dancing 5 year old

[mrpotatohead]

Hi,
Just wondered what you all thought of my 5 year old daughters dancing schedual?
My daughter started dancing at 2 and we moved to Melbourne 2 years ago and she started dancing here in Oz as soon as we arrived, I found it a lot more full on than her dance school in the UK.
In the UK she did 30 mins a week 15 ballet and 15 tap.
Before I tell you what she does here I would just like to say that she totally loves dancing and it is not something that I make her do lol I was never a dancer as a child nor did I want to be.
She started off just doing Jazz, then added tap and now is also doing ballet and acrobatics, so thats 4 hours a week (1 hour of each discipline) but on top of that she is doing an exam class 1.5 hours and up to 5 or 6 hours of extra practise for her solos and troupe work.
She has never once not wanted to go and on the days she doesnt have dancing, the first thing she says in the morning is do I have dancing today? she really does love it and practises all the time at home, but she is just 5 years old, she'll turn 6 in November.
and before I know it there will be extra practise for the end of year show.
She is a good little dancer and I was surprised when I first saw her dance as its closed rehersals and parents dont get to see.
She has won several awards this year as part of a troupe and even won a first place for her jazz solo in the under 8 years category, also they look like little beauty queens with full make up, tanning and hair pieces! I dont really mind this so much although I wouldnt say I liked it but Its only for competitions, and end of year show.
Last week for instance they had a school disco and all her little friends got dressed up and partied but she had to go to dancing and she didnt mind she has missed so many birthday parties and didnt even have a party herself last year because her birthday in end of november and there end of year show is beg of dec so full on dancing, but she doesnt mind she would rather be dancing!
would you make your only child stop or cut down something they love so much? some of the other parents at school have made a few snide comments!

Don't see a problem with it if she is really keen.

My dd's dance 3 classes a week but wouldn't miss the school disco or parties. When you said she didn't mind missing the school disco, did you give her the option of missing the disco or dancing? I would encourage my dd's to go to a party instead of a dancing class, unless they really didn't want to. Just think although they love dancing they may start to resent having to go if they miss out on other things. I want to ensure they don't find it a chore. Also, if your daughter misses out on lots of things with her school friends, it may have an impact on her relationships at school.

I wouldn't allow a 5 year old to wear make-up or fake tan for a competition, my dd's are 8 and 10 and don't, even though a lot of the girls do. The competition should be about their dancing ability and not how they look, and from experience generally it doesn't seem to make any difference to results whether a child wears make-up and fake tan or not. I just feel it gives a child the wrong message.

re missing the school disco, basically it was for compeition practise and they cannot miss comp practise unless of course emergencies or illness, we were basically told when pracitse would be and if you wanted to do comps you would attend! but i didnt put it to my daughter quite like that I just said did she want to go to the disco or do dancing comps and she chose comps all by herself, not sure what we would have done if she had chosen the disco thou!
there are competitions on this week then the last ones are end of July.
regarding the make up I understand and know exactly what you mean but they are dancing on large stages seating approx 1000 not at all small scale. If it was a play they would wear make up and you really can tell the difference between the ones that dont tan or wear much make up.
Our school insists on tan and make up so I dont really have a choice other than to pull her out and Im happy with the school and to go along with it.
I originally chose the school as it was local to me but it is a fantastic school.

I always think so long as you are guided by the child, then you won't go far wrong.

My DD does gymnastics and has made the squad at her club. She is 6, and trains for 6 1/2 hours a week. On top of that, she does 1 1/2 hours of ballet / tap / modern a week (But this is just recreational classes - she has gymnastics as her 'serious' hobby and ballet as her 'bit of fun' hobby). I have the same, mums who think that she does too much, and that I must be pushy etc etc and some mums even have the nerve to say it to my face. I just ignore them, because the moment my daughter says she wants to stop ballet, or go back into recreational classes for gymnastics, then that's fine. I know DD's commitment to her gymnastics comes from her, and so I don't care what other people say or think. I am confident that we have made the right decisions for our DD, so whatever anyone else thinks is irrelevant really.

I think 6/8 hours a week can seem a lot to other mums especially if their children don't do any hobbies, but its all relative, and my 6 year old copes really well, and still manages to have three after school days free a week, and all day Sunday to herself! As long as it works for you - don't worry!