The School Of Dance And Ballet Parents

The school of dance that you pick for child's ballet classes will influence them greatly. I know ballet parents worry about this, or simply want to learn more. There are several factors to consider when choosing a dance academy. Naturally you want a school that you can get to easily, and is in a reasonably good area. You may be driving your child there once or twice a week, or putting your child on a bus.

Your priorities on this list may be different, but here are some items to consider:

• location

• teachers' credentials

• competition level in the school

• cost

• opportunities to perform/cost

• classes by age or ability

• older teen/adult ballet beginners, if needed

• proper floors

• general atmosphere

• teachers are parents/or not

Sometimes children ask me if they should go for a career in dance. If they should dedicate themselves to ballet at the expense of other activities. I do not always know if it is possible for individuals to get into professional training. I usually respond with the most practical answer I can think of ..."can you live without dance"? If you can, do something else, maybe performance related or not.

I say this because ballet exists in a world of its own, even though this has changed a great deal over the past couple of decades. Most ballet teachers  have long dropped the "no pain no gain" concept, thankfully. Many ballet academies work with or can refer to, a health care practitioner such as a chiropractor or physiotherapist, for when students complain of  recurring pain.

The "tough it out" attitudes of the past are replaced with more sympathy for the less physically gifted, and also more ability to teach them. Not that there have not been gifted teachers who could instruct less physically endowed students to advanced or professional levels, but there have been many who were not willing to do so.

Checking Teachers' Credentials

Ballet teachers usually have chosen a syllabus to follow for ballet exams which could be:

• Cecchetti

• Royal Academy Of Dancing

• Vaganova

Factors your child may have to deal with:

• does not enjoy competition

• worries about gaining weight

• loves dance but is not physically suited

Many children are happy just to love dancing and learning the elegance and precision of ballet. A school of dance that does not structure itself around ballet exams or competitions may be a better dance academy for your child - and for you, because as ballet parents, you will go through all the stress and anxiety that your child experiences, as parents do.

Most ballet schools provide jazz, hip-hop, contemporary dance classes  and other styles of dance that are great venues for the balance of intensity and performance opportunity.

Ask dance teachers if they teach anything about nutrition or healthy eating in their classes. There should  always be an awareness of the possibility of eating disorders or crash dieting, that should never be encouraged.

If you want to support your child in the best way possible, get her/him a copy of THE BALLET BIBLE, which will reveal every essential technical point about ballet technique that your child needs to know. This amazing dancer's guide shows your child how to practice at home safely.

Read more here about THE BALLET BIBLE - a videos/photos ebook package that will result in the joy of understanding and being able to make progress in ballet classes easier for your dancing daughter or son.