The typical height of a
Many dance companies today still only hire female dancers, of heights around the traditional measurement of 5'5″ or the 165cm range with males needing to be taller than the female dancers when the females are en pointe.
This “look” is said to have the ability to create perfect, balletic lines and expressive movements on stage. The average height of an American ballerina is about 5 foot 2 inches to 5 foot 8 inches. In correspondence to height, weight would ideally range from 85 to 130 lbs.
“People assume that height makes dancing easier, but it's actually the opposite,” Calmels says. “There's so much more mass to coordinate, which takes a toll on your body.”
In reality, the ideal physique for a female classical dancer is slim, with a long neck, a shortish to medium length torso, long legs with complimentary long arms and high insteps. The height requirements of dancers are really designated by the ballet companies hiring.
From the documentary “Ballerina” the ideal body type of a ballet dancer is “ideally a ballerina will have a small head, long neck, long arms, long legs, slender figure.” Altynay Asylmuratova, Artistic director of the Vaganova Ballet Academy- 2009.
A common narrative for dancers who think they are too tall to dance is that they can't move as smooth, full-out, or as quick as shorter dancers. But this is not true. Tall dancers can be just as smooth, full-out, and quick as anyone else. You just have to figure out how much energy to use.
The height plays a significant role in determining a ballerina ideal weight. Most ballerinas are between about 160cm and 173cm tall. With this height range, weight is ideally anywhere between about 40 and 59 kg, and depends heavily on muscle and bone mass.
On average, a dancer's performance career tends to end around the age of 35. They've often been shaping muscle and bone into elegant lines since shortly after they first learned to walk, moulding their bodies to achieve the perfect balance of powerful athleticism and artistic grace.
At what age do most dancers retire? Most dancers stop dancing between 35 and 40 years old. Sometimes a dancer may have a specific injury that has forced them to stop dancing and sometimes their bodies are just tired from all the physical strength that is required for ballet.
Interestingly enough, the average age of ballet dancers is 20-30 years old, which represents 62% of the population.
With their lean, muscular bodies, agility and continuously being on their toes, dancers are considered physically fit, and most parents, as well as dancers themselves, don't think about fitness.
It's because dance is a total body workout. You are not sitting on a bike and cycling or running or weight training. The idea is the body is long and lean and never at rest, just really burning calories. It's fluid, liquid-like movement, and it's continuous.
Dancing Improves The Body's Flexibility
Most dance styles involve a great range of motion and movement, allowing major muscle groups to be flexed and properly worked out. As a result, the dancer's body should soon become more nimble.
The body of a ballerina should be well-proportioned, healthy, and flexible enough that it should be able to withstand the stresses of a ballet performance. So, excessively thin isn't good. Maintaining a healthy weight with a low body fat percentage while maintaining muscle tone is better.
The mean percent body fat (PBF) values were 20.1 +/- 3.6% for the females and 14.5 +/- 4.2% for the males. Age and pubertal development were not significantly related to PBF in the females.
Subjects were predominately professional ballet dancers or students of ballet; there were a few studies performed on modern dancers and one study on flamenco dancers. There was a variety of ages of the subjects (15.5 to 40 years) and a range of results. Percent body fat (%BF) ranged from 7.8% to 24.0%.
Dance is a form of exercise that allows you to express yourself and makes you feel and look more beautiful. So, the happier you are, the more endorphins get released in your body leading to dewy and supple skin.
Can you learn ballet if you are an adult with limited flexibility? Yes, you can learn ballet at any age and any level of flexibility. Ballet is a physically demanding art that requires a lot of athleticism and strength.
The general description of a dancers body is usually long and lean and therefore having longer arms or legs once you have learned to control them effectively will allow you to create the beautiful aesthetic lines so coveted within the dance world. Essentially having longer limbs can be a blessing for a dancer!
The dancer would have the curvier legs, the defined, lifted glutes, and the more compact, firmer looking muscles. As straightforward as these differences might seem to us, there isn't much scientific validation for them.
Carbohydrates (goal: 55-60% of a dancer's diet) are a dancer's best source of energy. Complex carbs are found in plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
The International Association of Dance Medicine suggests a “rough estimate of 45-50 calories per kilogram of body weight for females and 50-55 calories per kilogram of body weight for males,” which is based on research from the sports community (1,2,3- content warning: gender-exclusive language).