Can I start dancing contemporary
at 16?

by Stephanie

I am 16 and I want to dance contemporary. I have never danced ballet, or modern dance; just a little of hip hop.
How can i start?? with ballet? please help me, I have no idea... and sorry for my bad english, I am latina.
Thanks.

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Can I start dancing contemporary
at 16?

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Dec 07, 2010
 Answer from Maria
by: Maria Naranjo



Hi Stephanie,

YES! You can start dancing contemporary at 16.
You know what? Most of the pioneers of modern and contemporary dance started taking classes at that age or even later.

Nowadays, the practice has spread a lot and there are official schools where you need to be a child to be admitted. But that is the case of academic tuitions in which students are prepared for achieving skills that are acrobatic and highly refined.

You can also achieve that if you want, according to your conditions and the time you spend from now on to the practice.

If you take ballet classes, that will help you a lot. Ballet is a type of training that develops skills used when dancing contemporary. But, the study of ballet is not strictly necessary.

You can also look for schools that offer contemporary or modern dance classes. Try different teachers, if you have the possibility, to see which style fits your personality the best. And from there, off you go…

Browse over our page about contemporary dance schools if you haven´t found the places in your locality yet.

If you’re wishing to do this professionally, better look for a school with long term planning and official certifications. If you just want to give it a try or don’t want to engage much yet, an academy for amateurs might be enough.

Good luck with your start. Let us know how you go on and don’t hesitate to reply with more questions, if you have them.

Kindly,
Maria
Feb 08, 2012
 Is it too late?
by: Andrea C.

Im 16 going on 17 tomorrow,i havent had any training with dance of any kind,but i would love to learn how to dance in contemporary and tango,its one of my passions,but where do i start??
Feb 09, 2012
 Reply to Andrea C.
by: Maria

Dear Andrea,

There's already one thread in this section that answers your question. You will find it through the following link:

Contemporary dance for beginners

There's also a link in this same page, just above, within my answer to the first question of this thread. That link will take you to our directory of schools, where you can search for possible places to start taking your classes.

I can provide you with the information about contemporary dance, as that is the topic of my website. Unfortunately, I don't have much specific information about Tango classes yet, so you will need to continue searching in the web and offline for that type of dance.

I also recommend you to browse over the entire section about questions from beginners. You might find related information that can possibly help you and you can also share with others that are in the same moment as you are.

Good luck with your search!

Warm regards,

Maria
Apr 12, 2012
 Is it too late to learn dance at 20?
by: Anonymous

hi... I’m 20 yrs old... and i love contemporary dance... I really want to pursue my career in dance but I have never learned any kind of dance forms before and my body is also not so called flexible though I’m slim and working on it since past 2 months.... is it too late to learn dance at this age....
Apr 12, 2012
 Answer from Maria
by: Maria

Hi there!

It is not too late to start dancing at 20 years old neither, but as with all careers, that also depends on your own general abilities for dancing and art. In any case, if you want to do this professionally, you will have to work hard.

Please read my answer to the first question of this thread, because it also applies to you. You will find it above, at the beginning of this page. And I'm also sure that the following two threads will be of help for you:

Is it too late to succeed professionally in the dance world?

Contemporay dance for beginners

Best dancing!

Maria

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