What age do kids start ballet/dance?

[buttercup]

I'm so focused on my 9 yr old boy, I pay little mind to extracurriculars for the girl, who turns 2 soon. She's done no classes to date. I am not starting swimming til later because i did not love the "sing songs in the water' classes.
What age do kids start ballet? Many thanks!

[AnnieW625]

I starred DD1 at 3 and it was too early and by the time she was 5 she was burnt out. We also took no breaks and I kind of regret that. If DD2 does ballet at all I won't start her until she is 5.

With DD1 we did do city classes from 1-3 yrs. old, but did Gymboree with DD2 from 5 mos. old until she was 2/1/2 and then she has been going to mom n me gymnastics since then. She starts non mom n me gymnastics next week, but we will probably take some break this summer.

[wendibird22]

In my area none of the classes really start until 5yo. There are a few "creative movement" classes for 4yo but real dance classes that they teach ballet positions, terminology, etc doesn't start until 5yo.

[tg_canada]

Decent ballet schools won't start actual ballet until 5 or 6ish. Prior to that it would be a movement style class that teaches body and spacial awareness, musicality, etc. to prepare them for actual ballet or any other type of dance. The movement classes typically start no earlier than age 3.

[wellyes]

Start by 2nd grade for being able to take dance classes in elementary and beyond.

There are lots of ballet and creative movement classes for 3-5, but, they're really just for fun and taking them or not doesn't make a difference long term. We like gymnastics instead for that age! More fun, and better and building strength, stamina and body courage (not sure what the right term for that is..... learning to swing on ropes and walk on a beam and jump high on a trampoline).

[buttercup]

Thank you all. I shall continue to ignore extracurriculars for the secondborn :)

[crl]

I started when I was four, at my specific request, and continued until I was 16.

Dd is three and doing a tumbling class. If she is interested I will probably see about a dance class at four or so.

Catherine

[nfowife]

I have a 2 year old (and an older DD who dances) and I think 4-5 is a good age to start dance- pre-k or kindergarten, if they are showing interest. My DD started in kinder and before that did some very low-key rec type classes through the parks dept.

I also have no interest in mommy and me water classes! It is painful!!

We did a session of mom and me gymnastics and the beginning was hard as she isn't quite there yet with following directions if she wants to do something different. But by the end of the session she had gotten much better. We didn't continue because of scheduling issues but I am going to re-start in the fall. It teaches following directions and coordination which are valuable skills. We also go to 2 year old storytime at the library each week and that's a lot of fun and FREE.

[maestramommy]

Our school starts pre-ballet at 3-5. In my mind I wanted to start them at 5, but first DD started at 5, then DD2 at 4, then DD3 at 3:p. It's pretty low key in pre-ballet. They do perform in a ballet at the end of the year, so the rehearsal schedule (for parents!) is pretty intense, but the kids have fun, and last year when I asked DD2 if she wanted to do it again she said YES.

[BabyBearsMom]

DD1 is 3 and just started her first ballet class. IMHO it is a little early for her. The girls in the class spend most of the class running to the moms and sitting on our laps. The only girls who are consistently good are the almost 4 yos. If I had it to do over, I would wait another year.

[buttercup]

Thanks again everyone. I've been made aware of mom and me ballet classes (did not know this existed!) and I think I may do one of those, for fun. i've never taken ballet myself so i think it will be hilarious and also quite possible my 2 yr old is more coordinated than I am.

[westwoodmom04]

My daughter did rec league ballet classes at 3 and 4. It was cheap and she enjoyed them. We switched over to real classes when she was in kindergarten (a local college has a dance division for children) and after a year or so, it was clear she had no particular interest in dance or aptitude for it. We've focused on sports since then because she has tons of energy (but maybe only slighter better at them(.

[AustenFan]

DD1 started a low-key ballet class at age 3. She hadn't done any special classes before, but a couple other little friends were taking it, and she loved having a "big kid activity" to do. It's not fancy--just a 20 year old from church who offers it on a drop-in basis on Saturdays in the church sanctuary. The girls can wear whatever they want, and they do very basic intro-ballet steps and arm movements. They spend about half the time on creative movement, stretching, etc.

For $8/hr, I think it's great. I have seen a TON of progress in DD's basic coordination over the past year (eg, learning to skip and gallop), and she ADORES her teacher. Frankly, I'd pay $8/hr just to have her spend time with this girl, who is a great role model and very sweet with the kids. DD1 is kindof a lethargic kiddo, so anything that gets her motivated to move around is a plus in my book. She might have naturally learned to skip this past year, but having class every week inspires her to practice more than she otherwise would. Since she doesn't attend preschool or anything, this is also one of the few times that she has to listen to someone else or interact in a group setting during the week.

With all that said, I'm just not ready to sign her up for real ballet (with mandatory practices or performances) for another couple of years. We haven't even done real sports yet with DS, though he'll be doing real soccer this fall at age 6.5. Besides swimming lessons (which we do for safety), I tend to think that most sports classes before kindergarten are more about fun than getting a headstart. Unless your kid is super athletic (which mine aren't), I think not too many kids are really coordinated enough to just take off in a sport before age 5 or 6.

[Pear]

At 2yo DD took a music class, tumbling, and art. At 2.5 we added soccer skills. At 3 she started dance.

[brittone2]

We skipped creative movement at my local studio. When she was 4, she took a drop in summer class at a different studio, and she really liked it. Once I knew she would enjoy it, we tried a class at a different studio. I chose that studio because the quality of instruction seemed to be much higher.

From 4-5 she did pre ballet 1
From 5-6 she has been taking pre ballet 2

She'll move to ballet 1 next year.

I never really felt the need to put her in creative movement. I'm sure she would have enjoyed it, but she also really enjoyed it when I put on music and she would dance with scarves, dancing ribbons, instruments, etc. and I felt that was just fine at the time.

[abh5e8]

i think kindermusic is awesome for that age!

dd started in creative movement at 5. this fall at 6.5 she will move to pre-ballet. she loves it.