Getting dd 10 dancing with no prior experience /into theatre etc any one with experience please which type of dance?

[DancingDaughter50]

Due to ££ and covid dd never had any dance lessons.

She's 10 and I think she has potential but what can I get her into that would give her the foundation (at this late stage). I think ballet would be too slow but I could convince her of it was a short time to give her an idea?
Ideally she would love the type of dancing you see in musicals?

Are we too late? She does lamda and really enjoys it..
We did stages coach a long long time ago and it looked great but I'm not sure how actual teaching she got in any area.

Too late for ballet, but perfect age for hip hop and modern dance.
She will also enjoy hip hop, modern dance as she likes the lambada- which is a Latinx modern dance. This is most often used in theatre/tv/cinema/backup singers to pop stars anyway.

I'd probably look at jazz which is quite broadway style. Big movements and high energy.

Not too late for ballet if you’re not aiming at Royal ballet level, and some classical training is always a good foundation for other dance. Maybe a few lessons alongside jazz/modern? My friend’s DD does musical theatre and she did ballet, tap and modern as part of her course.

I would call a couple of dance schools that offer modern, contemporary and jazz and talk to them. Ask for a trial class or two and check costs.

Jazz or Commercial would be good. My DD's dancing school also offers a Musical Theatre class if that's what she would like.

Line dancing

Latin and ballroom. (My DD does this)
Or just get her to do a few different tasters and see what she likes.

Commercial/modern, jazz, street and lyrical would all be suitable at her age.

I wouldn’t really recommend stagecoach. It’s ok as a weekend hobby but they’re not great and they learn bugger all. I’d recommend a reputable dance school and also have a look and see if you’ve any amateur operatics societies with junior sections.

She's 10, I'm not sure she'll progress quickly if it's not something she wants to do.
What type of dancing is she interested in?

Call a dance school and let her try some different classes and see what they recommend and what she likes?

The type of dancing you see in musicals is largely modern jazz, and musical theatre performers will have also trained in ballet - it is taught as one of the core subjects in performing arts courses.

Local dance schools will usually offer classes in 'modern' which is what you are looking for, and they may suggest that she does a ballet class as well. It is never too late to start ballet, by the way. 'Street jazz' is slightly different, and more akin to pop videos.

No, not the lambada, the op meant lamda (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art).

And you can start ballet at that age, it is absolutely fine - never too late to start. Loads of kids take it up when they are older, especially if they are keen on MT (ballet training is surprisingly good for rugby players as well).

I started Jazz at 9 and I was 14 when I started Latin, ballroom, linedancing (works really well with Latin and ballroom as the basic steps are similar) and freestyle

@Melassa.. Definitely not aiming for royal ballet unless she has amazing talent!

But I'm wondering if some ballet would help give her that posture etc.

Ballet does help with posture, and it’s really good for core strength and general alignment. I got sent to ballet when I was small because I was a bit pigeon toed and ballet sorted it out. Lots of footballers and other sportspeople get sent to ballet lessons as it helps with their main sport.

For other types of dance many of the moves have their basis in ballet steps. Having some classical training is therefore a huge advantage. Ballet is also quite athletic! I tried going back to it as an adult and it was hard!

Thanks some useful tips here!.
I guess if some dance has ballet steps then she would also be learning ballet by proxy..

Not too late for ballet. Ballet is a discipline though which you won't really learn techniques through other dance. Maybe modern/jazz. If she is athletic how about cheerleading?

I don't know if she is athletic but she's definitely got talent as a dancer of some sort.

We are definitely going to trial some lessons but even trials are so expensive!

They shouldn't be expensive, they are normally free. When my dd was younger, she tried out a variety of classes at several different schools over the years, and we never paid a penny.

If you get asked to pay for an 'audition' at a local dance school then you are being ripped off. The only places who normally charge an audition fee would be full-time vocational dance schools.

Most local dance schools will say that someone new can come along and try a class to see how they get on. They don't normally charge for that first class as a one-off. Quite often it is also for the teacher to decide which class or age group would be better for that individual based on what they see during the class. If the child joins, then you pay for the rest of the term.

Just contact local dance schools and ask.

That's not what the pp means really. It is that ballet training enables you to control your body in a specific way - your posture, muscles, co-ordination, balance, core strength, use of space, musicality and so on. You can then actually perform the steps in other dance styles and do them far better than if you had no ballet training at all.

It is blindingly obvious to me when I'm watching ice skating, trampolining or gymnastics on the telly which of the competitors have also had ballet training and which haven't. Same goes when I watch dancers or acrobats on Britain's Got Talent, the celebs on Strictly or even random people dancing in adverts. None of them are using actual ballet in their routines, but the core training is there, behind the scenes.

We are definitely going to trial some lessons but even trials are so expensive!

Find a dance school that offers grouo classes for her to try first - probably £6 an hour vs £35+ for private lessons. I know prices will vary by school and location but especially as you're not sure which style of dancing, classes would be a good - and much cheaper - way to try a few styles to see what she enjoys most

Not too late for ballet at all!! The Royal Ballet school will take them at 11 with no formal ballet training if they have the talent and potential right physique etc.

Anyway OP, assuming your dd isn’t aiming to be a Prima Ballerina, I’d book her into a lesson of ballet tap and modern at a good dance school near you, and take it from there.

The full name of 'modern' is 'modern theatre' which is I think the sort of thing @DancingDaughter50 is probably looking for.
Most schools offering that will use the ISTD syllabus.

Thanks.

Some good advice here.

She needs something fun and cool and high energy eg the dancing from the new matilda film.