I dance ballet, and I'm not bad, but my best friend does it with me, and I'm jealous of her talent. Advice?

Question

I have been dancing ballet for about 10 years now. I think I'm ok, but I have to work on my turnout. My best friend dances with me and she is really good. She has natural turnout and it's just not fair! How can I boost my confidence and just get better?

Answer 1

Take that energy and emotion from your jealousy and put it all into working on your own dance ability. If you have to practice harder and longer than her, do so, and soon you'll be just as good. But it's not really about her - when you get to "her level," you are going to feel so good that you got there with your own hard work and you'll forget all about her. Good luck!

Answer 2

Google Tonya Harding and take it from there, about as much as I can say.

Answer 3

Ask them for tips. Usually these people have been dancing for a long time ( natural talent or no) and they are sure to have great tips for you. I asked a girl whose turns are beautiful what she does, and her pointers have really helped me. Just observe and you can learn a lot.

  And remember, turnout is pretty much predetermined. It all has something to do with your hips. You can, however, maximize your own turnout with some exercises. Check out www.dance.net for great info. ( look at their strengthening and stretching forums)

  Good luck with your dancing!

Answer 4

raw skills isnt enough against your hard work. keep working and you'll see major improvement natural talent isnt enough.

Answer 5

Practice Practice Practice

and when you practice, dont think about how much you want to be liek your friend. Think about how it will help you.

Don't be competitive.

As long as you enjoy dancing, thats all that matters.

Answer 6

well you should talk to her about it and see if she would help you with it

thats what i would do

Answer 7

she has a natural turnout that makes dance easier for her but real character is built when u know u r not built 4 something but pursue it anyway

Answer 8

don't compare yourself to her. you are two seperate people. she may have good turn out, but you probably are better then her at other things. look in the sunny side:

she may have perfect turn out, but you still have the room to improve.

Answer 9

feed off of her talent! every time u see her do something better then u try to make that much bigger and better. give good expression, that definitely catches peoples eye.!

Answer 10

This may seem mean, but focusing on her imperfections in ballet might help. You might also want to ask her for advice on how to turnout. If she says it's just 'natural,' then good for her. You might just need to work a bit harder. Hope this advice helps.

Answer 11

Comparing yourself to someone else isn't a good idea.  Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.  Instead of being jealous of her, instead just admire her nature ability in that one area.  Know that you have your own areas of natural ability.  If you want to be better, just keep practicing.  

I don't know much about dancing, but on a website I brought up, it says that the extent to which an individual can rotate their legs is largely predetermined.  Which means it is genetic and the fact that she can do it better isn't because she is talented.  She is just genetically predisposed to it.  However, it looks like you can improve yours by building strength and flexability.

Answer 12

Just keep on practicing and you will get better it will impress her

Answer 13

Do some things separate from her, maybe practice with someone else from your class or do extra classes on your own. Then you'll be able to concentrate on how you're doing without being distracted by admiring her, and maybe you'll be able to keep it up when you ARE in class together.

Answer 14

This is a very difficult one.

When I first started dancing salsa, one of my best friends came along and she took to it so much more easily than me. It annoyed me because it meant so much more to me than it did to her but she just had a natural ability.

The only advice I can give is to keep working at it and your improvement and dedication will show. Yes, natural ability is important but hard work, determination and drive are all qualities that are of equal importance in the world of dance. If your dancing means a lot to you, then it will show in your performance.

Answer 15

Be happy for your friend and acknowledge her skills and talents!  If it bothers you that much to see her skills, then perhaps you should not attend the same classes as she.