Starting Ballet As An Adult

It’s easy to get intimidated when you hear that most ballet dancers start taking ballet classes from the time they can walk. It’s easy to think “it’s too late for me to start now” when you see a video of a nine-year-old on Instagram with her leg stretched up to her ears. But if you love to dance, it is never too late to start ballet! Whether you want to work on your balance, strength, flexibility or stamina, ballet is exactly the workout you need. 

Actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn used ballet as her workout routine throughout her life, and here are all the reasons you should start ballet, too: 

Ballet is a workout 

Although ballet is an art (and the professionals make it look so easy), it’s also a physically demanding workout. Between the low impact barre exercises and the high energy centre combinations, ballet pushes your body to achieve the stamina, muscle strength and flexibility you didn’t know you needed. 

It’s your chance to let go of what’s happening outside the studio 

When you’re working to remember the steps, keep up with the music, and apply all your corrections at the same time, there isn’t really space in your head to be thinking about anything else! During class you have to be focused on technique and artistry, allowing you to forget about everything that is causing stress or anxiety beyond ballet. When it comes to ballet class, stress gets left at the door.

Ballet is for everyone

Whatever your age, body type or experience, ballet class is for everyone, whether you are there only to learn more about the art, or to aim to be a professional. Just look at the RAD’s Silver Swans programme – it’s never too late.

Become in tune with your body 

Ballet will allow you to use muscles you didn’t know you had! It’ll teach you more about the way your tendons, muscles and ligaments work together, and about the placement of every single bone in your body from your toes, to your tailbone, to your ribs, to your shoulders. It will give you an understanding of correct posture and help you maintain it outside the studio, too.

See what your body can do 

One of the most satisfying parts of ballet is watching yourself improve before your own eyes. The results you see are directionally proportional to the amount of effort you put in. Ballet allows you to watch your body get stronger and more flexible little by little until what you couldn’t do before, becomes routine. 

Looking for inspiration?!

One of our teachers – Miss Sushmitha Margad started ballet as an adult! Miss Sushmitha started ballet at 21 years old and has since become a soloist and teacher with TLFCB. She has done her Intermediate and Advanced 1 ISTD Imperial Classical Ballet exams, and has also received the Associate in Imperial Classical Ballet from ISTD in Rome in 2015. She’s a soloist in the company – you might have seen her perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the Emerald Princess in Oz The Ballet, or even as Cogsworth in our latest production Belle and The Beast. Miss Sushmitha serves as an inspiration to all of us – she shows us that we should never stop working hard and that we can always carry ourselves with more grace. 

Another source of inspiration for many is Shilpa Paralkar. Shilpa started out as a dance mom when her daughter started attending ballet and has now become a dancing mom! She attends ballet, DanceFit and jazz. There’s nothing that can stop Shilpa from trying her hardest in every class she attends. 

Join ballet now! Click here to register!