Dance lessons and hair syling

[TheSconeOfStone]

DD aged 7 has just started ballet and jazz and is loving it. We'll probably add tap after Christmas. The problem I have is that I am incapable of styling to the required standard. DD has shoulder length fine hair that is really hard to style.

Hoping she sticks at it long enough for exams but any tips on taming her hair? Also the bun rule seems very prejudiced against girls with shorter hair. Do short haired girls not dance?

Short haired professionals gel it to look like it's back in a bun, or have longer hair. You can get shoulder length hair in a bun, you might need to practice and you will need to do it firmly. I do it wet, and I use gel spray to hold it in place when done, hair pins not grips. "Donuts" are not allowed in my daughters school. But to be fair, you're actually kinda right, many girls who take their dance seriously don't have their hair short because it limits the options- and makes life harder for mum. For exams and associate classes, my daughter has to have high plaits that are pinned over her head, couldn't do it with short hair. We had a child for panto last year with short hair used a hair piece for the braided, plaits-over look.

There are plenty of bun tutorials on youtube. You will need hairspray or gel, a bun net (dance shops or ebay) and long hairpins. Dampen the hair first with water or gel spray, and put in a high ponytail first. Then twist it into a rope, and wind it round . Push the pins in, and put the net on last. More spray and voila! Practice makes perfect

shoulder length is fine - harder but still doable. use water spray and gel to get it back tightly and the bun itself will just be small. we too have a plaits over head thing to deal with - if hair is short then just do the two bunches to start with very close together. I have always managed it even when one of mine had hair that barely reached her shoulders. in our panto they just don't pick them if their hair isn't long enough...

Gel spray is your friend . My daughters is quite fine so hard to do a bun but I just use lots of grips and gel spray .

When it comes to exam time, most dance schools will have someone experienced on hand to do everyone's hair.

Agree with the above tips it is also easier to style wet or dirty hair. Clean dry hair is very difficult.

Thanks for all the tips. DD is enjoying dance so much but she is a scruff. I've got a good while to practice before any exams happy. At the moment I'm doing to two bunches and tucking the hair in like mini buns. For classes some girls have proper buns but not all. As long as it is tied up this seems to be acceptable. The teachers are so lovely. I'm delighted with the dance school.

Aww that's great to hear. Keep having a go at a proper bun when you can do it calmly for both of you and then when you need it, you'll have down! Long may the love of dance class continue xx