Would you start your DD with ballet classes in this situation?

[GotMooMilk]

DD (6) has been asking to do ballet classes for ages. She does swimming and gymnastics currently and wants to do ballet instead of gym. She watches lots of dance films etc and for 6 months or so has been asking to do ballet. A friend of hers does it and her mum mentioned you could go to the school on a Saturday to watch the class to check she would be into it- DD was there and asked if we could do this so we went along on Saturday to watch for a bit.

The teachers were lovely but its a proper old school ballet school- parents dont usually watch, strict on uniform and from the short observation they are v strict on form so it goes quite slowly with lots of repetition and adjustment of technique. DD was super keen after and wanted to sign up but I have slight reservations. DD is very active, loves running, bouldering, loves flipping about during gymnastics. I worry she will find ballet quite slow and repetitive quite quickly in comparison.

Additionally it's not cheap- the termly fees arent too but but the outlay for uniform (which they want you to have) is £100 odd and then you have to give half a terms notice if they want to leave.

What would you do? Would you let her give it a go? We arent wealthy by any stretch but could afford it if she would love it. I worry she will lose her gymnastics place and not get it back if she changed her mind in 3/6 months (there is a waiting list for gymnastics and we cant afford for her to do both).

But she is 6 and I dont want to decide for her she won't like it when she thinks she will (and might love it!!)

WWYD?

Wondering if it's the gym club here - ex Olympic coach?

Thank you for all the advice!

Im going to look around for some other schools that are perhaps less formal particularly as a starter- didn’t even think of that. I want to encourage her interest if course so on the back of this thread I’ll definitely let her take the lead and swap over.

If she's keen on ballet and not bothered about missing out on gym, I'd definitely try her on ballet.

Mine did ballet at primary age. The dance school also offered tap and modern and most children did all three but mine just did the ballet.

Ballet uniform is outgrown very quickly at that age. Our dance school had a thriving second hand shop for uniform and I'd be very surprised if yours didn't have something similar.

Well I would let her do it. Some kids do actually love ballet. Most don’t but she’ll never know unless she is allowed to try. She has already tried gymnastics.

I think it’s a relief if they don’t love either myself !

Acro dance could be a really good transition from gymnastics.

If you can afford it let her try.

The teachers were lovely but its a proper old school ballet school- parents dont usually watch, strict on uniform and from the short observation they are v strict on form so it goes quite slowly with lots of repetition and adjustment of technique. DD was super keen after and wanted to sign up but I have slight reservations. DD is very active, loves running, bouldering, loves flipping about during gymnastics. I worry she will find ballet quite slow and repetitive quite quickly in comparison.

This is precisely what ballet’s about. I wasn’t keen for my daughter to get involved for these very reasons, but I let her try. She danced from 4 till she was 17 and loved every minute

Let her off and let her do it. Even if she doesn't continue with ballet it's a good introduction to dance. My daughter is doing ballet since she was four and she is now almost eleven. She absolutely loves it even though it will never be more than a hobby (the girls that are more serious do several classes a week )and her younger sister has now started in the same school. The ballet uniform is also part of the attraction imo.

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Often dance schools will offer the first lesson as a free trial so I would enquire about that. Also sometimes there are parent groups where uniform is bought and sold

It might be that she's ready for the discipline now. My DD was a very active little thing with a strong sense of autonomy. She wanted to do 'dance' when she was 4 / 5 / 6 so we tried various places but all she tended to do (particularly at the ones where I could watch / be in the room) was run around and lead other kids astray and generally be a pain in the behind. She was a bit better at one where I wasn't in the room, but didn't love it.

We found her current one which is just as you describe when she was seven, and I thought she'd hate it - very disciplined and traditional. We really only took her because I thought her sibling would like it. Well she took like it to a duck to water and hasn't wanted to do anything else since - she's 12 now.

The thing I've observed about 'proper' (traditional, disciplined, RAD style) ballet is, if you love it, it's pretty much your spiritual home. If you don't love it, you realise pretty quickly. I tend to think it would be worth giving your DD a chance to find out.

Our ballet teachers dissuaded doing gymnastics as well as ballet as they said they it can have conflicting results on muscle groups. Don’t know if that’s true but I can see how it could be true.

No advice regarding what to do but wanted to warn you that all the dance schools in our town also put in a yearly show and they charge you extra for taking part in the show, the costumes, rehearsals and tickets if you want to attend the show. They also charge for the yearly ballet exam. And yes, they are very formal and your appearance (in terms of uniform and hair) is made a big deal off. Thankfully they haven't mentioned weight yet but I wouldn't be surprised if they do. And some of the other dance mums are probably the nastiest people I've met in a long time but maybe that's just in dd's class.

Yeah, I think it’s pretty fair to say that your experience of one class is your experience of a one class…

@Tiredalwaystired I'm glad to hear that!!

Hi OP
My DD (11) has been doing classical ballet classes since she was 3 but in a very relaxed environment, with lots of musicality and creativity. The formal bit didn't really kick in until she was 5 or 6. Even then, they were introduced to formal aspects of dance and good behaviour, posture etc emphasised, but with fun, and live music! What they do now is a worl away from what they did at 6. She's loved this class more than all other classes, of which there have been many! She'll never be a professional but my daughter has a love of ballet and music and movement, confidence to perform in front of others and impressive posture and work ethic!

Given the expense, definitely shop around, each dance school has its own culture. Ours has been v simple uniform eg pink leotard, pink socks, pink shoes ie minimal cost. Friends kids classes are cheaper but then they get fleeced for "show" costumes twice a year.

If I were you I'd maybe scope out the other classes without too much input from your DD-at 6 I'm sure she'll take a steer from you.

I did ballet from 3 to 16, also dabbled in tap and jazz and absolutely loved it. I wasn’t amazing at it but I loved dancing and doing all the shows and dance competitions are some of my fondest memories from my childhood.

My daughter is 6 and does both gymnastics and ballet, she started back at ballet after a break when gym had taken over and I was amazed at how formal primary ballet was vs pre school. I would say she loves ballet slightly more now although all the equipment at gym (bars and vault!) is a massive draw to keep going.

I suspect she will pick one at some point, hopefully ballet as gym fees are about three times the price!

18m+ wait list for recreational classes for that age group is pretty much the norm.

i’d try the ballet o/p. It’s an excellent foundation for any sport. If she does decide it’s not for her and wants to go back to gymnastics then she may have to wait a bit, or she can try cheer, trampolining, or one of the allied sports. If she has a talent you can ask for a trial for squads which are done on ability so no wait lists- if you’re prepared for that particular rollercoaster!

I think that’s your dd’s class…as I said mine danced from being a tot to age 17 and that was never my experience.

Of course they put on an annual show-what else is the point? It’s the equivalent of other youngsters playing matches every week…and yes these shows cost money to put on-dd’s was in a professional theatre…which costs money…and costumes cost money….and examiners cost money-people are allowed to make a living, it’s not a charity!!

Unless it’s some sort of bespoke logo kit it won’t cost anything like £100 for the uniform. When my son danced (he’s given up aged 11, which is disappointing 😢) I got a bundle from an online dance store with a leotard, shorts, socks and shoes for £20

@Heyhoherewegoagain did I say it was a charity or that they shouldn't do a show? The op mentioned cost so I wanted to tell them that apart from the uniform we spend roughly another £100 a year on the show and exam.

There is no need to be so defensive.

I have a very energetic 7yo and she prefers ballet to gym. The rigidity and rules are quite calming for her and it’s doing her posture the world of good. I would counter the advice to try a more informal one. If she’s going to like it, you might as well go somewhere where the teaching is good and they take kids all the way through to the vocational levels.

It is also really normal to have to give a half term or a term’s notice. We have that clause for most of my children’s activities with the exception of leisure centre swimming.

DD has been doing gymnastics for 7 years, and I've always watched her training sessions from the club cafe/viewing area - she's trained at 2 different clubs.

With gymnastics, it depends on if she wants to go down the competitive route or just recreational. Taking a break would be a bad idea if she decides later on that she wants to advance to the harder (more impressive) skills. A lot is learnt between 6 to 8 years, and she will find it hard to catch up. She also won't have the necessary strength to do the skills.

DD did ballet for 2 years and quit because it was too boring, and it was "a lot of just moving my feet, Mummy!" She was used to doing leaps and turns at gym and didn't understand why she couldn't just go straight into that 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thanks all.
@kierenthecommunity they gave us a uniform list and that was the total! They also specifically said not to buy anything from elsewhere as it won't meet uniform policy, otherwise I'd be getting a cheaper option from decathlon or online!
We have found another one locally that offers ballet + tap and then acro, I'm going to let her do a taster session and go from there I think.