Ballet class stories for 4 year olds

[Daniellesmac]

My DD turns 4 next year and will be starting ballet.
She loves dancing and constanly joining in whenever musics around.

Anyone keen to share how their little ones took to their classes?

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Dd started ballet at nursery (teacher came in once a week) and also Stagecoach at age 4.

The words duck to water come to mind. It became the focus of her life. In reception class she taught the while class a routine she was Kearning for her Xmas show. Nearly knocked over old laziness in the supermarket practising her jumps. Totally obsessed, more and more classes were added to the schedule.

As she got older and her friends got into sport she had problems at school.

She goes off to full time dance school in September.

[AThingInYourLife]

Poor Old Laziness! :( :o

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Lol predictive text. That should have been old ladies!!!

[Daniellesmac]

Awh old ladies, yeah I hope she enjoys it..
Did she have problems because she was the only dancer?

[Picturesinthefirelight]

No, there are quite a few others at her school who dance but she is totally obsessed whereas they do sport and other stuff too but got jealous when she did things.

[Sparklymommy]

My oldest Dd started ballet aged 2. Remember having a rather disgruntled dh who thought I was trying to live my life through dd after her first lesson. Now she is ten, eagerly awaiting the word from her teacher that she can get her point shoes and dances every day of the week apart from Thursdays, when she has a singing lesson.

It was probably when she was three, and was picked to do a special bit in her second show that she got bitten by the bug and she regularly takes part in local dance festivals, pantomimes, shows and even works professionally and gets paid.

Her little brother started joining in at ballet before he was two. He is six now and already says that he is going to go to full time dance school when he's eleven. He also does festivals and loves being on stage. I feel, as a boy, he has almost had more opportunities than dd1.

Ds2 started ballet at about 3. He has stopped and started a bit but currently attends 1 ballet class and 1 street jazz lesson a week. He does the annual show but has no interest in performing other than that. That's fine, he enjoys his classes but we won't push him into it anymore than he wants to do it.

Dd2 is four next week and has already started dancing at festivals. She has already won medals for second place and shows every sign of following in her big sisters footsteps. She loves the limelight and really enjoys being on stage. She also started at 2.

That said, my children are not the norm. We have lots of children at the dance school that attend 1 class a week and really enjoy their classes but have no interest in performing. Our teacher who takes the tiny classes is lovely and I swear a lot of girls only come to see her! I have never, in 8 years, heard her raise her voice and yet my oldest is most upset if she feels her teacher is disappointed with the effort she is putting in.

Ballet is a great thing to do as a child. It is very disciplined, helps with poise, balance, Rhythm, coordination and friendships. I never expected to still be there 8 years after starting my first dd, but it is a way of life for us now!

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I'm going to be totally lost next year with no running dd to classes, helping at shows etc.

[DeWe]

Dd1 started at 2.5yo. Desperately keen, but then froze when she went through the door and she would stand and watch the lesson. End of the term there was a show, which I thought she wouldn't want to do, but the teacher suggested she came and dressed up and watched backstage. So we prepared to do this, and when the show came, not only did she go on and do everything she was meant to do, but she then refused to come off and had to be carried off by the ballet teacher . Next term she skipped into ballet and did it all, and still loves performing and looks out for any opportunities to do it.
Dd2 started at 2yo. Went in, loved it did everything straight off. Loves her lessons, enjoys performing, but not that bothered.
Ds started at 2.3yo. Enjoyed it in a individual way. Preferred me to be in the lessons generally to enjoy it fully. Stopped last Christmas when he was 5yo because he was not enjoying being the only boy. He loves performing though, he did his first panto this year and is longing to do it again. He's just started tap and jazz.

[Daniellesmac]

Were all your kids fully toilet trained and able to hold a conversation?

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Yes as she was almost 4 when she started.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

DD1 started ballet last sept at 3.7. It wasnt a graded or strict class but she loves it. It was the end of year show today.

We are now trying to decide if we should get her into a proper ballet school or switch to another casual class in a different dance.

[TheHappyCamper]

I have a story from the other side if you'd like to hear.

DD started ballet class at 3.6 and seemed very keen to go. However, once there, she refused to join at all and wouldn't even get off my knee. This was despite the teacher being absolutely lovely and so kind and patient with them (they were all 3 going on 4). DD is a shy sensitive soul though and I can't say I was surprised by how she reacted tbh. We persevered for 6 sessions but there was virtually no change, so we pulled her out.

Now (9 months on) she is always asking when she can go back . I think we'll probably try again once she's settled in full time school and having a quiet period in the rest of her life, perhaps after xmas.

She has lots of story books about ballet classes which we still read at bedtime which she enjoys.

(and yes, she was fully toilet trained and could hold a conversation - if she wanted to!)

[DeWe]

Yes, mine were all toilet trained, although dd2 wasn't totally reliable so I put her in a pull up the first half term as she always left it to say at the last minute, and to get cardi (tied at back), leotard, skirt, tights off quick enough if she'd needed to go would have been difficult.
Getting them to stop talking was more of a problem than not holding a conversation particularly dd2 on that one.
Their teacher is brilliant with that age, so I never had any worries about them with her.

[amigababy]

DD started age 2.75. Still at it 15 years later, about to take her last grade and helps teach younger grades on Saturdays.
She doesn't want to be a dancer as she never went on pointe but its given her real dedication, good friends and great technical knowledge, amazing what they learn when they enjoy something.

[Sparklymommy]

All of my children were potty trained, although for the first few lesson DS1 (who wasn't quite two) wore a pull up just in case. He had delayed speech so wouldn't have been able to ask for the toilet, and therefore didn't hold a conversation. The other 3 were all too chatty if anything!

[Sparklymommy]

thehappycamper I have seen your experience many times at our dance school. Mothers who bring their children week after week and pay fees for them to sit on the side and watch. However a lot of the time all of a sudden they will join in! 1 little girl who started at the same time as my eldest daughter even had her mum up joining in before she would do the exercise!

[musicalfamily]

My DD1 started ballet/tap/modern when she had just turned 3 and she is now 8 and a half and still enjoying it. She never says she wants to go off to dance school, is not that interested in competitions or taking it further, but she has done all her exams so far and getting distinctions, so I guess she is happy and doing well and like others' said is a lovely hobby to have..

[Daniellesmac]

The main reason I want to get her started is so she has a hobby. She can then decide when she is older whether or not she wants to carry on. From experience when I was younger I wouldn't of been able to start up a new club the older I got.
We will be starting next year now, as we are moving house soon so we can get a full routine and finally crack down on the potty training before she joins any classes. Have found a lovely school near as that are happy to have her as soon as the nappies have gone. They hold fantastic shows and preform everywhere.

Good school to get into if she will be wanting to carry on and preform

[DeWe]

Danielle in ballet that hasn't been true in my dc's classes.
Generally the teacher starts them in the age appropriate class up to grade 2, which the the grade my dd2 (age 9) is in. Generally they have caught up pretty quickly, including one who did her grade 1, 2 terms after starting and got a distinction.

[Sparklymommy]

Just to reiterate what DeWe said, at our dance school children who are older started are slotted in where they feel comfortable. We have lots of late starters (13/14 even 15) who slot In at about Grade 4.