to take my 3yr old DS to ballet classes?

[choceyes]

I know my DH will be at me, but I've found a ballet class in town for 3-5yr olds and planning to take my DS to it.

Is it unusual for a boy to learn ballet? I think I will draw the line at buying him ballet shoes. The instructor said barefoot was fine.

So AIBU?

I agree that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with a little boy doing ballet, I would question why (if?) you specifically sought out a ballet class for him.

yanbu at all - anyone who thinks otherwise is sexist.

My 5yo DS loves it. Has been doing it since he was 4. He is the only boy in his class, but doesn't care. In fact I think he loves the attention he gets...

My dp was made to do ballet as a child by his football coach. This was on the basis it helped with balance, strength, co-ordination etc and the whole team were encouraged to take it up.

Very much this - someone I coach sport with says he wishes all kids did ballet, it makes them great at following instructions, gives them better control over their bodies etc. Plus if they go onto do martial arts it they've got a head start in the whole 'watch and copy' thing.

DS has done dance of one sort of another since he was 4.5, he's just turned 7 and has kept it up - his old dance school closed so we tried street dance but he really didn't enjoy that and now he does tap/modern and really enjoys it.

Also if they do dance school shows etc little boys get fussed to bits by the 'older girls' and tend to love all the attention like discrete says.

YANBU. I would take my nearly 3.5 year old to ballet if I could find a class locally at the right time for us. Can't even find a normal (street etc) dance class at a reasonable time either. DH would be happy with ballet, and has even said he would rather ballet than football because he thinks footballers are idiots ballet would be fantastic for balance and pulling girls when he's older.

He does go to gymnastics though where there are more girls than boys in his pre-school class. He wears PE kit type shorts and t-shirt.

StickingPlaster, why would you question it?

YANBU at all. Just take him to things he might enjoy and find interesting :)

Lad who does ballet at DDs school is now 2nd year 6th form.
By 14 he'd had the pick of the fittest girls
www.adam-cooper.com/ - the adult swan at the end of Billy Elliott
www.balletmasterclass.com/staff/irek_biog.html - married three of his leading ladies!

I saw this guy dance at 15 www.danceforward.co.uk/JonathanCope.shtml
and if anybody says male dancers are wimps, get them to try this

YANBU

DS started ballet at 2.5, he is still dancing and is now nearly 6. He had minor wobble about ballet v beavers today, but he enjoys dance. He was in a"ballet class" till the summer, a change of teacher and he's now in a "creative dance" class ( same time same place, just change of name really) , they are learning dance/ballet basics and making up dances to music using the movement skills they have learnt. The progression on from this class will to a step dance class when he is about 7.

thanks so much for your replies. Yep, definitely taking him this Sunday. Told DH and he did make a face and a joke about it but he's fine about it (even if he wasn't I'd have taken him anyway!). He'd rather he do ballet than football actually, like PeppermintCream s DH.

Did he like it? How did it go?

Sorry for late reply, but no, they wouldn't let me stay and he couldn't handle that. Now he's at school, he's not at all bothered, and loves it

Bettybat-is it the same for male dancers as it is for female ones regarding correct body type etc.

I know that to audition for Northern ballet you first have to fill out a fact finder which is concerned with body measurements and not with ability.