WWYD? Choosing ballet level for 5.5 year old

[MommyAllison]

UPDATE post 11 :)

A local ballet studio recently reserved a room at the library and did two free ballet classes. DD2 went to both and fell in love with ballet! We are trying to decide on which class to do at the studio.

They offer Ballet 1 with the same teacher who taught the library classes - she was great and DD2 really likes her. This option is significantly more expensive overall ($65/month with extra fees for recital month and recital costume) with a once a week 45mim class for 9 months with a spring recital. Pros - she would learn a lot and be with kids her age. After the second library class, teacher said she might move her up to ballet 2 at Christmas if we wanted to (same cost and time commitment)

They also offer Storybook Ballet for 4-5 year olds. It's a a once a week 45min class for 3 months and includes a winter recital. There is a spring session too but DD2 will turn 6 years first week of November so no sure if she will be allowed in Storybook in the spring, so she may only be able to do the fall session. Pros - much cheaper overall ($215 for everything, including recital costume to keep), shorter commitment means increased flexibility to do spring sports.

This is our first foray into ballet (dd1 did a 6 week class when she was 3 but that's it) so I'm not sure which option to choose. We need to sign up soon because classes fill quickly. We can afford either one but I'm just not sure if Ballet 1 is the best use of our resources. I don't necessarily want her to dance en pointe/long term (concerned about body image/eating disorders/messing up her feet) and I don't think we can afford for her to dance multiple times a week in the higher levels, time wise or financially, which makes me think Ballet 1 may set her up for disappointment if she wants to continue. Then again, maybe I'm borrowing trouble - she could dance once a week for at least a couple years before we'd need to make that choice, and maybe she would lose interest by then anyway. Storybook would be fun but she would likely be the oldest and might get bored, since it is geared to preschoolers. Neither of our older kids have done year round activities that cost this much, so it feels unfair to them, but they get to choose activities too, they just picked cheaper things. ;)

WWYD? Any advice is appreciated!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Are those your only choices?


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[Snow mom]

Is it possible to do story through December and then ballet 1 if she'd like starting in January? I know January is the cutoff for participating in spring recital at our studio. While it's not really what I'd choose I just thought I'd pose it as another option.

Personally, I'd recommend ballet 1 at that age. My DD did something that I bet was much like story book ballet at age 3.5 and I wasn't a huge fan. By age 5.5 skip the silly play dance classes and go to ballet 1. There's probably a date in the spring that you can withdraw until so if it turns out to not be something to continue for the full year you can drop it. I personally wouldn't worry about pointe in choosing her first class. Yes, you want to choose a studio that fits your vision of how dance will work into her life but that would be true for either class, so make sure you know what the studio culture is. My DD dances two hours a week. We aren't headed toward pointe (in fact I'm not sure if ballet will be one of those two hours in the fall). There's still a lot to be offered, even recreationally, if you chose the right studio.

[niccig]

Oops


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[bisous]

I think Ballet 1 is what I'd do in your shoes. But full disclosure I LOVED ballet as a kid and $65 isn't that much per month to me for high quality activities. I guess I'd rather pay a lot for activities that really truly enrich and teach than significantly less for much less quality. I understand your hesitation with body image and ballet. It makes me a little conflicted because ballet was my favorite activity ever and made me really happy. But swimming and other sports made me feel better about my body. HOpefully all the body positive images that we're seeing in dance these days will contribute to making it a healthier pursuit! I don't think I'd worry too much about more frequent practices at this stage. I guess I'm imagining that if she gets that far it is because she really, really loves it and that might inform your feelings on how often she goes.

[jren]

Check out the instructors and older dancers at the studio, especially dancers on the competition team if that studio has one. At the studio my DD dances at, there are all kinds of body types and sizes for instructors and competition team members. There's no pressure to be thin. My DD (13) will be taking almost 5 hours of dance per week this coming up school year. She's not sporty, and it's the only exercise she gets. She loves dance. It's been a great confidence builder.


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[abh5e8]

I don't necessarily want her to dance en pointe/long term (concerned about body image/eating disorders/messing up her feet) and I don't think we can afford for her to dance multiple times a week in the higher levels, time wise or financially, which makes me think Ballet 1 may set her up for disappointment if she wants to continue.

WWYD? Any advice is appreciated!

If you don't plan to have her continue in ballet, I would pick storybook and hope she is bored so she won't be so sad to quit. We very intentionally don't start our kids in activities I know we would not let them continue in middle School/high school, because I don't want them to love it and then have to quit abruptly.

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[AnnieW625]

For a 5 yr. old I would do the $65 a month option if she is truly serious about ballet. Imho fairy tale ballet may be geared towards the 3-5 yo set and she might get bored especially if she interested in learning more than just twirling around with play silks or costumes for 45 minutes once a week.

Here is my experience. Dd1 did pre ballet from 3-5 at a well known local studio. It was $50 a month iirc (this was 6-8 yrs. ago in SE LA County so a hcol to vchol area) and I was very happy with the school and I loved that it was classical ballet and there wasn't a lot of makeup, competitions or expensive costumes; the performance options were The Nutcracker, and a spring fairy tale performance (they did Cinderella), she did those the year she turned 5 (2010-2011) and the performance fee $50 for both (the spring show was slightly cheaper if you wanted to sew your own costume, but I didn't; she didn't keep the Nutcracker one, but was able to keep the spring show one). I was honestly happy with the performance fees because I didn't have to sew or go and find an outfit.

DD1 wanted to take a break at 5 (the teacher she had at 4 was a little to strict, but that is a whole other story) and she didn't dance again until she was 8 (I knew she would eventually go back and 8 was the right time). She now dances at a smaller school and loves it. The larger school also doesn't work with our schedule now so I am very grateful we found the school we go to now (and the owner/teacher used to teach at the larger school, and was a favorite of one my friends as a teen). There are girls of all sizes and shapes at both schools (we have friends who still dance at the other school) and now at almost 11/1/2 she is almost ready to go en pointe. I was a little nervous about that but after talking with her pediatrician and seeing that her feet could almost be full grown I am okay with her starting pointe classes this coming fall (initially 1 x a week and she will not do a performance en pointe until at least next summer so she will be 12 then, but she may not do a performance en pointe until Nutcracker 2018 so she will be 12/1/2) and because her teacher has a lot of experience dancing as she has been teaching for a long time (30+ years) and was a professional dancer herself. It is amazing the care most girls to do care for their feet (toe pads, foam rollers, soaking in Epsom salts, etc.).

Lastly finding a teacher that you gel with is the hardest part so if she likes the ballet teacher she previously had I would start her in the ballet 1 class, and see how it goes.

Imho though I wouldn't tell her she can't dance now because you don't want her dancing in middle school. If you are confident in your body she will be confident in hers. My only experience with friends and eating disorders was a friend in high school who was a local phenom softball pitcher (I believe she went on to play at a local community college) and she was tiny to begin with 5'3" and about 115lbs and she ended up being anorexic (she was probably 85lbs at one point) and most people don't think of softball players as being effected by eating disorders.

I am not a dancer and never took ballet, but we initially chose ballet for DD1 because she was enthralled with dance from a young age (like 2-2/1/2) specifically Dancing With the Stars and she told me she wanted to dance so I figured ballet was easier than finding ballroom dancing lessons for a preschooler.

I agree that $65 a month is not a lot of money for dance class; that is what Dd1's studio charges for 1/week class. Are the recitals required?

Let me know if you have any questions.


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[melrose7]

I also agree with doing the $65 class. My youngest daughter has been doing beginning ballet at a studio for a few years now. Loves it and I'm sure would like to do more than 1 class a week but time and money don't allow it. I think your daughter would be bored in the storybook class.
Ours is $55/month plus winter judging and costume for spring show.

[KpbS]

I too would go with Ballet 1. Don't borrow trouble and think about what might not be ideal down the road. She loves it, she wants to try hard and learn, these are good things.

I get the guilt about the older ones not having done as expensive of activities and it's ok. That's all adult business anyways and unless it compromises your family budget, I'd say go for it. :)

[MommyAllison]

Long overdue update!

First, thank you for all of the input, it really helped. In response to the question - yes, those were the only options at this studio. It is a "pure ballet school" so no other forms of dance, and no other options for her age - though there are other studios we could have gone with.

We ended up enrolling her in Ballet 1 and she LOVES it! It was definitely the right choice, as she would be so sad to quit in a few weeks if we had done Storybook, and she is by far the most focused in her class and takes it much more seriously than the other girls - which I imagine would be more magnified if she was with younger classmates instead of peers. They added all of the younger girls to the winter recital so they are preparing for that now, and her teacher asked DD2 to be the leader of her class, which thrills her assertive little self to no end ;) and she's doing a great job! Her class meets at the same time as the intermediate/advanced pointe class, which has allowed me to observe the older dancers a lot, and as a PP said, there is a mix of body shapes and the focus does seem to be strictly on technique during classes. I recently heard that one of the school's alumni is now dancing professionally in Europe, which is pretty amazing as we are in a small town of 30k in the middle of nowhere! All that to say; I am very happy with our choice, and if DD2 does remain this in love with ballet, I think this studio is a great fit for our family. Thanks again for all of the advice!

[sariana]

That's an awesome update! Thanks for sharing!

[AnnieW625]

Yay! Awesome update!


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