MummytoIzzy Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Off topic. My daughter loves ballet but would also like to once a week do acro.does anyone elses child do this? See any disadvantages? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletbean Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 2 hours ago, MummytoIzzy said: Off topic. My daughter loves ballet but would also like to once a week do acro.does anyone elses child do this? See any disadvantages? Thank you. My daughter loves acro. She learnt the skills within her regular dance studio. The pupils and the staff found it improved flexibility as well as later on the pupils have found partnering work easier. If that makes sense. Being used to parting company with the floor in aerials and other flips gave the dancer confidence in the high lifts and subsequent upside down positions that they male partners put the girls into. Along with cartwheels and other acro tricks develops stronger upper body muscles which obviously helps with strength in the arms for many ballet positions. Its not not to be confused with gymnastics that can conflict with ballet because of the over exaggerated back positions and turnout or rather lack of. Just double check the correct mats mats are used and the staff are qualified and not just offering lessons because it’s in vogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MummytoIzzy Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 It's done at the dance school and the teachers are great so confident if will all be done correctly. Thanks so much that all makes so much sense and it sounds fantastic. I know my daughter will love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixiewoo Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 DD does Acro with her dance school. It has really helped with her core strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Tumbling and handstands are really great for strengthening, but contortion is incredibly dangerous for young dancers - ligaments are prone to life-long damage, and bone spurs can develop when joints are contorted to end-of-range. Many young dancers develop lower back and hip problems from over arching their backs and pulling their legs to their heads in over-split type positions. Kids love acro and if done properly I think it's a really important skill set but it's got to be within the safe realms of training young bodies which are not the same as adult bodies. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I agree with @drdance - also be very careful with aerial walkovers, particularly front aerials which can be terribly bad for causing lower back injuries. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MummytoIzzy Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 I'll talk to them I imagine will take awhile to do walkovers etc as she will be completely new to it. I guess better she learns in class than attempts to do it without the aid of a qualified teacher. At school all the girls seem to be doing acrobatics at lunchtimes. Worrying the damage they can potentially do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetdancer Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Both my DDs do Acro at their dance school. It's taught very incrementally and the children are never rushed into new techniques (some find it too slow to be honest but it's much safer that way). And they learn to do everything on both sides - cartwheels, Y stretch etc - so they've found it more challenging than gymnastics and very strengthening! There is no back-arching like in gym either. It's fun and syllabus-free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Brown Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 interesting to hear there is no back arching as all the dance acro I have seen seems to involve quite a lot of contortion and from some schools, not enough muscle strength to control the movements. I worry with acro dance, I am from a gymnastics background myself and I cringe when I see so much acro in dance school shows (and some festivals now) being performed without mats. I don't doubt they train with mats but then in shows they display the moves without them in so many cases and I worry about ankle and back damage. I think as long as it is taught and performed safely then it is fine but do keep a close eye on it. Many dance schools are offering it after teachers attending just a day or two of workshops which enables them to be qualified but a gymnastics coach takes a lot longer to qualify even at a low level. It is currently very popular and very trendy and it looks impressive in shows which I fear in some cases leads to corners being cut. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MumToTu Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 My dd (14) loves acro, but as she’s from a artistic gymnastics background she completed successfully at national level before giving up at 11 to focus on ballet. She does an hour acro a week, but it gives her the chance to practise basic core skills and hand stands etc only on mats so she knows not to somersault I think it’s an amazing class and so good for strengthening. I do however strongly feel after watching some acro at festivals and conventions - a lot of young dancers are overusing the lumbar spine in tumbling they are not using the required shoulder flexibility. I have seen lots of chucking acro skills with huge run ins. Why include it in a dance if it doesn’t look fluid, effortless or correctly executed with straight legs and pointed feet ? - it ruins the dance and makes it look all stop start. I have seen so many near head plants at festivals !! It scares me - how dangerous is that!! I feel scared sometimes for the children as they don’t look secure in their skills at all. But, maybe that’s just me 🙂 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetdancer Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 17 hours ago, Mrs Brown said: Many dance schools are offering it after teachers attending just a day or two of workshops which enables them to be qualified but a gymnastics coach takes a lot longer to qualify even at a low level. I totally agree. My DDs are lucky that their teacher is a qualified gym coach. Having said that, their Modern teachers encourage acro moves and lifts in non-syllabus work and that's not quite supported so well - injuries have occurred 🙄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 It’s the same with silks. The teaching isn’t great, it’s all about the effect and I saw a girl break her leg on stage a couple of years ago when a routine went wrong. It was horrible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieN Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 (edited) My DD , like yours, does acro once a week, alongside musical theatre, standard Ballet classes and the RBS associates. Do I think acro is a relevant component of dance? Not really. To me it seems out of place. Dancing is about expression of music. Tumbling or flips are just not expressive. Impressive and spectacular? Absolutely! That is why we have gymnastics competitions. In my opinion, a bit of acro is great to build confidence and strength. If your DC is an aspiring professional performer, it doesn't hurt to have an extra skill to add. Your DC might find work just doing a bit of acro as a bit part for TV show or a movie. It's also a good gateway into stunt work - along with martial arts. Has one hour of acro a week affected my DD's prospects as a ballet performer? Well, DD just got a place at White Lodge, so it certainly hasn't done her any harm. But she has been taught acro by a very good teacher. I echo @drdance comments about contortion - particularly about the spine, hips and the shoulders (those rotator cuff injuries can be persistent and very painful) . Observe the class when you can to make sure things are appropriate. Some danger signals to watch out for - a "boot camp" mentality and signs on the wall like "no pain, no gain" Edited July 6, 2019 by richieN 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Wow I'm not sure I realised your dd had got into White Lodge, huge congratulations 🎉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 On 06/07/2019 at 18:54, richieN said: Observe the class when you can to make sure things are appropriate. Some danger signals to watch out for - a "boot camp" mentality and signs on the wall like "no pain, no gain" Glad it's not just me that shudders every time I see that quote.... Congratulations to your DD richieN! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MummytoIzzy Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 That sounds like a phrase that is normally in an adult gym not a child's class. Definitely would give me warning bells. Saying that my daughter has a knee injury now bless her so everything on hold for the interim. She is also keen to start contemporary or lyrical dance (I must admit I thought they were the same 😬) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 (edited) There is a school who is proud of the writing on their wall & who boast on Facebook about summer school participants vomiting due to the intensity of their classes. Edited July 12, 2019 by Picturesinthefirelight 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieN Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 @MummytoIzzy sorry to hear about the injury. Knees can be troublesome (I speak from personal experience). Hope your DD makes a complete recovery@Picturesinthefirelight That's "toxic masculinity" for girls. @drdance thanks 😊 DD is very excited. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 22 hours ago, MummytoIzzy said: That sounds like a phrase that is normally in an adult gym not a child's class. Definitely would give me warning bells. Saying that my daughter has a knee injury now bless her so everything on hold for the interim. She is also keen to start contemporary or lyrical dance (I must admit I thought they were the same 😬) True Contemporary (think Cunningham/Graham/Release etc) is not usually started until 11. This is due to the physical and emotional maturity required. In the US I believe they call our “Modern” (eg ISTD Theatre dance or Modern Jazz) “Contemporary”. There are no Lyrical syllabi as far as I know; lyrical seems to be a style for competitions. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MummytoIzzy Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 I see. So best to avoid these styles for now? The dance world is confusing! Richie thank you she's doing well so far. Swelling has gone down. She's struggling to rest and not dance around even when she's told to rest! Meant ice pack on her knee last night as was sore after a play date with a friend. Think she's learning her lesson though. First physio this week. They said at hospital no reason she won't make a full recovery. Thankfully not the ACL x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 If ballet is her absolute love then at 8 I would concentrate on developing excellent ballet technique rather than adding in lyrical, especially if she’s doing associates as well as local classes. Plenty of time for starting proper Contemporary at 11. ISTD Modern/Jazz is a nice addition if time/energy/money allow. It can make a good contrast to ballet. This is just my opinion, obviously. ☺️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 The ISTD Modern syllabus includes lyrical and jazz components,or at least it did when my DD did it, some years ago now. That would be a good next step for a little girl wanting to diversify, in my opinion. An 8 year old certainly wont have the physical or emotional maturity for contemporary but modern is a good string to the bow. I think American shows like Dance Moms muddy the water as what they call Contemporary is definitely not - it would be modern or lyrical modern in a UK festival. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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