"There are major dance companies who set the retirement age at 40"

As a child she always got the leading roles in school productions. "If we did Little Red Riding Hood, I was Little Red Riding Hood. If we did Snow White, I was Snow White. So my parents figured that since I had some talent for dance, I should study dance, and they sent me to the Conservatory," says Virginia Valero.

She combined her dance studies with a bachelor's degree in Art History. "My father was a physicist and could not imagine his daughter not having a college degree," she explains.

Although Valero has retained a sweet voice and a certain innocent look, she is now the boss at the Superior Dance Conservatory María de Ávila (CSDMA), funded by the regional government of Madrid and located in the neighborhood of Carabanchel, inside a former orphanage where it shares space with a music center. A stroll around the central cloister allows views of the rooms where musicians tune their instruments and dancers stretch their limbs on the floor or perform graceful moves in front of a mirror, as instructors mark out the beat with their hands or heels.

"A lot of people teach without the proper qualifications, which is dangerous"

"Contemporary dance attracts a lot of young people, perhaps because they feel closer to its language"

The center trains around 240 dance students, all of whom must have previous training and pass auditions. Successful candidates undergo a four-year course in one of two areas: dance pedagogy or interpretation and choreography. Once out of school, it is important not to waste time. Save for exceptional cases such as Maya Plisétskaya or Alicia Alonso, who continued dancing at an advanced age, the artistic life of a ballet dancer is usually short. "The upper age for dancers varies greatly," explains Valero. "There are major companies who set the retirement age at 40. But there are other places for older dancers, such as Netherlands 3 or the Pina Bausch company. Contemporary dance, Spanish dance and flamenco let you work for longer, but classical dance is less permissive."

After retirement, the natural step is to become a teacher. But, as Valero says, "teaching dance is difficult - you need a very strong background, a desire to share your knowledge and the ability to think. There are great dancers who are useless as teachers."

One also needs to be careful with individuals who take a few dance classes and start teaching on their own. "A lot of people teach without the proper qualifications, which is dangerous because you are training muscles and bodies. Badly taught dance can see students never make it as dancers, and even sustain injuries," says Valero, as she proudly shows off the center's spacious library. It is a reminder that studies here go beyond the pointe shoes and legwarmers, and include classes on art history, dance theory and psychology applied to dance.

The director is optimistic about the current state of dance. "I am very positive. I go to shows and I always see a lot of people, increasingly from outside dance circles. There is a growing interest in dance at all levels. It is true that classical dance is a great draw, because it is the best-known style. But when the level is good, contemporary dance attracts a lot of young people - perhaps because they feel closer to its language."

What with television series, reality shows and musicals, dance is everywhere these days. "It all adds up. The TV program Fama ¡a bailar!, for instance, may have aspects that are more or less likeable, but I am amazed to see people with no training who show such an ability to move. An urban dance that they have learnt on their own. You think of those kids... My God, if they joined a dance academy, what could they become? They could be huge! I would give scholarships to a lot of them."