Ballet: what is the best age to start?

[Popparoo]

I am thinking of waiting until my daughter is four years old before starting ballet classes. Many parents I know have started their children at two or three: is four a bit late to start? I know that sounds a bit crazy, but I have been told that if dd starts at four she will be left behind all the other four year olds who started earlier, and that it will be hopeless...Does anyone have an opinion on/experience of this one?

[oxocube]

My d.d has just turned 5 and will soon be starting ballet. IMO, unless the kids love it and ask to go, 2 yrs old is far too young. My MIL is a ballet teacher and when she was younger and a single mum, she had to run loads of 'babies' classes to make ends meet. She said that it was more like babysitting to be honest and that most of the girls had no real interest in dance. When I asked her about my d.d she said 4 or 5 is probably a good age to start: the girls are more able to listen to instructions and to concentrate as they are used to school. I wouldn't worry about your d.d being 'left behind'! I hope she enjoys it!

[SoupDragon]

Not a problem I'm likely to have with 2 chunky DSs but 3 friends started their DDs at 3 or 3 1/2. At this age, they had enough physical co-ordination to make a good attempt at it and enough understanding to follow the instructions.

[JaneyT]

my dd1 is just three and went to her first ballet lesson last week and seemed to love it.

They did a few ballet things such as first and second position, but the rest was dancing round the room and follow my leader, the teacher did keep slipping things in like arm movements, oe pointing etc, but I got the impression that at this age the lesson just gets them used to doing what the teacher says, and is really a bit of fun.

[ScummyMummy]

Does anyone have a boy doing ballet? I think one of my sons would really enjoy some kind of dance or gym class- very coordinated and inventive in his movements- but it still seems to be something that boys just don't do, even as very young children.

[JaneyT]

There is a boy at my dds ballet class

[CAM]

My dd started at 3 because she asked to and one of her teachers at nursery school offered fairly basic lessons straight after school. Now she has got more advanced (6 this week) she has attended a "proper" ballet school outside of school since last June. It is a great discipline at any age so long as they enjoy it!

[Inkpen]

Scummymummy, there ought to be a meeting place for mothers-of-boys-who'd-like-to-do-ballet and then we could all get together in one class! After Billy Elliott and all, you'd think it would be different, but I haven't yet found a class for my ds. To be truthful, though, I could have done more research - I got a v. good list of local ballet teachers from the RAD and if I get round to following up, there must be some somewhere. But the average local church hall type of classes seem to be exclusively little girls in tutus. (In my day it was leotards and wrap rounds but there you go!) Have you got a branch of Stagecoach or something similar near you? They do music, dance and singing, I think, all in one session. BTW, I think 4 or 5 is plenty young enough - it seems to be taking oneupmanship a touch too far to suggest that a 4 year old would be 'left behind'!

[aloha]

Popparoo, my mum is a ballet teacher and four definitely isn't too late to start! My mum (a former very talented dancer who takes her teaching as seriously as any other teacher of an art form BTW) has had to turn away kids in nappies who are unable to speak or follow basic instructions. The school where she teaches is v posh (lots of pushy celeb parents!) and she gets a bit sick of babysitting spoilt, tantrummy toddlers sometimes! She would much prefer to teach four year olds as they can concentrate, follow instructions and actually learn something from their classes. Of course all children are different, but four or five is a very good age, particularly if the child is genuinely interested in learning.

[aloha]

Oh, and six or seven or eight or whatever age is good - very, very, very few church hall dancers go on to join the Royal Ballet anyway. They don't get much out of it under 4 usually (obviously there are exceptions). 'Left behind'! What nonsense.

[aloha]

For mothers of boys - there are a couple of massive advantage to boys being such a tiny minority in ballet classes. They'll get loads of attention and in the school's annual 'show' they'll get rather lovely and ego-boosting starring roles regardless of talent as it is such a novelty to have a boy in the school.

[Tinker]

Can I ask, how much do people pay for ballet lessons? And do you pay lesson by lesson of for a course etc? What is the norm?

I did ballet as child and would love my daughter to do it but the only classes round here are either after school (which I can't do as I work full-time) or a Saturday morning class requiring £70 up front for lessons PLUS £70 for all the kit (the teacher wants all children dressed identically). Personally, I think this a bit steep and certainly beyond my budget. I just thought ballet was meant to be fun. What if she doesn't like it after all that outlay? Is this normal?

Grrr, it make me soooo mad!!!

[helenmc]

we pay £50 a term for half hour after school. They can wear what they like, and there was 1 new boy there tonight. The ones run by the council were about the same. You were encourage to get the kit, but there's a huge second hand box (leotard were £5, shoes £2.50).

[tallulah]

2 of my sons do ballet. They were 6 & 10 when they started, & are now 11 & 15. They've done 5 exams & 4 pantos. They are in a class of 9-10 year old girls because they started "late", but it doesn't seem to bother them.
We have to pay by the term. My last bill was for £140 because 4 of us go so it's usually £3- £4 per lesson I think (you get a discount for each extra kid/class).
The girls have to wear regulation leotard,tights & shoes. Boys get away with murder, being fewer, & wear normal clothes to class (& ballet shoes).. exam outfits cost me a small fortune! The school mine go to has about 30 boys, spread across the classes from pre-school to adult.
My daughter started ballet at 3, messed about & wouldn't co-operate, & we gave up when she was 5. Now at 16 she's just gone back (& I wouldn't recommend leaving it that long!)
I did it from 3- 20, & have just gone back (at 39!). I STILL remember it!!!

[SueW]

DD has just started new dance classes. She's just 6yo.

She's done ballet intermittently since she was 4yo, at school; at first in a free after-school club and now does it as a lunchtime activity (in preference to mixed activities which is more parachute games, etc).

We pay 5.30 per week for ballet, modern and tap and she's there for 1.5 hours on a Saturday morning. There are boys there too but not many. DD was inspired to go because we went to watch her cousin in their production at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall and DD seemed quite excited at the prospect of standing on stage in front of 1500 or so people like her cousin. Only two years until she can take her place They all get to take part in one way or another and 'the babies' (4-6yos) are just gorgeous.

I'm not into this left behind thing. Last year I worked with a young man who had deferred a place at a dance school for one year. He had only started taking lessons when he was 16 but had a natural talent. He was temping to get together some money for the following year and also appeared in our local papera few times looking for sponsorship.

[SueW]

BTW, she also will have to wear regulation clothing once she has been there for a while and decided she likes it but as someone already mentioned, there is usually secondhand kit available.

[CAM]

My dd's classes are 1 hour long, half hour ballet and half hour tap. £44 in advance every 10 weeks. She has regulation leotard, skirt, wraparound cardi and ballet and tap shoes which altogether probably cost approx. £50 initially but last a long time and don't all need replacing at once. The teacher is a former professional ballerina and must be nearly as old as God now but looks fantastic and has a fabulous figure. She is also extremely nice which is very different from my ballet teacher who was very scary and shouted a lot!

[tigermoth]

my dh used to attend ballet classes as a boy and really enjoyed them.

We were looking at the way our three year old cavorts around the place and, funnily enough, have just been talking about sending him to dance classes in a year or so. He has a good sense of balance and is very agile, I think. His real name, if taken literally, would certainly point him in that direction.

It is difficult to find dance classes with boys already in attendance, though I do know of a boys only dance classs held somewhere in the Crofton Park area of SE london, if that helps anyone. A friend's son went to it. If anyone is interested, I'll post details.

I can't imagine that you've missed the boat if you don't have dance classes at 2 years. After all, most toddlers don't take their first unaided steps till approx 1 year old, do they?

[aloha]

My mum (a dancer by passion and vocation) would be probably be mildly offended by people thinking ballet was only meant to be fun She's imaginative and creative and great with children but she does think of her class as the same as formal piano lessons - proper study of a serious art form with an aim in mind. I think if the class demands proper clothes etc it is probably a school where they take it pretty seriously and isn't right for everyone. There are more informal classes.

[suedonim]

My younger dd started at about 3.5yrs, I think, while my older dd started at 13 and, no, it wasn't too late. She went on to take jazz and modern dancing too. Dance is a fabulous form of exercise if, like dd1, your child isn't sporty. She became astonishingly supple and muscular. Classes varied upwards in price from about 3.5gbp per session and there was no need to purchase outfits until you were sure your child would stick at it.

Ds2 also did dance classes, many moons ago, and there are a couple of boys at the school my dd's attended.

[chezdec]

i am looking for dance class in the leeds area for my daughter if any one out there nos of any please let me no smile

[expatinscotland]

I started at 4. I studied at Houston Ballet Academy from the ages of 8-17. NO WAY will she be 'left behind'. MOST professional ballerinas start around 4-5 and some (female) even as late as 8.

Whilst Baryshnikov started training as a gymnast at 5, he didn't begin to study ballet until he was 11!

2 and 3 - they don't really 'get it'. It's more like just play time than learning dance.

One thing you do NOT want to do is start a girl en pointe too early. Be VERY wary of schools that want to put them in pointe shoes at 9 - their feet will be TRASHED. Kirov and Bolshoi don't put their girls en pointe until at least 14; more often 15.

[NannyL]

My little charge started ballet at 2 3/4, she loves it (now 3 1/2!)
(tho she had done ballet with the same ballet teacher at school since she was 2 1/2!)

[wavingordrowning]

dd didn't start till she was 4 - most of her friends in the class had already being doing ballet for a year. A year later, she is moving up a class without her friends and is in with 6 year olds. (Before you think I'm having a good boast (which I am of course ), I'd like to make it clear that it's most definitely not 'cos she's a prodigy, it's just her sheer enthusiasm and ability to follow instructions! One advantage of being a very bossy mother and of her starting ballet that bit later) As with all these things - it depends on the child. If you are happier waiting then wait! Surely the main thing is that she enjoys it?

[KBearthePolarBear]

My dd started at 4.5 and she's now almost 7. She LOVES it. She's taken one RAD exam and will be taking another next year. I said she doesn't have to but she was like "Mum, please let me". I don't want to be pushy but she's so keen and enjoys it so much.

She also performed in her ballet's school's show last weekend - 130 girls took part from 3 to 16.

In fact she is in bed now going to sleep to the strains of The Nutcracker by Tchaikowsky!

[bsg]

My dd started when she was three. She had no real interest and ran anround the room like an aeroplane. All the other girls copied her and I got a very stern look from the teacher. She then decided to take the ballet cardigan off then on then off then on etc to which all the other girls copied and another look from the teacher. After 4 weeks she came out half way through and said I would much rather be at the park. End of classes. She was too young and is far too active for ballet.I think the teacher was over the moon aswell!!!!