Right. I know I'm not too old to start, having seen all these "You can start ballet at any age" things. I'm 19.

My problem is that I have scoliosis. I don't know how many degrees it is exactly, but it is bad enough that I'm not supposed to run or carry heavy objects because I can dislocate ribs.

I never did sports, due to lack of interest and horrible hand-eye coordination, but I was in marching band(which technically is a sport) all four years of high school, and played mellophone, despite all my chiropractor's complaints about the weight of the instrument and its case hurting my back. I'd say I do have a pretty decent amount of strength in my legs from all the marching, and my posture improved significantly during freshman year. Now standing as straight as humanly possible is a habit that I probably couldn't break if I wanted to. XD

I'm just wondering, has anyone here started ballet with scoliosis, and if so, did it help, make it worse, or have no effect on it at all? And were you able to do everything you were supposed to do?

I have a student with scoliosis. It's obvious, easy to see, but she has a normal life with it and does the complete class. Because she was worried about going on pointes with this back, we discussed it and she would go to her doctor for new X-rays. I know they are made, but don't know the results.

I also have a collegue with scoliosis. Not so bad, hard to see, but she completed the 4 years of daily trainings at the academy.

Ballet is pretty safe for scoliosis. It's all about controling the body. Difficult coordinations, jumps and turns, come later.
Of course, when you feel something weird/wrong you have to check out what it is. But it doesn't mean you have to stop ballet, usually you only have to improve your technique.

If you want to start, make sure you find a good teacher, willing to teach her students the basics well, instead of moving to an intermediate level too fast.
Start at a beginning level. Starting in September is better then halfway the school year (unless you can find a beginners class that starts now of course). If you don't want to wait, start with Pilates, Floorbarre or private ballet classes now.

I have scoliosis and I started ballet in august. however, mine isn't very severe. i'm actually not sure how bad it is since I haven't seen a doctor about it in a few years. but so far I don't think it's had any effect on my dancing at all. i'd say go for it!

I am not a doctor.

Please do not take my experience over any doctors recommendation.
Ask your doctor for advice.

A former female coworker of mine had scoliosis and took ballet classes. She started as an adult and she really enjoyed it from what I could tell.

This is something you really need to ask your doctor. Every case of scoliosis is different, so nobody here will be able to tell you whether you are able to participate in ballet. Based on the fact that you are not supposed to run or lift heavy objects, if you do end up taking ballet, you may need to avoid jumps and cambre/port de bras (moves that twist and bend your back). You may need to take private lessons to accommodate for this.

See previous thread:

www.dance.net . . .

I would see an orthopedist. When scoliosis is so severe that you have restrictions, it is generlaly severe enough that treatment or therapy is recommended


I have scoliosis. I was watchfor sometime but never required a brace or surgery. It stopped progressing just short of that. I have no issues whatsoever taking class.

But, that's me. Everyone is unique. I'd seriously speak with an orthopedist and not a chiropractor about this issue.

I have scoliosis and have been dancing for about 10 years.
Mine is a moderate curve, but it's in my very very low back, (the worst part of it is L1, the lowest it can be) which means you can't actually see the spine curving, although if you look carefully you can see that one of my hips is higher than the other one.
My orthopedic specialist encouraged me to continue dancing, and said that if it were to do anything to my back, it would probably just help loosen the muscles.
I have found dance to, in general, help with back pain, although I'm a little more prone to pulling muscles in my hips and back for sure.
I think my only roadblock has been that I definitely have less back flexibility, but I've been gently working at it, and it's a lot better than it was before.

Definitely talk to your doctor, though, my scoliosis has no complications and is not getting worse, (I'm completely done growing) so it might be different for you.

I have had students with scoliosis. As long as you are cleared by your doctor, go for it!

One of my favourite ballet teachers has moderate scoliosis. She says that she has more back pain now because she is dancing less than when she was a student.

I have VERY minor scoliosis, so my experience probably won't speak to yours, but I find that ballet really helps with my alignment. If I take even a few weeks off from classes, I start to lose strength in my back muscles and my back gets achy and I start to visually notice the asymmetry more.

I also have a good friend who had scoliosis severe enough that she had to wear a back brace for years, and she trained in ballet for many, many years while growing up. I don't know if ballet training helped her at all re. the scoliosis, but it certainly didn't make it any worse, and she enjoyed it, so hey!

Anyway, yes, as everyone else has said, you should check with an orthopedist before starting, just to make sure there aren't any movements you need to avoid, etc. (might also be useful to talk to a physical therapist with experience working with dancers). But, as long as you know the limits you need to place to avoid injuring yourself, I think you will find ballet really fun and rewarding!

Assuming that you are cleared by a doctor, I would say the next step would be to find a class in which your teacher fully understands anatomy and can help you adjust any necessary exercises for your body to both aid in your muscular development and to avoid injury. In theory, all ballet teachers should have this level of skill but that is just not the case.

Be selective, take a trial class if you can, and ensure you've informed your teacher about the degree of scoliosis that you have and any injuries/pain/restrictions PRIOR to class.

When I was younger I remember a girl in my level who had scoliosis. We had about nine classes a week, and she skipped less than everyone else did. Sometimes she had to sit out for a combination or two, and she had limited back flexibility. Her technique was still where it needed to be to be considered 'pre-professional' + to audition for SIs and have more acceptances than rejections at the end of audition season.

Every individual body has different limitations, so definitely talk to your doctor to see how much your back can take. If you get/already have the go ahead, then ballet would definitely be amazing for you. Go for it! Even if you just want to do it for fun, I bet with hard work you'll find that you're stronger than you think.