Kiddie ballet question Post Reply

[mommyg]

Hi mums, at what age did your little ones start ballet? My daughter is 2 on the dot and a friend suggested I enroll her for ballet in 3 months time. I'm worried she'll be too young! The friend's daughter started at the same age and loved it.

interested to hear at what age others started and how it went.

[Girliemum]

Hi, Fancy Footworks do a 'move to music' pre ballet class for two year olds. Mums (or carers) do the class with the little ones. It lasts 45 mins. We did two terms of that before moving to 3+ class where kids go solo. check out their website, classes are at Chatham hall, nortcote road library and a few others. Lots of fun.

[MummyWalker]

My daughter (will be 2 in July) and I do the Fancy Footwork movement to music class and its great! With baby ballet classes (usually 2.5 or 3 plus) its pretty standard for the children to do it alone and parents not to be allowed in the room except for an end of term viewing class. I figured there'd be a risk with that that my daughter got put off simply by having to go on her own. The movement to music class seemed a great way to get her familiar with the idea / teacher etc so that she's sufficiently used to it when she's old enough for the "proper" baby ballet class. We go to a class at Earlsfield library but there's definitely one at St Luke's Church too as we've been there for a catch up class (they let you rearrange classes for holidays etc which is great too)

[pie81]

Hi, sorry to jump in. can anyone confirm what age fancy footwork starts - some bits of their site say 2 years and some say 18 months?

[Dance Teacher]

Hi there!

I'm a ballet teacher, and although I take children just before they're three, if, say, their elder sisters come, I think three is really a good 'line-in-the-sand' to start. I know lots of places take children younger, but although they can enjoy it, they don't really gain any benefit from expert tuition before they're three (you can bop around with them at home and they'll be just as responsive). Play music to them (a variety) and ensure they get plenty of walking/general exercise; that's the best thing to prepare them to get on quickly once they start formal dance. I'd say the one exception is if the carer(s) are disabled and not able to ensure they get so much activity in - then they might benefit from formal teaching. (I think all the 'tots' classes for ballet springing up are huge money-spinners to be honest)!

The other thing is that, although I teach 2 year-olds (and younger)! in their nursery schools, they are used to the set-up there, and it can be very overwhelming for children under three to go to a strange place, do something new with a strange teacher and meet lots of new children all at the same time. Sometimes they enjoy it for the first few times, and then suddenly don't want to come anymore - we had one case of an enthusiastic three-year old who suddenly didn't want to come (she was very interested, I thought the parents couldn't be bothered), and two years later, they rang to see if she could re-start. "I didn't like the dog", she told me; every time they came, they walked past a garden with a large barking dog, but she wasn't old enough to verbalise her fears, so they just got tears everytime "ballet" time came!

If they are shy for their first few times, it can put them off as well, when the liklihood is that it isn't the dancing or teaching they dislike.

(Check out our website danceacacia.co.uk if you want to look further)

[MummyWalker]

Hi, sorry to jump in. can anyone confirm what age fancy footwork starts - some bits of their site say 2 years and some say 18 months?

I think 18 months is fine - certainly we went to a trial class when my daughter was 18 months and then signed up when she was 20 months (but I remember thinking the same when I looked at the website!)