I have short legs, can i still dance?

Question:i haf abnormally short legs, like their disporportional to the rest of my body, not enought for everyone to notice, but enough for ME to see. I want to know would that effect my dance ability such as balance?

ps. I've danced for about a year and a half now(lyrical n modern), but i've just noticed that when i do needles im always off balance, so im HOPING that it has nothing to do with my legs

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: i haf abnormally short legs, like their disporportional to the rest of my body, not enought for everyone to notice, but enough for ME to see. I want to know would that effect my dance ability such as balance?

ps. I've danced for about a year and a half now(lyrical n modern), but i've just noticed that when i do needles im always off balance, so im HOPING that it has nothing to do with my legs

having short legs shouldn't influence your dancing ability. it may make it harder to do some steps but especially in lyrical and modern it shouldn't have much difference...

in ballet, i know that it's really important to have long legs and a shorter torso, unfortunately for me, i'm very proportionate, so i understand your pain to some extent.

I've found that really working on elongating everything helps a lot. my chiropractor and physical therapist gave me exercises to lengthen my tendons and muscles in my legs so they look longer than they really are now.

also, in terms of being off balance, needles (just like everything else) takes practice and the development of a strong core. ive been dancing for 15 years now and my core is still developing and becoming stronger. i don't know you personally so i don't know how strong you are but working on your abdominal muscles and back muscles will really help.

also you may want to consider taking some ballet classes. ballet technique is much more strict than lyrical or modern. With such a strict technique and placement, taking ballet classes is one of the best ways to improve your core, fix your balance, find your center, everything. it is very true that ballet helps with all other dance types, even hip hop.

another factor that could possibly hold you back is confidence. again, i don't know you personally, but ive learned from teaching that some dancers are either afraid to try a step or worried because they know they can't do the step as well as someone else so they don't go for it with the same attack as they can. try doing them alone, whether in your room, basement, living room, studio, wherever when there isn't anyone around and just try to really go for it (just dont get hurt since there isn't anyone around!!) but really if you try to do it and tell yourself that you can and then try it a couple of times it may work out. the important thing tho is to not become frustrated with yourself because that will lead to doing it worse, an increase in the chance of injury, etc. try it a couple of times, if they're working out and getting better keep trying them, otherwise if you do it a couple of times and they start getting worse or it's not doing anything, stop. you may have started becoming tired and/or frustrated and again this leads to an increase in the possibility of an injury.

one last thing, is that you may want to talk to your teacher alone after class one day. tell her what your concerns are. he or she could give you some tips. you could also ask a friend or dancer who is older and having more success with them, but its probably better to talk to the teacher because they generally know how to explain things better and in some cases, the teacher can stop you if they see you doing something dangerous.

all in all, just stay confident and don't get down on yourself. nothing works when one gets frustrated so just keep trying your best. and ya know, maybe you don't get them for a while but one day you could just click and be like whoa! holy sh*t! and get it. there are so many possibilities.

but whatever happens, don't stop dancing because of one silly step, or a differently shaped body, you never know what can happen. i was told when i was 14 that although i was a beautiful dancer, i needed to find something other than dance to do with my life because i would never make it because of my body. after that, i became severely anorexic and bulimic and really unhappy with everything i did. i kept dancing tho. now i'm healthy again and i'm doing fantastic. ive been asked to guest perform and teach for several local companies and its a lot of fun. sorry i'm rambling--basically, just dont give up!

hope this helps!!

of course not!

you can do anything you put your mind to.

Same thing for me and. Of course you can nothings holding you back. I dance I'm like so short. I take ballet,tap,and hip hop. Besides us short people look also a lot sexier when we dance.

of course you can dance! I have short legs too and I have been dancing successfully for 13 years. but that wouldnt have much to do with your legs.....if you find yourself off balance that means you need to work on your core. so stick with it!

i was in lyrical and modern .no one of my dance teachers has short legs and shes doing great.i hope you do good in dancing.

Yes, it probably has nothing to do with your legs.