dear all,
i am new to this website so hello fellow dance lovers. Basically I want to say that dancing is my life and that like a lot of you I didnt start when I was really young and so now i dont have all the technical skills but my absolute fantasy is to be able to dance professionally and most of all compete in competitions please please tell me this is possible i love ballroom and lambada and salsa and i am decent at the last two. what are my chances and how do i start making my way to the professionl level? I am 21 years old. thanx for listening love Tara

Hi Tara,

It is very possible for you to become a professional and competitive dancer. You are so young. I started dancing (ballroom) and competing quite late (35 years) and I've been making remarkable progress technically besides the great physical, mental and emotional stimulation I get from dancing.

The key elements to becoming a very good dancer in my opinion are the following:

1.Love dancing for itself and not as a means to something else.

2.Choose the right partner (personality, attitude, ability). You are going to spend a great deal of your time with this person.If you are heterosexual then a good romantic relationship apart from the dancing can make things easier if you are aiming to go all the way to the top with this person.

3.Practice not less than 4 times a week for at least 2 hours per session. Work, work, work.

4.Take a minimum of 2 private lessons of an hour each per week.

5.Find a really great teacher (knowledge, attitude, experience, etc.). One you respect, trust, like and are willing to listen too.

6.Start competing immediately at the beginner or bronze level. Don't wait a second longer.

7.Study and discuss the technique books of the ISTD, Alex Moore and Victor Sylvester. Study the instructional video tapes by the top professionals like the Hiltons, etc. Study top competition tapes.

8.Be patient. Things will not happen overnight. Don't expect to have the poise, flight and musical expression of a top class dancers within a few months. It will take months/years to build your technique and understanding from beginner level to the open syllabus levels. In your case this could happen anywhere from 2 to 4 years of dedication from now.

9.Work hard on your basic technique all the time. This is very important. The "fancy steps" and "the look" will flow naturally from good, solid basic actions and the fundamentals.

10.Finally remember that being a great dancer requires some natural ability. This is a gift that the gods may have given you but you will not know this right now. This is what separates the great ones from the really good ones.

One thing for sure, you are not too old to make this journey to being a good dancer. You should have no doubts about that.

Good luck,
Len.

Tara--
In the ballroom world, I'd say that 21 is still young! As the sport is changing in the US, junior level and youth competition is playing a more important role, but it is not the current American standard for pros to have been in training since youth.
So, what's next? Well, there seem to be two reliable routes to pro competition: First, if you have the money, you can find a reputable pro partner/instructor and work up through the ranks of pro-am competition. This is a great way to go if you can, your partner/instructor will have the experience and contacts that you don't. It also gives you the opportunity to gain comp. experience and "get seen". Downside is the expense of many lessons as well as traveling. Also, no matter what, some day you will have to make the transition to teaching and being a pro because you will need the 24 hour dance immersion if you realy want to be a competitor.
So, the second route is, become a teacher, get some training, get some students who want to travel and compete, build a name among other pros as being reputable and stable, then find a pro partner and start investing the hours and hours of effort it takes to be in pro competition.
Either way it is a career that takes determination and a willingness to sacrifice, but it is incredibly rewarding to those who love it. Even if you don't ever become a pro competitor, the friends you make dancing are a special breed and the relationships you form with students over the years are special too.

Good luck to you in competing, but remember that you love to dance and you don't have to be a national champ to be a wonderful instructor