Dance - not good at acro

@DanceMumTaxi

gymnastics coaches hate acro because of the high level of potential danger so if your daughter wants a career in dance focus on technique, picking up choreo quickly, working hard and loving what she does. These are traits choreographers are going to value and want from their professional dancers rather than a side ariel.

@DanceMumTaxi

Your daughter is only 7 and should not be stressed about acro it annoys me so much that young children are even thinking this way.

I do understand the acro problem as I live in an area where the dance scene is extremely competitive and intense.

Firstly though most acro you see is not dance it’s gymnastics. I don’t care how many people say different, look on insta at schools like the Vale in Stockport and any dance colleges(addict post lots of their routines) you will find very few acro tricks in their dances. So really think about the dance school your daughter is in and whether it’s truly the right environment for her. Show her videos of lots of amazing dancers and step back from competing. A little dance competition in a school is not going to influence what she does in dance. The only reason a routine may win is because the judge remembers a trick (they can not remember one routine out of more than 10 dancers)😃

@curaçao my dd dance school also teach acro, but they do seem to do it carefully and with mats etc

Please please please, Do not let a dance schoolteach your little girl serious gymnastics skills. For her safety enrol her in ckasses with a gumnastics club which has the proper training ,equipment and expertise Dance schools teach them to just throw the skills as quickly as possible.They don't care of understand the importance of teaching correct and safe technique which will minimise her risk of injury and developing problems in later life.

We actually decided against moving dd to a very good local dance school because they did a lot of comps, and the rehearsing and festival dates would have made it difficult for her to commit to the associate programme she was already on. We felt that associates was more important in the long run.

@taxi4ballet yes, she could have auditioned for pre junior ballet with Royal Conservatoire this year but it fell on a comp weekend! She was in 4 team dances and it's a commitment you need to stick to so you don't let the other girls down.

When I read it written down it does sound like too much although suppose it's felt normal because a few of them do that many (although there are some who only do 1 or 2).

She does 1hr 30 mins ballet a week (the school doesn't offer more for her age) opposed to just an hour of gymnastics. I think it's her confidence because she has hurt herself before and tbh I just don't think it's her 'thing'. Fortunately her coaches aren't very pushy so they haven't put her under pressure, it's when she sees other girls.

I'm really not bothered about any acro tricks personally, it's just a shame that it's such a big part of lyrical. The school doesn't enter ballet competitions (I actually didn't realise that was a thing!) so I might look into that.

Works out she's does about 12 hours a week but that's 6 different styles of dance plus gymnastics and musical theatre. It just sort of spiralled and she didn't want to give anything up! We often have comps in different parts of the country which require a 2 night stay because cheer is a separate day from dance so we've drooped that to make it only one day and I've cut other classes down so it will only be a 3 day week for her.

Next year she will be old enough to audition for Scottish ballet so we're going to work towards that.

TaxiDancer I was very surprised to find out that BIFF had dancing festivals — I did a lot of ballet/tap/modern growing up (I did Advanced 2, classical awards etc), but it was only grades and a school show. If people did more it was associate programmes or auditioning for theatre productions. Festivals were for speech, drama and music as far as my experience went.

(I then did ballroom and Latin competitively but that's completely different again.)

There are quite a lot of dance schools which don't enter competitions and festivals at all.

For young ballet dancers who are perhaps Royal Ballet associates, associates elsewhere, or are maybe performing with English Youth Ballet etc, festivals get in the way, particularly with group dances because they feel they can't let everyone else in the group down.

I agree.

You're better working on ballet technique, the acro tricks will be far less useful. While the local dance festivals can be useful in improving confidence and performance they're not really always an indicator of how successful a child is going to be either (a lot can be heavily weighted on the performance side).

Some of the serious dance schools won't take part in the local festival scene, preferring the larger national ballet competitions. It's usually the IDTA schools here who are keen on the local festivals and I hate to say it but some enter the lower standard competitions to claim a lot of trophies and make their school look more successful on social media.

Hi there, your dd is doing an awful lot for her age, and I can't help wondering what in the way of actual normal classes she has, with the teacher concentrating on ballet training. A lot of schools spend so much time on learning and practicing routines for competitions, there's not a lot of time left for proper classical technique. And the technique needed for acro stuff, back bends, walkovers etc is pretty far removed from ballet so at her age, if she is keen it could hinder progress.

@VasariMichelangelo my dd is the same. She’s a lovely dancer but gets so upset about her acro, as she just doesn’t have the confidence for the harder tricks, despite desperately trying and putting so much pressure on herself

@DanceMumTaxi Just came across this thread as it's a similar situation for my daughter (who is a year older than yours).

She regularly does 6 days, competes in both solos and groups and is one of the lead dancers in the team dances.

She can do a controlled back bend and bring her self back up the same way and can do one handed cartwheels but that is it. I totally get what you mean about acro tricks being more involved, she came second to a girl in lyrical not long ago who pretty much ONLY did acro tricks and no dancing whereas my DD is much more ballet focused.

She absolutely loves performing but I have to agree with others, already it is starting to take it's toll not she is getting a bit older (a whole 8 years old!) and she is starting to put a lot of pressure on herself despite being very talented in actual dance - and it's down to lack of acro tricks.

I've decided to cut back on the amount she is doing next season because I don't think at that age she should be under so much pressure. This has completely changed from last year when she was quite content placing in top 3, now she NEEDS to win and it's not healthy.

We are cutting back on dance (although she will still compete, just in less dances) and she is joining a girls football team. We have agreed that we will continue to concentrate more on ballet and not worry about tricks because dance is supposed to be enjoyable. Once it starts getting stressful something needs to give.

Dance really does take over so I think a different activity along side it helps to take the pressure off.

Though, as we were saying way back in the thread, I rarely see a lyrical solo without an aerial. Some use very similar routines, as a pp also said.

Off topic, but have any of you seen dancers at competition do their ariels outside on concrete paving??? It is a scary sight!

No, only on grass and in the changing areas indoors.

Though a series of poorly executed backbends to bridge, followed by kick overs, by a young child on stage has been the scariest thing we've seen this weekend. Thudding down uncontrolled each time.

My DD is a senior competition dancer.

At the good competitions with qualified experienced adjudicators, you are penalised for using unnecessary tricks in non Acro routines. Doesn’t stop some people putting them in anyway.

Also, unless tricks are done correctly with correct alignment (incl straight knees!) they are unlikely to contribute to the marking.
In fact, is more likely to cause marks to be deducted. Better to leave tricks out all together if they are not perfect.

The following is copied from rules of an upcoming competition
Acrobatic moves in the Lyrical, Jazz Show Dance and Contemporary classes should be kept to a minimum and only used if they enhance the choreography. Excessive use of acrobatic moves in these classes may be penalised.

Off topic, but have any of you seen dancers at competition do their ariels outside on concrete paving??? It is a scary sight!

I agree, taxi - hence my point earlier that there are local ‘norms’ as to whether schools in a particular area compete, and in what styles.

In the area where DD danced, the only schools that did lots of ‘comps’ were street dance ones.

Round our way, I'd say that not all that many dance schools are on the 'competition circuit' for want of a better word. Those that do, enter their students into the All England or the Janet Cram awards. The majority of those concentrating on ballet, tap, modern, jazz and contemporary don't bother with competitions, they are more interested in teaching their syllabus, and most do an annual or bi-annual show instead. RAD schools in particular tend not to do competitions. Entering things like the Genee (which is what it was called when dd did it) is extremely rare for dancers not already in full-time training.

The Adeline Genée ballet competition hasn't been known by that name for a while. It's now The Fonteyn.

@cantkeepawayforever I know that not all schools compete. However, even in the ballet world there are competitions for those that want to do them (Youth Grand Prix, Adeline Genee and so on). Of course it’s perfectly possible to compete dances without acro- tap, musical theatre, national and various other styles of dance do not contain acrobatic moves as they are irrelevant to the dance style, and acro should also be heavily restricted in jazz and lyrical styles too. Acro is it’s own genre, and although a few well executed skills can be incorporated into some styles it should not dominate a non-acro routine. I stand by my point that taught correctly, it is an acceptable and valid genre, the issue is with those who do not follow safe teaching practice when teaching acro to their students.

(And some of the very finest dance schools - especially ballet schools - don’t compete at all)

And some very successful dance schools compete with solos, small and large group dances that don’t include acro at all, ever, or only in very small amounts for one or two older dancers who are dual gym / dance trained and have the strength and facility.