Ballet Class?

[CaitsMoM]

I have a 5 y/o daughter who is a pre team LvL 4. I was thinking of putting her into a ballet or dance class bc she isn't super graceful....that part of gymnastics does not come naturally to her. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Shelovesthebars]

I also have a daughter who is 5. She will be competing level 3 this year. She is in her 3rd year of ballet and it really helps with her body awareness, pointed toes, and overall grace. She is now doing a class with the team kids at dance without being on their team. I won't let her do gym team and dance team because she needs time just to play outside and have fun.

 

[MdGymMom01]

When my dd first started gymnastics (she was 9) she was very ungraceful, mainly because she was a cheerleader and those moves are very tight and sharp. The ballet helped tremendously! DD is now in her 3rd year of gymnastics and ballet and loves both. I kind of wish I would have kept her in ballet shen she was younger (she did a class when she was 5 then quit ballet to do cheerleading from ages 6-9).

I would definitely recommend the ballet class. It would be the best thing for her at this age. Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[fishchimes]

I say it's a good idea, and would probably help, but see if she wants to do it. If she doesn't want to, she might not really get much out of it anyway.

 

[CaitsMoM]

Thanks everyone....she doesn't want to take the class...she just wants to be in the gym....she said "mom I am a gymnast not a dancer"...hard to make a 5 yo understand LoL!

 

[MdGymMom01]

Thanks everyone....she doesn't want to take the class...she just wants to be in the gym....she said "mom I am a gymnast not a dancer"...hard to make a 5 yo understand LoL!

I hear that!!!! If she doesn't want to do it then don't push it. Ballet can be "very boring" to little kids (my dd hated it at age 5, but really liked it when she got older). Just go with the flow for now and see if she changed her mind in a year or 2.

 

[gym law mom]

I would do the ballet IF your dd wanted to do dance. I would not put her in the class just to help with gymnastics. To me that sends a message that everything in her world must in some way help or be related to gymnastics and at 5yo that is just way too early to think that way.

Is there another dance class she'd like to try? What about another sport---soccer, ice skating, swimming? She's at an age where she can try other activities and still have lots of home time.

 

[liseybeast]

I remember when I was 8 years old the dance team I was on required us to take ballet. I did not want to take ballet, but I had to try it and ended up loving it! A year and a half later I moved from my old dance studio to a ballet school where I was put in a pre-professional program. I've never stopped loving ballet since then! Younger kids don't realize what ballet class is like, but a lot of pre-ballet includes games and free dance time where they get to run around with scarves and other things. I can't imagine what my life would be like w/out ballet and it's all thanks to my mom pushing me to try it!

You may want to look into dance schools in your area and see if anything has an open house. Your daughter may get an idea for what it's like and change her mind. If not, wait till she's older when she has more awareness of what it takes and try again.

 

[Linsul]

I had my daughter in dance when she was 5. I just made the decision for her and decided to keep her in until she could tell me why she didn't want to continue. Not just 'I don't want to'. Maybe I'm just militant, but at 5 I was making the decisions. Every child is different for sure, but at 5 mine was still focused on getting her way. A big part of parenting her at that age was getting her to open up to new things and learn to express herself and not just her stubborn streak. Now that she's 7 it's a different story of course!

I would suggest a combo class at that age, not an hour of strictly ballet. They do ballet, tap, and jazz in that class. It's got the fun of tap (who at 5 doesn't like making noise?) the strength of ballet, and the fun of jazz all together. It's like a dance sampler, an excellent starting point that can enhance any sport DD decides to participate in. As far as studios go I would ask about the floors, make sure it's a sprung floor of some sort. Protect those knees and landings! A lot of studios just throw hard wood over cement, no good. Also check out the windows into the studios if you're interested in watching. I took DD to a place that had tiny windows in one studio, I could never see her. I was told at the front desk that classes rotate studios (others had large windows), but it never happened. Make sure you can see if you want to before you sign up!

 

[IrenicMom]

My daughter, also 5, also competing L3 this year, has been asking me for two years to do ballet. Her argument to me "Mom, it will help with my artistic elements!" She's a nut. At the time, I told her that at 3 (and then again at 4), that I thought 3 hours a week in the gym was enough of a schedule for her!

We finally found a school and a program that fit our existing training schedule, though, so we're giving it a go. It's definitely a change in focus for her, but she's liking it. She definitely doesn't have the passion for it that she exhibits for gym, but she likes it and wants to keep at it. She likes the idea of the recital, and likes the traditional ballet "things" - the black leo, the hair in a bun, all that. We've tried a few schools that were more laid back, and she wasn't thrilled. The combo class was a flop for her - she wanted straight up ballet.

But, like I said, she's a nut. She knows what she likes, and despite our efforts to convince her that life **isn't** all about gymnastics, she finds a way to make it that way.

But, if she didn't want to go to class every week? That would be a nightmare.

 

[flexiballetgirl]

Even just start her in a Jazz, modern or Hip-hop (if they offer it at that age) class. My sister did jazz for 3 years before even thiking about ballet. See what the studio offers.