WAG Dd has the grace of a baby deer

[Kdg303]

Seriously, it's her first year, level 3, first time learning the floor routine and the girl is as awkward as a baby deer. No grace and elegance and just all over the place. I watch her practice the moves at home (no tumbling) but obviously I don't say anything cause I'm not a coach and I don't know the moves but its clear she just can't dance. She practices 9 hours a week and I have 2 other kids in sports so we have no time to add dance and I seriously can't afford to pay for it after her gym tuition went up! Her gym is small and they don't offer dance.

It's her first year doing gymnastics (not even a full year) she went from rec to team in 8 months cause she has all the skills to be on level 3. But my question is, does this "grace" come naturally or over time with lots of practice?

 

[rbearclaw]

Yes!!! It totally gets better! My 6 year old looked like a robot the first year, she was so busy trying to memorize everything. By the second year she was putting her own flair on her moves and has totally emphasized the dance element.

 

[twinmomma]

Ha! DD is the same way. And she HATES dance lessons when the ballet teacher comes to gym. She has gotten better but she has zero idea how to round out her arms or make things look less "angular". As a former dancer it's painful to watch sometimes!!!

 

[twinmomma]

OH! and DD has expressed an interest in the Acro team at our gym. I keep thinking, you know they DANCE right????

 

[Sasha]

Do not fear. Grace can be learned, and it is largely aged into. My DD at 7 looked like some kind of robot spider, but at 8.5 was complimented on her grace. At 9, she almost has rhythm, too. She takes no dance lessons (though basic ballet positions are taught in gym). I have seen it with others, too. I was afraid that the graceful elements would spell the demise for my DD in this sport, believe me, but here she is, older, lovelier, more practiced, and much more poised.

Now we look back with much fondness on the early robot/baby deer videos with joy at the sheer adorableness!!

 

[Kdg303]

Oh thank heavens!! I thought for sure she was doomed!

And yes very painful to watch! Ha! Thank you so much ladies!!

 

[duyetanh]

You are describing my child. She literally lost floor at state because she was a mechanical robot. She is so graceful now I can't believe it and has flair. I can't tell you how much it means when a parent says how graceful she is, because I am a clumsy fool and I never thought she would be able to change. Oh, and p.s...she tried dance and hated it and quit after a month. So this gracefulness has come on its own, but I do believe that learning piano has also helped. She seems to just know how to 'get' the music now. HC also has told her piano helps. We do Suzuki method which is by ear for a lot of it. So yes it will change!

 

[Faolmor]

DD has a similar problem, except from the waist up. Her feet and sense of rhythm are fine, but she has no clue where her arms are or what they're doing.

Being proactive (and the daughter of a prima ballerina) I asked if she'd like to try some dancing to help. She said yes. She chose Irish Dancing.

LOLOLOLOL

 

[raenndrops]

I am still waiting for grace to kick in for YG. She is 10.5 years old now and has been on team for 4 years.

Most girls can develop grace over time and YG is just a very unique individual, lol

Good luck.

 

[ladybird]

Interesting question. My dd seems to be one of those that are naturally graceful. I think she is beautiful to watch on floor but of course I am her mother, LOL!

In our gym there are several girls who were "born with grace" but they also are the girls who take dance in their spare time. So, are they graceful because they take dance or do they take dance because they are graceful????

Oh, and one of them takes Irish dance

 

[lhmom]

If you go back and look at my daughter's first year (youtube link below), you'll definitely see awkward. Especially looking at the first few meets, she had absolutely no clue about movement. It has taken time and a very determined floor coach to make her look graceful, LOL! Dance is not something that comes naturally to DD at all, even now (training 8). However, she has a floor coach who is a real stickler for form and nitpicks constantly until DD "gets" it. I give this coach full credit for making my child look like a dancer. I bet yours will improve as she continues to compete.

 

[Amusibus]

Yes they do get it after a while. While I wouldn't exactly call my daughter "graceful", I have to say her form and body awareness improved dramatically between ages 7 and 9. She has that Nastia Liukin body type also which helps, all skinny with mile long legs.

 

[Sasha]

She has that Nastia Liukin body type also which helps, all skinny with mile long legs.

Though not always an early advantage... My gymmie's gangly arms and legs just pronounced the robot-spider horror - er, I mean adorableness. lol.

But NOW the legginess is definitely a plus for grace factor, YES!

 

[profmom]

Both of mine are long and lean, and have Gumby tendencies. After about three years of watching DD do the dying daddy longlegs on floor, I had to learn to stop guffawing in disbelief when some new parent would say something about how incredibly graceful she is, because now she is! DS tends to start out a new level stinking up the floor but improving over the course of the year to look pretty good by the end. I am dreading imagining what "stinking up the floor" will look like next season.

 

[Flyaway]

the dying daddy longlegs on floor

I literally lol'd!

 

[lovegymnastics22]

DD is repeating Lvl3. She is about a billion times more graceful now than last year. I asked her how it was going and she said "well... now that I'm not so worried about falling off the beam I can actually think about where my hands are supposed to go." I had to hold in my laughter until I could run to another room. It will come

 

[Flyaway]

DD is repeating Lvl3. She is about a billion times more graceful now than last year. I asked her how it was going and she said "well... now that I'm not so worried about falling off the beam I can actually think about where my hands are supposed to go." I had to hold in my laughter until I could run to another room. It will come

This is my dd. It's amazing what a year will do for form!

 

[needcoffee]

This is my DD, beautiful floor skills, but I have to mentally stop myself from cringing when she dances. To make it worse, she WAS a dancer! And I don't actually remember her being this awful. She has had a major growth spurt in the last year though. Her limbs are so long it actually freaks me out.

And to be fair, the dance passages in her routine are pretty weird.

I often hear her coach saying "DD, can we talk about your choreography.. Again?".

 

[coachmolly]

Even my most graceful little ones are awkward baby deer at best, some are far from even that. I just keep hoping it catches on one day, or they at least figure out how to fake it a little better.

 

[Kdg303]

You all make me laugh and feel so much better!! My dd is long and lean and def "gumby"! I laughed so hard at that one!!