AIBU to take 3 year old to swan lake.

[Lonelymummyof1]

Swan lake it showing in july and daughter is obsessed with it !
It does not have a age requirement listed but is 3 too young ?

Wow catching up - I do not know much about the ballet which is why I asked.
Have already decided to try and find alternative routes.
I did not drip feed as I do not think it changes the fact of a 3 year old going .... she is still "average 3 year old"
However that is how the thread progressed I did not once even bring up what her illness was until asked directly.

Should I start all my threads with my child has ......

Thankyou for all the advice
I had already made my mind up that after a follow up with the royal ballet, I will have a look at furher out venues and smaller companies.

I agree with putputput. Just contact Make a wish. I can absolutely guarantee they will have had similar requests before, they will organise something wonderful for your DD.

Lonely sorry it was me suggesting to change the title, I meant no offence at all. I don't think you should have to mention it if you don't want to but it does change the reason why your wanting to take her at the age she is. If that makes sense.

I really hope you can find something she will love, and sorry your in this position to start off with

I'm sorry to hear your daughter is so ill, OP - she sounds like an exceptional little girl. I can't remember if you said where in the country you are, but Northern Ballet often tours ballets for children, but their current tour is fairy tale ballets:

northernballet.com/join-in/families/short-ballets

• is it primarily SL that she's obsessed with? I think Make a Wish is an excellent idea, which might smooth your path towards attending a rehearsal. The ROH used to run a thing called 'Family Sundays' which introduced young children to opera and ballet in informal conditions, but looking at the website, they don't appear to any more, which is a shame.

There are also companies of amateurs who do bespoke performances in small and even domestic spaces. They perform in libraries for example, to introduce children to ballet & ballet stories. See for example Chelsea Ballet

Unbornmortifcardo I am not sire if it was the change the titles comment it was the

Massive drip feed one.

I think I said it more to just explain why waiting a few years would nog work rather than this is why she deserves to go to the ballet.

Have some insecurities about people being pretty mean in the past because they do not understand her illness ( not many people have it ) she looks so well etc.

I completely understand the distruption a 3 year old could cause and thst would be with or without illness.

Thankyou for your apology though :)

Or Ballet Bristol depending on where you are in the UK.

OP have a look at Birmingham Royal Ballet's "First Steps". It's an hour long ballet specially adapted for ages 3+ so would be perfect. It'll be Cinderella this year but if you can find a venue near you might be a good alternative? Good luck

Yabvu, she is 3, it starts at 7:30, its a 3 hour performance, she will probably be tired, irritable, and not really ready to concentrate. See if you can watch it on You Tube. Otherwise it will be miserable for her, and other people.

Sorry about the major typos there, I have fat thumbs and tired eyes !

Guessing you can't get to York for tomorrow evening, OP? 🙁 Vienna Festival Ballet are dancing their last performance of Swan Lake this year before starting Cinderella.

Just read your other posts, your poor daughter, can you contact Make A Wish Foundation, so that they can organise for her to go to a Children's version, or have a chat with the Theatre and see if they can slip you into a Matinee performance.

Aeroflot - this is a Wish. The Wish Foundation will organise something that is suitable for the DD.

x post Aero sorry

The reason I asked her school directly is because we can afford to send her to the ballet so feel bad about using such charities when they can be granting wishes to children who otherwise do not have the chance

Northern Ballet company are amazing, I saw them with £5 tickets and was blown away.

The OP should consider a live stream at a cinema. The seats will be a lot cheaper and if it is too much she can leave.

But be aware concert etiquette, not cinema etiquette, still applies here. These seats are still more expensive than average cinema and the audience are ballet fans so chattering and munching popcorn , fidegeting and seat kicking will not go down well.

There is a Swan Lake in 2018

Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2017/18 — News — Royal Opera House
www.roh.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-live-cinema-season-201718

OP the whole point about Make a wish is not about money, its about accessing an experience that generally can be difficult to do. So meeting a hero or afternoon tea with a celebrity.
Let the Foundation organise it.

It may well be worth emailing the ROH and explaining the circumstances because you might be able to buy seats for a matinée in an unoccupied box

You don't get "unoccupied boxes" at ROH. I've never been at anything which was not fully sold out.

Lasswithedelicatebox
She was just offering a suggestion.
If there is none available then there is none available but asking is worth a shot.
You seem dead against this.

To be fair, most posters are against you taking a 3 year old to see Swan Lake at the ROH, not just Lass! We've offered you a wide range of very possible alternatives.

You say it's Swan Lake that your 3yo is fixated upon. But I suspect that seeing any ballet live in more intimate circumstances than the ROH (and anyway, seasons book out within a day of bookings opening, believe me!) would be fine. Have a look for some of the smaller companies doing short performances designed for children, which also involve the opportunity to meet the dancers.

Actually Lass, you do sometimes. The view from some ROH boxes on Donald Gordon and Balcony levels can be quite restricted. Hence they don't always sell.

Anyway, it's always worth asking - if they say "no", you're no worse off. 🙂

Goatsfeet and I have already taken on the suggestions and started researching the alternatives, infact I took every ones opinions on board from the very start and said quite quickly that I would do something else.
Not like I have just defended the decision and been like I do not really care about the other adults.
She just seems a bit dismissive of anyones suggestions to.
If we managed to get a box would it still be that bad of a thing to do ?

Maybe some children would be ok with that but I had previously attempted the my first ballets : cinderella and she wants to see swan lake.
Im going to chase up the royal ballet about there offer and if not will find a less fancy venue / company further away which are more appropiate to take children to.
I think I have been quite accepting of the fact that its unreasonable to take her haha

I thank everyone for their kind suggestions and I am sure I will make her dream come true.

Lonely I really hope you can get something sorted for her.

She sounds an amazing little girl (and you an amazing mam) and I wish you both all the best.