Parents Does ballet help with gymnastics & vice versa

[gymmummy]

Hi my preschooler does both ballet & gymnastics & absolutely adores both. My question is she is a bit stiff so I guess gym will help with that but how else do ballet & gymnastics compliment each other?
Will a time come where she has to drop one as the techniques are too different?
Also ballet used be very important important in gymnastics especially in Russia/USSR but ballet training is not at all evident in this current US team except for Madison Kocian who has a beautiful classical floor.

 

[Faith]

She's 3.5!

You need to chill a bit my love. At this age any physical activity will help generally with co-ordination, and it's important she tries lots of different things at this age, focussing on one thing too young is a recipe for burn out and overuse injury.

Keep her in ballet, gymnastics, add in swimming, take her to play on the monkey bars, it will all help her physical development.

At this age it is all about learning through play, it has to be fun! She won't be doing anything approaching "real" ballet or gymnastics traing for a few years yet.

And yes, ballet and gymnastics do complement each other. Generally kids have to pick one or the other later on because time commitments are too great to do both.

 

[notthatmom]

Your posts are starting to worry me, you seem to be getting light years ahead of yourself and as Faith said, that's recipe for disaster.
It's impossible for you to know if she's even going to still like gymnastics or ballet in 10 years (or even 1 year). She's 3. You could put her in tee ball tomorrow and it wouldn't matter whether or not it compliments gymnastics because at this age, you shouldn't be focused on their athletic career. Keep her in any activity (or activities) she likes and see how the next few years go, have fun with her while she watched Bubble Guppies and hopefully shares some fishy crackers with you, hug her, tickle her, put her artwork on the refrigerator, have a tea party with her and her dolls...she's not going to be this small for long, so save the hardcore ballet and gymnastics talk for later, way later.



I think you know ballet helps gymnastics, and vice versa, actually either of them are a foundation for literally any sport that uses your feet or balance. Nastia Liukin is a well trained ballerina, and look at how beautiful of a gymnast she is.
Football players have been known to take ballet as well, so really the possibilities are endless

 

[auswi]

Dd took dance classes until nearly the end of old Aus IL 9; then a gym change with different hours meant ballet was not really going to be possible.
Found the both activities really helped each other - with the proviso that Dd was always needing reminding that gym arms, hands & posture are NOT suitable for ballet.

 

[3rd_time_around]

My dd took ballet first, starting at age 4. Her first gym class was at 6, and I was asked if she'd had classes before because she naturally pointed her toes, straight knees, and was strong. I said she had ballet for 2 years, and the coach said "that's why." So yes, the one helps the other. I just enrolled my youngest in ballet class to help with her gymnastics (straight legs, pointed toes, strength, etc) because she made the team, but she's 6 now. She loves them both. I have no long-term aspirations for this child in either thing because the journey for gymnastics is long and hard and can be full of bitter disappointment (BTDT), so right now it's all for fun. Go ahead and put your child in both, it will work itself out in the end, just don't push her or get your hopes and expectations up too high. Let her have fun with both, or one, or whatever.

 

[mommyof1]

Four years of pre-ballet helped my child learn to stand in line and pay attention. She also got a lot of experience pretending to be a cloud and a flower. Pre-ballet did nothing for her form in gymnastics. By the time she was old enough for real ballet classes, she was at the point where her schedule couldn't accommodate both ballet and team-track gymnastics.

 

[Midwestmommy]

It totally depends on the ballet program, not all are the same. An excellent young children's then performing program will help a willing learner with posture, lines, pointed toes, pretty hands and arms (no flexed wrists masquerading as "dance"). Most community Ed early ballet will be as the other poster described - fluffy butterfly.

 

[GymDad9.9]

My daughter started out taking ballet but gave it up, ironically, because it was required to wear a bun at every practice and she was becoming consumed by the idea of doing gymnastics which included cartwheels and the like during practice. Since being in gymnastics she has indicated no desire to return to ballet or even any form of dance. Her former ballet teacher who remains close to us recommends ballet to complement her gymnastics both from an aesthetic perspective but also because ballet focuses on different muscle areas that may not receive enough attention through gymnastics. I cannot speak to that theory but perhaps someone more knowledgeable here can.

 

[notthatmom]

It totally depends on the ballet program, not all are the same. An excellent young children's then performing program will help a willing learner with posture, lines, pointed toes, pretty hands and arms (no flexed wrists masquerading as "dance"). Most community Ed early ballet will be as the other poster described - fluffy butterfly.

Ditto to this! My younger DD (non gymnast) does ballet and tap at a studio and while the younger kids are considered rec (aka not competitive dance) their ultimate goal is that one day the preschoolers will be team dancers, so they teach them the correct technique, use the correct French words for everything, but it's still recreational, they have pretty princess dress up days and their recitals are adorable, no one is judging them yet on their perfection, because they're so young, and right now that's how it should be. My youngest is 5 and a 45 minute class, once a week is all she can handle at this point, its fun for her right now, and it's fun for us to watch her perform her cute routines....I'm not worried at this point whether or not she's going to be a prima ballerina, nor do I have Juiliard on speed dial....that's not even on my radar at this point

 

[InbarSquirrel]

I fully believe ballet can help gymnastics as in body awareness to straightening out the knees for pretty lines. My younger daughters started ballet both when they were 3.5yrs old and happily danced while holding onto their teddy bears during class. I think having those once a week 45min classes helped much with their body awareness.

At ages 7 & 8 they continue to take a once a week class and even took a jazz class this summer for fun.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Just stop, get off the crazy bus. Let her love it and do it all. When the time comes to choose, she'll choose.

 

[KSLaura]

I think gymnastics and ballet complement each other really well. The strength and form from one carry over quite well to the other. Both my kids have done dance and gymnastics since about age 3 (now competitive gymnasts). So they've been able to continue with both through compulsory gymnastics levels. They do about 2 hours a week of dance.

 

[dancingimmie]

Ballet helps everything...

 

[strawberries]

Certainly ballet helps gymnastics. Virtually all the top gyms include ballet in their team training.

That said, 3.5 is no time to be thinking about it. Even if your goal is the Olympics (and I say "your" goal b/c 3.5 yr olds don't have goals beyond ice cream and swimming), you will have a better shot at it if you show no interest whatsoever at this stage. Kids are that way. They sense your interest and push the opposite direction. Just get her a chocolate cone for now

 

[notthatmom]

Certainly ballet helps gymnastics. Virtually all the top gyms include ballet in their team training.

That said, 3.5 is no time to be thinking about it. Even if your goal is the Olympics (and I say "your" goal b/c 3.5 yr olds don't have goals beyond ice cream and swimming), you will have a better shot at it if you show no interest whatsoever at this stage. Kids are that way. They sense your interest and push the opposite direction. Just get her a chocolate cone for now

Now I want ice cram

 

[Randomactsofcheer]

I recently enrolled my DD in a ballet class to help her with gymnastics. DD has a lot of power and strength, but she looks like a stiff, awkward bird trying to do the dance part of her floor routine. I can't imagine DD will have the time to continue with ballet and gymnastics once school is back in session, but she is enjoying it for now. And I didn't tell her I was putting her in ballet to help with gymnastics. I just asked her if she wanted to take a ballet class now that she has the extra time this summer, and she said yes.

For a 3 1/2 year old, ballet should be about music, movement, and tutus. And gymnastics should be about building body awareness while having fun. Placing a preschooler in ballet because it will help with her gymnastics, or vice versa, may not allow her to fully explore her interest in ballet and gymnastics individually.

 

[mommyof1]

For a 3 1/2 year old, ballet should be about music, movement, and tutus.

Definitely! My daughter attended pre-ballet at a school run by our city's professional ballet company, whose graduates regularly go on to professional careers. The 3- and 4-year-old classes focus on standing in line, taking turns, listening, skipping, counting, and learning the plots of the famous story ballets. If nobody cried or had a potty accident, it was counted as a very good class.

The kindergarten and first-grade classes teach counting in 3/4 and 4/4 time, the etiquette of ballet class (how to hold the barre properly, how to line up for center work, reverence, etc.), the foot and arm positions, how to point the feet properly and turn out from the hips, plies and battements tendus, eleve (not releve), the basic concept of spotting (but no actual turns), sautes, pas de polka, and the waltz walk. That's about it. When the kids begin real ballet classes in second grade, they go twice a week (more as they get older) and progress quickly.

As a parent and as an adult who takes ballet class, I think that at age 3.5 any activity that focuses on gross motor skills and teaches kids to line up, be quiet, pay attention, and show respect for the teacher or coach can be beneficial. That could be gymnastics, ballet, karate, soccer, or just about anything else. If your 3.5-year-old's ballet class is trying to teach classical ballet technique, that's unrealistic and could result in bad habits that are hard to break later on, such as performing battements tendus to the side instead of to a true second position, or curling the toes instead of pointing them.

 

[andarc]

I know y'all are talking about preschoolers but my DD chose ballet as an elective in 4th and 5th grade. No real prior experience. She had it every day for an hour the first half of each year. It was a great class. Totally focused on technique with no recital to worry about. (I had to tell her teacher she needed to learn how to fall to the floor gracefully and she definitely helped with that!) Her gym coaches noticed an improvement in the jumps, leaps and dance. Also, gym helped with ballet as she advanced quickly and her teacher was able to add more turns and different leaps.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Ballet is wonderful for the dance elements and posture/grace. I'm a huge ballet fan and was in that world long before the gymnastics world.

At age 3.5 though.... Not eating your boogers or peeing your pants is awesome. I'm sorry for being cheeky, but at that age, "ballet class" is all about creative movement and listening to the teacher. No real ballet technique is taught (until at least age 7 at any reputable ballet studio) .

At age 3.5, no real gymnastics is being taught either. Moving around, having fun, playing games and learning how to follow instructions and taking turns is all it should be about!

 

[GymDad9.9]

When I told my daughter that dance and ballet would make her more graceful her response was "I want to be powerful not graceful."