I feel bad that I have not enrolled DD (4yo) to any of these classes. I just never had the time to take her to any of these. But now I should be able to squeeze 1 class in my schedule.
She has shown interest in ballet. I think she talks about it because her friends at daycare talk about it. But I'm not really a fan of ballet/tap. Maybe because of the cost? I'm not sure. Gymnastics sounds more appealing to me, but I'm not sure if she'll like it.
She did also show interest in theater though. But class for kids seems rare. Anyone done theater?
We'll probably do gymnastics eventually as DH considers it good training for any other sport. I'd consider dance, but we're not a dance family so it will have to be at the kid's request AND fit our schedule and budget. Same with theatre - I wouldn't say no, but I'm not moving heaven and earth to make it happen.
Post by purplecow0206 on Jul 31, 2014 10:29:06 GMT -5
I've never experienced this from the parent's side, but when my sisters and I were kids, we were all in tap/jazz/ballet (well, I was in tap, my sisters only did jazz and ballet). My mom found it was cheaper in our area than gymnastics, and I would have HATED doing gymnastics, but my younger sister would have loved it.
With her age, maybe a creative movement class that has a bit of everything, to get a feel for what she would actually enjoy?
Ballet/Tap are no more expensive than Gymnastics (actually gymnastics is very expensive once you start competing). If you are concerned about costs for recitals/competitions, look for a studio that doesn't emphasize competition teams and instead focuses on classical ballet. The studio I took at and taught at did not charge for the yearly recital, only for the costume, which is capped at a cost of $50. Other than that, it's just the cost of the lessons and leotard, tights, shoes.
There are several places offering theater lessons for young children in my area. Some are local but there is a franchise called Drama Kids.
Since she's expressed an interest I'd do a ballet trial and see what she thinks, if she doesn't love it then try something new. Dance at 4 is usually pretty casual.
My 4 year old daughter takes dance and really enjoys it. While on some level your financial considerations and maybe overall health concerns (e.g. avoiding sports that have too much contact) come into consideration here I'd err on the side of letting your child make the choices about what she does as a hobby.
Theater classes start around 6 or so (though you can sometimes find them earlier).
My friends daughter does gymnastics. She is older, but it is not cheap. I don't think any of the 3 you have listed are cheap. I would ask DD what she wants to do, and go from there.
Post by formerlyak on Jul 31, 2014 13:00:06 GMT -5
Does your city offer any community dance classes? Our city has a wide-range of kids classes and there are always ballet/tap/jazz classes for kids that age and they are like $50 for 10 classes or something cheap like that. Then you can see if she likes it first. That is how I started and ended up dancing for almost 30 years, including some professional work. My parents didn't have the money for a big studio, so community classes it was.
As they get older, if they like it, there are always scholarship options. I auditioned and got a summer scholarship at a local school here in LA one summer and it was great!
I also agree with finding a studio that focuses on teaching dance as opposed to the competition studios. They will get a better foundation in technique and it will be less costly. When I was choreographing I could always tell the dancers who studies at competition studios and the ones who studied at studios that didn't compete. I rarely cast the competition studio dancers because they danced like robots - stiff and no emotion. Dance should tell a story.
My DD is 3 and we are facing the same issue right now. I had her do a trial class in gymnastics and a trial is tap/ballet this week. She really liked both, but both of us liked gymnastics better. I don't see us doing gymnastics long term, but maybe for 1-2 years and then switch to dance. Or add dance in the summers or something. Gymnastics was working on a lot of gross motor. Gymnastics is 60 per month here, but no recitals. Dance is 45/5o a month, but shoes and recitals cost more.
Post by littlemermaid on Jul 31, 2014 19:14:58 GMT -5
Gymnastics can be just as pricey as dance. At her age ballet would be a recreation class at a studio, most likely 30 minute class. The studio we attend charges $32/month for a 30 minute class. The competitive groups are when it starts getting really expensive. I'd call a few studios in your area and price out the classes.
DD did The Little Gym and we did the class where its 30 mins of dance (15 ballet, 15 jazz/tap) and 30 mins in the gym. They have a little "show" at the end of the session for parents. She REALLY enjoyed it but towards the end we realized the dance part was too boring for her (Many other girls where fine with it). She still likes to dance a lot just more free form, lol.
DD loves to run, so if we do something again I might do something this theater major never saw herself doing and sign up DD for soccer. We've been to a Sports complex and when DD sees that open soccer field she asks if she can do a lap on it just funsies.