r/BALLET

I've been in and out of ballet since i was 5. I'm 29 now, and restarted classes about 7 years ago. But I've always had to take breaks because I would get injuries from forcing turnout. I never had good turnout naturally, and I eventually developed knee, ankle, and hip pain from overdoing it.

Now that I've come back to it as an adult, I want to be more mindful of my body and do things more intentionally. But each time I try to progress, my pains come back (even when I'm not forcing turnout.) It's like 2 steps forward, 5 steps back. My ballet instructor told me i'll never reach 180 turnout, but I can continue to improve and work on it as much as my body allows. She also told me my alignment is off and that might throw off my form and technique. I've been working with her in private classes to correct everything.

I finally found went to a PT that was classically trained as a ballet dancer, and she told me one longer is a cm and a half longer than the other, which explains my misalignment and possible cause of joint pain. She also checked my hip rotation and told me its 45 and 50. I asked if I can improve it at all, and she seemed hesitant to respond, but she said most dancers want to start with 70 to 80 degree turnout. She said I can work with what I have but shouldnt push it too far.

At this point I'm wondering if its worth continuing my lessons? Everything in ballet is tied to turnout and I just dont have it. I don't and cant be a professional by any means, but I at least want to improve and get better. I see so many adult dancers revisit ballet and see results within months and one year, but I can't seem to progress the same way, even with my years of experience. If I have such little rotation, is it worth bothering at this point?

Should I do my ballet bun in a certain way or am I allowed to be creative and make it more "decorative" like adding braids? What does ballet etiquette says about buns in the class? What kind of bun do you do?

i haven been restarting with ballet since september 2025 and doing it more seriously since januar 2026.

just recently bought warm up/trash bag pants and warm up booties and longer legwarmers and it does make such a BIG difference! i wish i bought them earlier. I always get warm very fast, almost sweating when only doing pliés, so i thought i woudlnt need warmup gear. but it does help with muscle aches later when youre still warm while stretching after class and it feels more buttery to start class with a half-way warm body and muscles already.

what do you wish you'd done earlier in your journey?

For context, I started doing ballet classes in high school, but I didn't really start pointe until college, and then had to stop doing pointe for a bit because of tendonitis. My tendonitis is a lot better now, but the muscles on the outside of my feet feel quite weak, and I struggle a lot with balancing en releve (on demi). I don't have a great arch, and my calves are quite tight (flexibility in general is a struggle for me). So my feet are not the greatest overall. But from what I understand, even if you don't have high arches, you can still do pointe just fine with the proper strength and range of motion? Some of the stronger pointe dancers in my classes have rather flat arches but they still can get over their box perfectly fine and are good at pointe.

My current issue is that I think I am getting over the box okay in my left foot, but my right foot looks extremely pulled back. My right foot also had tendonitis the worst, and sometimes there's this tension that prevents me from pointing that foot completely (but it goes away if I massage the side of my foot with a tennis ball). When I mentioned to my teacher that I was having trouble getting my right foot to go over my box, she told me that's just how my foot is shaped. I am kind of devastated, I love ballet so much and I would do anything to get stronger and better, but if my feet are just physically incapable of getting over the box then I don't know what to do? Is there a definitive way to determine that you don't have feet capable of doing pointe work, even if you work on flexibility and strengthening? (Wasn't sure if I should post pictures or not)

Hey there, so I know this a long talked about subject, but I can't help asking it again. Yes, I know the short answer is no, no matter what you do you will never be "enough" but I know many, many dancer's feel this way so I wanting to some more prospective from others who may understand.

For context, I'm 17F, I've been dancing since I was like 4, and I am training Pre-Professional at a smaller-ish company. I would say I'm one of the top of my class, but not THE best. For Summer Intensives, I got into all of NSIA (one scholorship) got into Ellison, ABT Collegiate, but rejected from Houston. However, everyone tells me I'm good, good on stage and in class, but how much longer will my "good" be good enough? Last year, I thought if I checked off the things on my little boxs, consistent double pirrouette, consistent beats, higher jumps, longer balance I would be more accomplished and, even, happier. I had set goals like everyone says to do, and I feel that I have in fact acconplished those goals. Why then doesn't it feel enough? Why do I feel like crying after class even though class was fine? Is it because fine isn't good enough or is it because my fine was someone's off day and I'm not trying hard enough I'm not pushing myself enough.

I feel sad, frustrated and just an overwhelming sense of worthlessness. I would just like some people's thoughts and advice in this subject since I know its something a lot of dancer's deal with.

I was just wondering as professional and young dancers often train most days of the week, but adult dancers don't necessarily have that time. If an adult dancer only trained with a professional once a week, is it possible to build the strength for pointe over a long enough time frame? Years to decades? Assuming active outside of classes of course.

Hi, our son was just accepted into Ballet Tech, the public school for grades 4-8. Our kid has little to no interest in ballet but came through a public school residency where he was invited to a 6 week program, then an audition. Anyone have experience or knowledge with what this might be like for him? It seems like a great opportunity, but also not sure it's a good fit for a fun, active boy who isn't passionate about dance. Thank you!

Just wanted to shout out the adult classes at Ballet Academy East.

I’ve been taking Intro/Basic there for a couple of years, and one thing I’ve noticed is that most adult ballet classes fall into one of two camps:

1. They assume you already know what you’re doing and you’re just flailing trying to keep up, or
2. It’s super casual and no one really teaches proper technique

BAE somehow avoids both.

They actually teach. Instructors break down the basics, give real corrections (to everyone, not just the “good” people), and take adult beginners seriously. Most instructors ask who is totally new and keep an eye on these students.

Also, they’ll nudge you to level up when you’re ready, which I really appreciate because it’s easy to not know where you stand otherwise.

I’ve tried a few other studios around the city and haven’t found anything else that’s this focused on actually teaching ballet to adult beginners.

And every class has live pianist. Which is just awesome.

Hi all! Where is everyone taking pointe class in LA? I’m finding it hard to find many people teaching adult pointe! Need recommendations!

The French fashion model Manon from 'Street fighter 6' is a judoka* who also does ballet.

Kidkinobi is a channel which analyzes and 'rates' the likelihood of survive fighting video game movies with colour coded comments .

* practices judo--essentially a Japanese grappling style which is more standing emphasizing then say one of it's modified spin-offs Brazilian jiu-jitsu

I know this can be a sensitive topic, so please be kind! I’m genuinely curious about it.

I’ve seen a lot of posts here about studios offering beginner pointe classes to adults “too soon,” and I’m trying to understand why.

I’m an adult beginner, and one of the studios I go to offers a class like this. The teachers are very experienced and professional. One of them was a principal ballerina with a major company, and she’s very detail-oriented and corrects everything.

The class is meant as an introduction to pointe in a controlled way and it focuses on building foot strength and getting used to the shoes. Everything is done at the barre, no centre work, and the class is small (under 10 people), with a mix of beginner and intermediate adult dancers.

I’ve seen people here say starting pointe too early can cause injuries like tendon damage, or even worse. I understand beginners might not have enough strength and stability yet. But in a class like this, with close supervision and only barre work, wouldn’t this also help build that strength and proper form? Is the concern more about general readiness, or are there still risks even in a controlled class like this?

I’d really appreciate any insight.

I know this has been asked in the sub before, but seeking updated recs here. Sizes S/M fit me in most brands except I am quite endowed for my otherwise small physique. Girth 58” so also a long-ish torso. My trusty basic cotton Capezio leotard with a ballet leg cut covers everything without weird baggyness or gaping, BUT I’m really looking for recs for more fun brands that also give some coverage! Because sometimes you just want to feel fancy right?! Eleve is nice, but still a little less coverage than I’d like.