you love and go from there. Don't be so nervous or have the nerves stop you, I have a few friends that never danced in college and they were AMAZING...

Good luck Hun,
Mindy