Hi! My 13-year-old wants to start ballet classes but I’m having trouble finding one for beginners aged 13. Anyone know of any in the London or Croydon areas, please? Thanks.
Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.
Extra-curricular activities
London/Croydon ballet classes for beginner aged 13
Zanthe · 14/01/2024 18:19
BatshitIsTheOnlyExplanation · 14/01/2024 21:26
You could try the Betty Wivell Academy in south London.
That said, 13 is really late to start ballet if it's needed for the next step. I think you will need to throw money at it
Zanthe · 15/01/2024 21:12
@ChimneyPot That’s good to know! Did you daughter do adult ballet classes at 16?
Lonecatwithkitten · 16/01/2024 07:33
Absolutely not my daughtrr we r started at 15 now at Italia Conti studying musical theatre and dancing on pointe.
Musical theatre courses look for aptitude and train ability not current ability.
My daughter joined an adult ballet class at a school that focused on technique rather than passing exams.
BatshitIsTheOnlyExplanation · 14/01/2024 21:26
You could try the Betty Wivell Academy in south London.
That said, 13 is really late to start ballet if it's needed for the next step. I think you will need to throw money at it
ChimneyPot · 16/01/2024 09:42
She did a teen class with 13-19 year olds most of whom were much better than her and worked really hard. It was lockdown so she skipped loads of online school and practised for hours.
She spoke to the dance school in advance and explained what she wanted to do and they were very helpful.
Zanthe · 15/01/2024 21:12
@ChimneyPot That’s good to know! Did you daughter do adult ballet classes at 16?
Comefromaway · 16/01/2024 13:14
My daughter used to live in Croydon. She is a dancer and trained in musical theatre and did some cover teaching at various dance schools so I will ask her if she knows of anywhere suitable.
taxi4ballet · 16/01/2024 14:43
There's also Danceworks in London, they do classes for teens as well as adults. They and Pineapple might not allow younger dancers into adult beginner classes though, so bear that in mind.
Otherwise, find the telephone numbers of ballet schools local to you and ring them up to ask for advice. Sometimes it is better to speak to someone rather than messaging. People do start ballet in their teens, often for the same reason as your dc, it isn't that uncommon.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
CatatonicLadybug · 16/01/2024 21:35
Have been to Pineapple tonight and have a positive update!
She would definitely be welcome on their 6 week beginner ballet course. Yes, the goal is to prepare people so they can then choose the drop in beginner class of their choice and not feel totally lost.
She would need to keep in mind it is a class meant to be very inclusive and welcome all walks of life to ballet, so there will likely be middle aged ladies in there too. Possibly men as well. But they would all be absolute beginners, so would have that in common. I mentioned that it was for a teen wanting to get into musical theatre etc and everyone on reception said definitely, come along and see how it goes. 6 weeks is a lot shorter than most courses so if she hates it, it’s less of an investment in both cash and time. But if she loves it, then she’s right there with lots of other options to help her find the path she wants.
The other classes I would suggest she try at Pineapple would be the beginner level commercial jazz with Fleur (Mondays and Sundays), beginners contemporary with Maria on Sundays, and beginners jazz with Karen on Saturdays. These three are have been teaching at Pineapple longer that your daughter has been alive so although they might not have the glossy social media presence of some of the really young and hip teachers, their technique both in dance and teaching method. Maria is one of the very best for making the teaching of contemporary (which honestly can be really weird even to dancers trained in other styles!) actually make sense. And Fleur has two levels to her class - start with beginner and then move up to elem/gen once that feels easy. The jump between the two is pretty big but really worth sticking it out if it turns out she really loves this stuff. All those classes would be excellent prep for musical theatre training in her future.
wishing her lots of luck and happiness!
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.