Hey,

My name is Katie and I am 20 years old. I have cerebal palsy but it is mild ... I am like everyone else from the waist up but my knees bend when I stand! I REALLY in the future want to go to ballet classes .. I am a little worried that there won't be any males in the class (I know you have to dance on your own for a while before you can have a partner) but I truely want to experience dancing with a partner. I think males in ballet are beautiful.I sometimes think guys are better dancers the girls !! Is there any males on here who is 18-20 on here?

Hi there!

I made the experience that there are more male dancers in adult classes and really really good ones.

In my first ballet class (a age-mixed group) there were only girls, but in the other (adult class) I took there were male dancers, maybe one third of the group was male

Maybe you should also try another part of the site to search for male dancers around here, like the adult dancers board. Once you get to know a few peolpe here you will find them

Love,
MC

I'm new so wasn't sure where to put it !! Thank you xx Any guys please reply !!xxx

If you want to experience dancing with a partner, posting on a site like DDN seems like a good idea but it won't get you very far: DDN's population is all ages from countries all over the world! The probability of you finding someone who you are able to dance with immediately is rather low on a site as vast as DDN.

So, an alternative is to go to every studio within transportation distance and let them know that you're interested in partnering classes and see if any have classes already set up or are planning on beginning any soon. This will help get you into a classroom with partners. Some may not have partner-specific classes, but have ballet classes with guys and will integrate a few partnering combos each class...that could be good for you, too.

I didn't think of that Alwaysonstage "DDN's population is all ages from countries all over the world! The probability of you finding someone who you are able to dance with immediately is rather low on a site as vast as DDN." There doen't seem to be a lot of guys on here.prove me wrong! I still want to know if there are any guys on here that are 18-20 because it's good to talk even if they can't be your partner !

Please don't take offense, because I say this to be upfront not to accuse. There are several (although I wouldn't say MANY) male dancers with experience in ballet on this website that contribute a lot to discussions on partnering. However, limiting your search to within a few years makes it sound like you want a date, not a discussion.

If you haven't already, read through some old discussions and questions around the ballet boards about partnering and pas de deux...you'll find that lots of people will chime in with experience when someone has a specific question, all of which can help answer the question or fix the problem. If you have a specific question, such as "What was it like the first time you started working on partnering?" then feel free to post it! I'm not sure age limitations on this matter is working to your advantage.

The first step is to start dancing, before worrying too much about finding males to dance with! Use the yellow pages to find ballet studios in your area, then ring them and see which ones have classes suitable for you, whether it is an adult beginners class, or a class with teens. Given that you have mild CP, you may need to find a supportive and understanding teacher who can help you to work with the CP.

If you are really interested in partnering, you may find that a community dance programme (not ballet) has more opportunites, as in ballet most people don't start partnering until they have several years of experience, as ballet pas de deux requires quite a lot of technical experience and strength.

sorry AlwaysOnStage I didn't mean to make it sound like that ! Oh I'm not making a very good impression on this site oh dear !!

LOL! Don't worry about it, dear. For most new members it takes a while to get the feel of the website: you're doing just fine.

Back to topic--have you been able to find any partnering classes in your area?

No AlwaysOnStage ...There's not a lot in my area but I am going to send a letter about classes.