The intention was to publish answers to a questionnaire today, but it is delayed because I have been ill for a few days with the flu, and I didn’t have the time to answer all the questions that are on the questionnaire that was made for me.
So for this part of ‘A bit of me,’ in which I intend to share a bit of my personal side each weekend, I think it is actually interesting to explore a part of myself and say something that could stir a bit of controversy.
There’s been a disagreement for years about a particular topic: the age at which you should start dancing and the benefits of doing so, especially concerning boys. The truth is that it matters a lot more than people tend to acknowledge, at least for boys. I would go as far as to say that if you start at a young age and gain more weight, you will often still be able to outperform some skinnier dancers who started later, simply due to the advantages of beginning dance training at a young age.
One of the most notable advantages is simply flexibility, which especially ballroom dancers, ballet dancers, and hip-hop dancers need to perform on the highest levels. Although, also some other sporters, like gymnasts. It’s literally a part of a human’s body that the younger you work on your flexibility, the greater the effectiveness is, including even the possibility to increase your flexibility.
This fact is proven by the many injuries people get while doing aerobics and yoga, even at younger ages. There are teens who already can’t achieve yoga poses without injuries simply due to lacking flexibility required. And this is even worse when it comes to dancing and gymnastics. I have been at competitions where I have seen dancers being injured by normal dance moves simply due to not having the flexibility to properly do the moves they are intended to do. It’s sad to see.
However, that’s also the important part that many don’t wish to say. Yes, you could technically start dancing at any age. However, if you want to achieve the most in dancing, you will want to start as a child, preferably around or before the age of 7.
I say this from experience. I started my dancing journey at a young age, as the following photos will prove to you. I’m just 13 now and every dancer, both male and female, that is still starting at my age, they all quit simply because they are unable to catch up with the parts of literally development that they have missed out on. Which in my case, does include the really harsh stretching practices that we had in Belarus, as they are the case in most of Eastern Europe. I will show a video of this in a future part of this series.
I know a lot of people don’t like hearing it, but there needs to be more honesty about it. Maybe for girls age doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t be able to tell, I have no experience here. But as a boy, it matters a huge amount. You need the flexibility. And this isn’t something people just attain anymore at later ages. The human body doesn’t work this way, it’s a well-known fact. It’s easiest and best to do this at younger ages.
I don’t mean to say that starting dancing at older ages is impossible. Not at all. But it will limit you. And that’s what people generally speak about. Starting age limits you at dancing. Unless you previously did something like gymnastics or figure skating, of course.
I feel like I am rambling now, so I will leave it at that.
