Gymnastics or acro?

[mamaontopofitall]

need some advice as not sure what is best in this situation. DD5(almost 6) has been doing gymnastics for about two years (recently added a tumbling class so she’s doing 2 classes x1h each). She can do a very good cartwheel including 1 handed ones and a very decent bridge. No backbends, walkover etc yet. The gym she goes to looks excellent, plenty of space, all the equipment etc. she loves it but we wouldn’t be going for squad etc because that would be too much of a commitment which would mean she would have to stop other activities and ultimately I don’t think she has elite potential.
she also goes to a theatre and dance school - does one theatre class as well as ballet. She loves dancing and is very good at it. Ballet’s been great for her and she loves it. Now, she wants to do acro class in the same school. I think adding acro on top of all this would be insane so we would need to drop gymnastics. But I thought gymnastics would be better for her to learn all the skills. Also, the dance school has lessons in a hall which is quite small compared to the gym facilities. I think ultimately dance / theatre will win over gymnastics but would it make sense to keep her in the gym classes for a bit longer before switching to acro? Or should we just go for it and make a switch? No other factors like commute / price etc. (the only potential factor is that gymnastics are oversubscribed so should she wish to go back there would be potentially many months of wait)

My only experience of acro was a troupe at one of those big dance events they put on with multiple dance schools. DD was early teens then and she was horrified at the way the coaches treated the children. I accept they need to keep order to keep everyone safe but she said it was more than that. She had a fantastic dance teacher who kept order whilst remaining the loveliest person on the planet and great with all ages.

Can she go for a trial lesson at acro to see if she likes it? Ultimately, it’s her that’s got to do the lessons so it’s down to her not you really. Explain all the pros and cons to her - like the waiting list - and let her try it, then decide.

I'd suggest modern dance rather than acro, and maybe add tap later as well. If she's keen on musical theatre, then ballet, tap and modern are the standard three they need really.

Personally, I'm not all that much of a fan of acro.

My dd has done acro dance since age 3 (now 12 and also does modern, ballet, tap and latin), it is a very different skill set to gymnastics. However, to be honest the gymnastics will massively help her to excel at it so if possible I would let her do both.

On the other hand and from a ballet point of view, gymnastics/acro and ballet are far less compatible.

Artistic - yes, totally agree, but rhythmic gymnastics is not that bad. DD has been doing classical
ballet and rhythmic for years, they're different sets of skills and different approaches to strength and stretch for sure, but less incompatible than artistic gymnastics and ballet.

Thank you for all replies. I think I will keep her in gymnastics for now and try out acro in a year or so.

Gymnastic coaches quite like their pupils to have had some ballet training as it helps with poise. The same can not be said for ballet teachers whose pupils do gymnastics of any kind. The muscle groups used, turnout and the posture are quite different, and gymnastics training actively hinders ballet training when you get to the higher grades, particularly the vocational ones. For those doing both as a hobby it's okay, but something to bear in mind for anyone serious about ballet.

My DD is 11yo and only pre-vocational, that's probably why we never experienced any problem, or maybe because we're not really serious about gymnastics and she only competes locally.

Turnout is totally different in Vaganova anyway and it affects everything else. It's true that Osipova is still being snubbed for being a "gymnast" in certain circles, but the audience loves her style (I'm not a huge fun so would probably agree with you on gymnastics vs ballet).

Sorry for the off-topic OP!

*fan not fun of course 😂 though I am being a bore it seems :))

My daughter dropped gymnastics when she got more serious about dance. Shes 12 now and does 9-10 hours of dance a week - including acro. There are plenty of serious dancers who also do gymnastics but the skills are really different (she has a friend who is a gymnast) and the way they’re meant to place their legs and such seems quite different in acro and gymnastics.

Personally my daughter gets a lot from doing the majority of her classes at one school just for making friends and being in the shows and such but that depends on your child and what you are looking for from all this.

My DD is a teen now and has been in a competitive gymnastics squad for year.

She did acro for a couple of years around age 11 but never enjoyed it as much as gym.

She then switched to cheerleading which has been absolutely brilliant but quite time commitment with competitions all over the country.

I would pick cheer over acro if she wants to try something else, but she's very young. Is there a chance for her to join a competitive gym squad? You say you can't commit to it but that might change as she gets older. That's been the best thing for my DD, she joined around age 10 and now at 15 still trains twice a week, has lots of friends there and has started working there to coach the younger ones.

Osipova isn't my favourite, if I had to name one I'd say I prefer Marianela Nunez.

This is very informative!