To become a ballerina, a dancer must start training at age 7 or 8, learning traditional moves and progressing to dancing on tiptoe. They may audition for a ballet academy and compete to join a company’s corps de ballet, eventually becoming a soloist or principal dancer.
A ballerina is the principal dancer in a ballet company. Whether the company performs a classical ballet like Swan Lake or a featureless contemporary ballet, the ballerina is the dancer who plays the lead role. To become a ballerina, a dancer must begin her dance training at the age of seven or eight. At first, she starts by taking one or two ballet classes a week. As she grows older, she moves to five or six lessons a week.
In her daily dance classes, the aspiring ballerina learns all the traditional classical ballet moves. As a budding dancer, she learns the five basic foot positions, as well as simple stretching exercises such as the tuck, a movement that involves bending the legs. As her technique improves, she learns leaps, turns and static poses like the arabesque, a pose where the dancer stands on one leg, the other leg stretched out behind in a graceful manner.
As the dancer approaches age 11 or 12, the dance teacher determines if the child is ready to begin dancing on tiptoe. Only students with sufficient strength in their legs and feet may wear pointe or toe shoes. Aspiring ballerina begins to learn to dance on her toes, helped by special blocked shoes. The goal is to make every move look effortless and graceful. As her training continues, she will learn to dance with a male partner and participate in student performances.
During adolescence, a dancer may choose to audition for a ballet academy affiliated with a prestigious ballet company. Ballet schools associated with professional ballet companies are breeding grounds for companies looking for new dancers. If the dancer is selected to attend the academy, she will have more opportunities to perform in places where she can be seen by influential people in the world of ballet.
Competition is fierce to win a spot in a ballet company’s corps de ballet. The corps de ballet is basically the chorus of a ballet company. These dancers are the performers who dance as a group on stage. Sometimes a teenage ballet dancer who shows promise is chosen to become a new member of the corps, but not all ballet students are expected to join the ranks of professional dancers.
Once the aspiring ballerina joins the corps de ballet, she begins to learn the ballets in the company’s repertoire. Over time, if she is extremely talented, she can become a soloist, a dancer who is given individual roles in a ballet performance. If she proves to be a talented dancer, she could be promoted to lead dancer. When a ballerina is given the title of principal dancer, she is finally considered a ballerina.
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