How much ballet at 7 years?

[Neverdancedjustamum]

On 09/07/2021 at 21:07, Elz said:

My DD is 7.5 and obsessed with ballet and any kind of dancing.

 

She presently only does 30 mins of ballet a week in a Grade 1 class. She also does 30 mins each of tap and jazz, and 45 mins of what is described as "cheerleeding" but according to my DD is more like random jumping around. She also does a gym class.

 

She will add a 30 min Grade 2 class from Sept.

 

She is really keen to audition for a junior associate position. Is this enough? She wants a private ballet lesson in addition (30 mins). Is that too much? Not enough?

 

I know they don't judge on technique etc but I can't help but think that it does come I to it somehow.

 

 

 My DD at that age was doing 45 minutes each, once a week of the following: grade ballet, modern and tap.  And one associates scheme roughly fortnightly (not weekly).  However, depending on what your DD's goal is, you will have to check with her what she wants to do and how frequently.  I always think that the motivation for anything they do should come from them from the very start.  I am not generalising but what I have observed where I live and certainly in the last few years, I have seen kids who are in year 2/3 already being "prepped" to audition for JAs, this includes privates, multiple classes a week - the works!  Where I live, it seems to get even more intense with Years 4/5/6 doing hours of dance every week that leave me and my DD open-mouthed with shock, all to prepare them to audition for full time vocational schools at age 11. My DD is not keen to go full time and so I am somewhat shielded from most of this but it is quite easy to observe where I live. It is always good to be realistic when going into all this I believe.

 

 

 

[SplitSoul]

Thanks for all the comments. My DD is super keen, I am just minded to let her follow her interest in dance but not to let her get swallowed up by it. She has many other interests and hobbies (music, to name one) and also needs time just to play! 

[Cheshiredancemum]

Great advise above! I would also add to watch ballet performances and professional dancers for inspiration. There are lots of great options available to watch professional performances on You Tube, as well as live streamed performances from ballet companies. If you follow the ballet companies such as RB and BRB online, they regularly advertise live streamed performances. Visit to watch at the theatre if possible. Young dancers can pick up a lot from watching the professionals.

 

Regards your dd doing 30 mins of ballet a week, I do know of at least one associate who was doing only one weekly class of ballet outside of the associate classes. Potential can show through at a young age. And so it is possible to gain a place this way.

 

However, my dd started to add on extra ballet classes at around the age of 7. Up until this point she was doing a 1.5hr once a week of combined Ballet, modern, and tap. I was a newly single and newly self employed mum, working 7 days a week. And so a weekly lesson at first was all I could manage. My dd had developed a love of ballet, and she was keen to do more. From about age 7 we were able to add a couple more Ballet classes a week. Plus other types or dance.

My dd successfully auditioned for one associate class at age 8. She successfully auditioned for a second associate class at age 10. By this point she was doing ballet classes 3 or 4 times a week, plus stretch, tap, lyrical and modern.

 

Fast forward to age 11, and my dd has gained a place at a vocational ballet school.

 

If your dd wants to audition for associates, don’t be put you off that she is currently doing 30 mins a week. But do speak to your dance teacher about what she can do to improve her chances, and the extra classes offered sound like a good idea.

[Dance*is*life]

Our Grade 1s do twice a week 45 minutes, which goes up to an hour twice a week in Grade 2.  We tend to add on other genres gradually so that by Grade 5 they have 2 x 90 minute ballet, modern, jazz and flamenco.  You do have to be careful not to overload growing bodies however much they love it and they do need to have playtime too!   The quality of the teaching is more important than the quantity!

[baby steps]

My DD was doing 2x45mins ballet, a street dance class and fortnightly associate classes at that age.