Re long haired boy at dancing class

[Piemother]

I am prepared for a flaming but here goes.....
There is a little boy at dd1 ballet school with very (I mean past his shoulders and thick and curly) long hair. I reckon he is 3/4.
There are other boys (ok one or two) at the dance school and it makes no odds to me but his parents do nothing to tie up his hair. Today he walked out of a class actually holding it out of his face with his hands.
Every now and then the dance teacher comes out to the parents and nags about long hair being up in buns and that the main reason was so that when they are twirling around it doesn't hit anyone in the face. She also reminded about it being part of the uniform requirements.
I can see that maybe the parents are waiting a bit longer with uniform to make sure he likes the class (though hes been there a while now) but AIBU to think they ought to tie his hair back?

Hmm. Impeccably behaved pre-schoolers with identical hair and outfits doing ballet drill.

Reminds me of The Demon Headmaster.

Strict rules are what ballet is about, but I doubt it makes much sense to enforce them on children that age.

Just another angle because people are saying these are just 3 yo's. Well these 3yo's are all entitled to go to preschool - many of which now have some kind of 'uniform'. Albeit leggings/tracksuit bottoms (sometimes in plain, specific colours) etc and a prechool sweatshirt - BUT - they have to learn their spiderman/fairy princess outfit is not appropriate to wear then. Why is ballet any different.

I'm all for let children be children - but sometimes they have to know there are boundaries/rules/expectations.

If the requirements for long hair to be ties back then it should apply to boys as well as girls.

I say this as the mother of a boy whose hair was recently past his shoulders. When he realised he would have to have it tied back if it got any longer he had it cut

The thing us there are reasons why hair has to be up and certain kinds of clothing worn. It's to stop things getting in the way and do the teacher can see the lines if the neck or body to ge able to correct mistakes.

It's much harder enforcing these rules later on if it hasn't started off well.

Looking at the "kit rules" for DS's dance class... girls- long hair to be tied back , nothing about hair in the boys section. It's possible his parents simply haven?t considered it if he doesn't normally have it tied back for any thing else.

He 's 3! what is he going to be doing that's anymore dangerous than in a playground?He 'll be fine

If someone hasn't learned to conform by age three, it will be more difficult to make them do it later? Bullshit.

Ballet teachers are not putting the finishing touches on the lines of the neck of a 3 year old.

Op, Relax!

The boy is 3 to 4 years old. Not going that long if still hasn't purchased the uniform. The ballet school probably do not want to do anything to discourage boys dancing. This is as it should be.

Give the little boy a break! If it is OK with the ballet school, it should be OK with you.

Usually, once the littlies pass Pre-Primary exams, more will be expected of them regarding conformance to uniform.

I think if it is really that important that everyone obeys the same rules to the same standard to stop things "getting in the way" it is probably best to abolish preschoolers.

DS1 (5) does ballet, among other dance styles. There is no uniform for either him or the girls, although their is a dance school uniform that may be purchased if people want to. Most of the girls wear some variation of it but it's not strictly regulated.
DS1 wears shorts or stretchy trousers to ballet - jeans would just be too restrictive for his movements - although there wouldn't be any comment on his clothing, I'm sure.
However - all hair is tied back (DS1's doesn't need to be) as a matter of course, and if it isn't, then the teacher usually has some kind of hair elastic to tie it back for the girls.
YANBU - he should have his hair out of his eyes anyway and tied back.

Good point Thumbwitch, I remember our ballet teachers always carrying a bagful of elastics/ hairbands/ pins for hair failure moments. They were happy to help you get your hair into the right places if you'd lost, forgotten or it all dropped out when an unfamiliar adult hadn't tamed it properly.

If the teacher cared I'm sure she'd whip out her bag of hair stuff and tactfully tame his hair.

It's surely her job and not yours, OP to make the new boy conform. And I'm sure she will if he continues in her class.

DD's ballet school gets a lot stricter from primary grade - but children in that grade are at least 5 1/2 at her school: considerably older than preschoolers.

DD didn't even do a pre-primary exam, come to think of it.

user he has a choice, get his hair cut or put it in a bun. He might not like either option but apart from quitting dance which would be a shame that's the options he's stuck with

Stage make up for shows sounds pretty normal tbh

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE ZOMBIE

IDk hOW To maKe mY owN THrEaD

My son doesn't do ballet but he does MT shows & wears make up other wise he looks like a ghost.

Boys should wear a bit of light foundation, NO BLUSHER, small amount of eyeliner, no flicks, natural cream/brown eyeshadow, & eyebrow pencil.

YANBU, it's a health and safety thing. Long hair should be tied up

Oh FFS how the hell did anyone survive childhood back in the day

ZOMBIE thread, but what the heck...

Students in ballet class have their hair up or tied back so the teacher can make sure their head is in the correct position and the neck muscles are being used properly. The position of the head has a big influence on balance.

Back in the day no one would have dared attend ballet class with a hair out of place.

3 years old jeez my daughter does ballet and is 3 hers is just about butterflies and naughty toes can wear there own lil pin tutus and hair how they like.

YANBU.

DD does skating and long hair has to be tied back because if it gets in their eyes and they can't see they could collide with another skater. I would imagine ballet is similar.

He's 3 or maybe 4. How dangerous can a few flowing curls be?

For goodness sake. Fuss about nothing.

They're babies having a dance around. Not fecking Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. Get a grip. How petty do you have to be to worry about this sort of nonsense?

DD does skating and long hair has to be tied back because if it gets in their eyes and they can't see they could collide with another skater. I would imagine ballet is similar

It's actually not similar at all. They have to space themselves out and they are not on blades or wheels.

I actually can't be bothered. This is all very silly. They are 4 year olds learning the basics of ballet. There have been no reported incidents of serious accidents regarding length of hair or accidental blinding.
How will future generations ever survive infant ballet lessons?
Get a bloody grip, chaps.