Harsh Reality on Becoming a Ballerina and Why You Shouldn't Care

Only 5% of the world's population have the "ideal body type" to become a supermodel.  What about for ballet dancers with the top companies?  It's only 2% of the world's population.  What is this body?

FEET:  High arches with a top bump and strong Achilles tendons.
ANKLES:  Strong and flexible Achilles tendons.
HIPS:  Must have a 90 degree turnout from each of the hip rotators, giving you a 180 degree foot stance.
LEGS:  Long and hyper-extended.
TORSO:  Short.
NECK:  Long.


Not to mention a small, round head and you can't exceed the height and weight restrictions.  

Of course, it's impossible to tell if your child will have all these requirements as an adult, but regardless, these dancers must start training by age seven at a top ballet academy.  Of course, there are plenty of these top notch professionals that don't move to a serious academy until the ages of eight to eleven and have even had some dancers start at late as 13, but these are incredibly rare.  These dancers have sacrificed their childhood, many are home schooled or go to special schools at their academy.  By age 14, these dancers are training 20-30 hours a week and by age 17, would be an apprentice with a company and then join the corps de ballet at 18 (if asked.)

For those who are really talented, they become Soloist, then Principals and then a select few reach the level of "Ballerina."  Most dancers retiring by their 30s (given no injuries,) and the rare exception dance until their 40s.

I don't meet these strict requirements for the ballet dancer's body and I definitely didn't put in the time in becoming a professional ballerina when I was in secondary school.  However, I do remember wondering if I could or would become a professional ballerina.  Of course, I didn't know all these facts when I was a young dancer or I might have been heartbroken, but I continued to dance and never really stopped.  By college, my goals were different and I decided to pursue writing (majoring in English) and minoring in Theatre.  Then, later at grad school, my focus turned to film-making and screenwriting.  Regardless of my current goals, which will now take a long, long time to "make it," I did dance with a small ballet company in DC and was lucky enough to have some decent roles.

So, why shouldn't we care about how hard it is to become a professional ballerina?  Because holding onto the dream while we're too young to realize the harsh realities of the profession in the arts can keep us going, maybe being the next Misty Copeland or maybe we'll eventually dance for smaller companies or even better, it will teach us how to work really, really hard for new dreams.


There is nothing about ballet that is instant and in the world of instant gratification, I feel like ballet taught me the best life lesson for success: hard work, time, and perseverance has shown me success time and time again.  

~ Miss Jenna

"Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th" - Julie Andrews