Ballet for 5 year old DD

[hollyhobbie]

DD will be 5 in April and is keen to learn ballet. I'm not so sure, she already does swimming and French and I think 2 activities a week are plenty at this age.
I am also doubtful about ballet as DD loves to dance and is very free and uninhibited when she dances and I worry that a more formal education will knock all of that out of her.

I have promised her that I will at least research a class and I have found one, but was a bit put off as she would go in the older girls' class (as opposed to the pre-schoolers one) and the teacher implied that every other girl there had been going for ages.

I don't know. I think I'm probably being a bit biased against ballet, and would like some thoughts from sensible people about this

.

Have a look round for a class which is suitable.

We have a number of ballet schools near us.
One has loads of rules, eg hair in a bun with no fringe and brwon kirby grips (even for lessons, not just exams), perfect uniform, in short, very formal.
Another is much more laid back and does not make parents buy uniform until they think their child is going to keep up with it, tidy hair, but not loads of rules etc.
I know which one I would choose
Many schools seems to do 1/2 hour ballet, 1/2 hour tap at this age too for a bit of variety.

Is there a music & movement type class, or a theatre class which includes dance? My DD1 is 7 and is "off" ballet at the moment, but she goes to a theatre group once a month where they do dancing, singing and a bit of acting.

Both my DDs did ballet from 4 and absolutely loved it - although the lessons had a structure I wouldn't have said it was so formal that it put them off. It is quite normal to go into an "higher" class if you start at a later age, after all the preschoolers have probably just learnt to point their toes and skip properly (I'm sure any ballet teachers would disagree with that ).

DD2 loved her ballet sooo much that she has only just given up at 16. She is in the sixth form now and exams and social life are using up too much time.

Dd will also be 5 in April and kept on at me to do Ballet. Last summer I enrolled her in a class so she tried it for six weeks. She re enrolled in Sept and has been going every week.

She loves it, it also incorporates a little tap at the end too.

I saw her in a show last week and I was really suprised how much she has changed.

It started off quite laid back but has gradually begun to become stricter as time has gone on.

I am not worried about exams and stuff for her. The key is that she enjoys going.

I had exactly the same dilemma as you last year, in fact I posted on MN about it. I have no background in dance at all and was worried about it rigidity and other things I thought that were bad about it. If you are worried about too many after school activities perhaps let her decide what she wants to do. I made my DD chose between what she wants to do ie gym or ballet. This was to ensure she was serious about it as otherwise she would go to any and every group after school if I let her! Perhaps try it and see? If you DD does not like it she will soon tell you! Good luck.

I enquired about ballet classes for my DD when she was just 5. The dance teacher was horrified that I would suggest it at such an advanced age!
I rang round and found another class that was less formal, but decided to send her to a modern dance class instead. It's really just dancing arround to HSM and girls allowed! (or is the girls aloud? )

Like you, I wasn't really sure about ballet, DD is a bit of a free spirit dance wise and has her own personal take on dance and movement!
Having said that, a few of her friends go to ballet and love it! (just to sit on the fence!)

Mine did ballet for a couple of years, and I was quite relieved that they didn't seem too bothered when I sugeested they give i up and try something else. ours wasn't terribly formal, but it was 9am on a Saturday morning, which was often a struggle! But the thing that I miss least is the end-of-year show. I think I must be a terrible mother, as a glance at the other mums in the audience showed them smiling beatifically (or maybe they had had the wisdom to have a few gins first??) Don't get me wrong- I loved seeing my own kids, for the 15 seconds they were on stage. But the agony of sitting through the rest- just not my bag!!

I'm trying to find a nice drama class for them instead!

LOL at joolyjoolyjoo - fancy not enjoying the end-of-year show, you freak!

Thanks all. Food for thought there.

I know that if I gave her the choice, she would give up French, but as -until very recently- we were living abroad and her cousins are half-French, we feel very strongly that a second language is a VERY IMPORTANT thing.

The class I found is 2.30-3.30 on Saturdays which puts me off, but it is recommended, which is a plus in any situation.

We have been invited by the teacher to buy tickets for the show which is happening next week, so we'll watch that, and then go and watch a class and then we'll make our decision.

I do know of a more movement-based dance class nearby, but it's on so late, that I think all the family would suffer.

I think we'll check out this class, but I may not give up on researching other options yet...

Don't be put off ballet, you just need to look around the right class.

My my DD1, I took her to a formal ballet lesson (it was a highly regarded one), and at the end I was told that my DD was perhaps not old enough for it as 'it was a very disciplined art' and she's a bit of a free spirit. I took her out of that class and never looked back.

My DD2, is now 3 and has been going to a different ballet class since she was two. It is a lot of prancing about, wearing butterfly wings and pretending to make cakes and do fairy things, with some hopping, galloping and skipping. They also do the good toes naughty toes games. She loves it. There is a structure to it, but its not strict.

Just keep looking until you find one that is suitable for you.

DD1 (6) has been doing ballet for about a year - half hour ballet, half hour tap and like webwiz says, it seems as if we've just paid for her to learn to point her toes and run across a room.... But hey she enjoys it nad it gives her Dad and I an excuse to go for a coffee together once a week

My 5 yo does an "initiation" class - bit of alsorts really. I did find a proper British ballet teacher in Brussels but it looked scary. Dd wants to have fun, and the school she goes to doesn't let them specialise in ballet/tap/whatever til they are 7. That sounds entirely reasonable to me.

She loves it, and when i peaked on Saturday, i didn't think she was half bad either.

My dd was the kind of child who danced everywhere: it was her way of expressing herself. She did ballet from the age of 4. Certainly didn't knock the spontaneity out of her, far from it; it showed her more ways of using movement to express her feelings. She was devastated when she had to give it up (disability). I still miss it. And I used to enjoy the show. But then they are a very nice, very inclusive ballet school: they send some students on to the professional stage but also find room for children with SN- all together in the same show. And the older children are great with the little ones.

ellokitty you've just brought back a sweet memory of when DD was 3 doing 'good toes, naughty toes'.

She did ballet for a few years and then stopped as it was too much of a rush to get to class. However she has started again (aged 8) and I am very impressed with what they are doing, and there is French too .

Forgot to add, they can normally do a trial lesson first to see if it's what they expect.

DD is in a class of girls who have danced for years constantly and she is managing fine, even if she is always on the back foot! Never mind, she loves it and can't wait to show us all what she has been doing.