Ballet for children - straw poll

[Earlybird]

Do your dc do ballet?
What do they like about it and why?
What do you like about it (for them), and why?
If they gave it up, why and what age? Any regrets?

Dd started ballet at nursery at 3 then did it after school. She is now 6. We changed to anothert ballet school in September because to do the exam with her previous teacher I had to take her for extra sessions at a studio miles away on a day I work and she has another activity.

The ballet school she goes to now is fab and has one of the best reputations. The uniform is strict but you can get it cheaply from places like Dance Direct. They do shows every two years but not as glitzy and glam as other schools and everthing (exam and show preparation) is done in class time. Dd joined after the show but another mum informed me the costume was based around their basic uniform and the rest only cost £20. Ok £20 is still a lot but other dance schools around here ask you to spend hundreds and it is only once every 2 years.

I feel it gives her poise and self confidence and dd is ballet mad.

Both my dds have done ballet from age 2and 9m. DD1 gave it up to do disco, which lasted 4months, now she does irish which she loves. Its brilliant, shes been to a few competitions and has got herself 13medals and 2 trophies so far.
She has to practse hard. 1.5hrs minimum a week, if a competition is comming up she practises everyday.
She wants to, shes mad for it.
She is 7and2months.

Dd2 still does ballet, she is 4. She loves it. She is no ballet dancer though. More like a fairy elephant, bless. She does love it though, alot.

DD did ballet for the past two years at school, which was easy and low key. We have now moved, and she has lessons at a ballet studio. They are very strict about uniforms and hair (must be in a bun and fringe held back with clips). She doesn't enjoy it much, and I am wondering if a different teacher would make a difference. It feels like a chore to both of us atm, so am re-evaluating.

dd1 did it for 2 years ( 3.5 - 5.5). She does gymnastics now instead.

generally she liked it and loved the dressing up, learnign steps etc etc but overall it was so bloody worthy and earnest. All she wanted was to enjoy herself, not to train as the new darcey bussell. When you are 5 years old and being told ' no, don't do that' , or 'ssshh' all the time, it's time for something new IMO. It was just no fun at all.

plus most of the other mums were ghastly toffee nosed pushy types with gigantic eff off 4x4s. Not a good crowd.

Why is it EB that your thread titles always catch me??

Dd does ballet because at 3 or maybe barely 4 she said, "Mummy. I need to do ballet now. There is a class which runs in the church hall down from the school." - what chance did I have? (Or will I ever have?)

She likes it I think mostly for the en-masse-little-girls feeling - she's a natural chorus-member. She does like the music and the dressing up - but it's much more the group dynamics, the being part of a many-limbed-but-single-heart animal. She's always been an eager joiner-in.

Ballet is much less fun (perhaps not any) for a non-joiner-in.

Bink - either I'm very lucky to catch your eye, or we're on the same wavelength alot of the time! Bit of both, I think.

Dd loves to join in too, adores being part of a group, and is captivated by beautiful music. I think we have somehow landed at a 'very serious indeed' ballet school where they somehow manage to suck the joy out of the learning experience. It's all 'very proper' but not much fun. I think she'd thrive in a different situation, so will look around for a school that suits us better.

Dd is four and does baby ballet at school.
She loves it "because I dance with my dolly" (they do a little rocking a baby dance), because some of her friends do it, and because she has a lovely teacher who makes it fun while gently introducing proper foot and arm work
I like it because I think classical ballet is marvellous for posture and discipline as well as being very satisfying to get right
Dd practising her curtsy is pretty hilarious
I have a feeling I'd find a ballet school per se a bit much these days - have heard tales of £60 costumes for shows and so on
I got to Grade 5 but a weak ankle meant no pointe work
I was quite good so it was a huge shame

Although bink - maybe I was lucky with my ballet school but there were three of us who were back row eccentrics and managed to enjoy the ensemble dancing without buying into the All girls together stuff

Marina - I think you must have been lucky.

I very clearly remember expelling myself from ballet, at exactly the age dd decided to do it: I was hanging upside down from the rowan in our front garden, proclaiming that never again would I go to Dancing.

This was accepted - strangely I don't remember any attempts at persuasion.

I found my eccentrics in Drama, rather later.

dd is 5. been going to ballet (and tap) since 3. she likes it - she has made lots of friends there and I feel it's really good for her in many ways. great teacher, and ives dd something to be proud of independently of school.

why do you ask, Earlybird?

sorry, read the thread a bit more - dd's ballet lessons are at a school and are (I think) a good balance between fun, sociability and technical whatsits.

I think it is taking us a while to find 'our' places since we've moved to the States. Many of the girls here do gymnastics/tumbling (so require a bit of ballet for routines), and there's a whole other type of ballet/dance required for the girls who want to pursue the cheerleading route (and there are more than a few of these). I think by attempting to avoid the gymnasts and cheerleaders, we have landed in the middle of the ballet purists, who take themselves (and their 'art') very seriously.

As I said before, I think rather than giving it up completely, we should look elsewhere in hopes of finding a teacher/studio that dd enjoys more.

My dd is working on grade 4 and 5 and loves it She is so dedicated and as she is a teenager is keeps her busy and away from hanging about with friends doing nothing.
Yes the costumes can be expensive and the exams are too, ours only does one exam a year though, so thats ok.
But the benefits she has gained outweight the costs. She has wonderful poise which is always commented on even when just walking around school. I also think it has made her a more gentle person, anyway she absolutely loves it and will be going on to do something else dance related when she gets to school leaving age.

Dd attended ballet for around 16 months from age 4. She gave up around 6 months ago because she found it 'boring'. No regrets that she isn't continuing with it.

That is another thing I think DD gets out of it - she is a real "joiner-in" once she gets over her initial timidity. One of our biggest family issues is DD thinking she is being left out of anything.

DD started at 6. It's a great success. Better than doing it at 3, I think. She does it because she wants to, and it's our one 'girl' thing we do, and she likes that.

Is quite formal and proper though. But she doesn't mind - and neither do I.

Good for confidence, strength, co-ordination and looking at yourself in the mirror. Also does tap, which is great for ruining any painted furniture or floors you might have . . . .

DD charges around the village hall like a baby elephant once a week. She wears her fairy dress and carries a cuddly toy. I wouldn't call it Ballet exactly, but she seems to enjoy it.

Oh sorry, should have said she is 3.

Yes DD did ballet for jsut over three years until she was 7.

She gave it up because she swims too (a great deal) and something had to give. And frankly, thanl feck it was dancing because they were all (save for a few normal mothers and kids) a load of pretentious twats who thought you had to live for the dance and that if you had other commitments ever, especially if they related to other, non-dancing, siblings, then you just hadn't got what it too! (As a mother, this is!)

DD did one festival (she was quite good so she got this opportunity, as they do..) and that was what made me ask her to make a descision re dancing/swimming. I thought all the caking on of thick make-up on little girls was fairly repugnant and remnicsent of american pageants.

Good riddance to it all

• took not too

I don't have any desire to 'mold' dd into a serious ballerina. We're simply looking for an enjoyable physical activity that allows her to meet some different children outside of school. If she has fun dressing up in pretty outfits and twirling around to beautiful music - all the better.

It also seems to me that the girls who have had some ballet possess a bit of grace/poise that carries them past the 'slouching/walking like lumberjacks' phase that afflicts many teenagers.

dd does it (3) and is enjoying it immensely (after starting out a bit so-so).

She does it for fun, to be with friends and to 'learn concentration and a bit of structure' etc

PLUS she looks adorable in her ballet get-up!

Another vote for dancing here. DD is 12 and has been doing ballet, tap, modern and lately jazz since age 4. She loves the dancing and the different circle of friends she has made.
Expensive (£150 for 10 weeks) plus a fair number of outfits and lots of shoes (4 different pairs). Show every 2 years and she will be in four dances, so well worth it. No regrets at all here.

Just as a muse ... dd (she's just 7, so been doing ballet a while) is rather graceful, in a sinewy springbokky sort of way (which of course I naturally prefer to gliding sober grace) ... I wonder if she would have been like that without ballet?

muse muse

we'll never know, I suppose