Ballet for a 4-year-old

[Anonymous]

My daughter has been asking to take ballet, and seeing The Nutcracker over the weekend intensified the requests. How much of a difference does the school choice matter right now? Everything for preschoolers seems like it's labeled "creative dance" or "pre-ballet," so should I still be signing her up at Maryland Youth Ballet or Washington Ballet, or at this age is it equally fine to enroll her at the friendly neighborhood school (in our case, Berwyn Ballet) because this is really about exposure, fun, and seeing if she likes it?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is very in to dance. I would do
something low key at that age. My daughter did creative dance at age 4, which was basically very laid back ballet. You just want something fun and to see how she likes it. From my daughter’s class at 4, only maybe 2 girls are still dancing. A lot try it out and then decide to do other things. Fun and relaxed at that age!

[Anonymous]

I think at 4 as long as she had the outfit on she will be happy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is very in to dance. I would do
something low key at that age. My daughter did creative dance at age 4, which was basically very laid back ballet. You just want something fun and to see how she likes it. From my daughter’s class at 4, only maybe 2 girls are still dancing. A lot try it out and then decide to do other things. Fun and relaxed at that age!

Also, you don’t want to do real ballet with a child that young. Ballet is very technical and it would be a very rare 4 yo who would want to do the necessary technique and practice for ballet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is very in to dance. I would do
something low key at that age. My daughter did creative dance at age 4, which was basically very laid back ballet. You just want something fun and to see how she likes it. From my daughter’s class at 4, only maybe 2 girls are still dancing. A lot try it out and then decide to do other things. Fun and relaxed at that age!

Also, you don’t want to do real ballet with a child that young. Ballet is very technical and it would be a very rare 4 yo who would want to do the necessary technique and practice for ballet.

OP here -- Right, right. Sorry, what I was trying to say is that even places like MYB and WS label their little-kid classes as "creative dance." I wasn't sure whether there was a difference between creative dance at MYB and creative dance at Neighborhood School Near Me.

[Anonymous]

There's no difference, it's all dancing around with scarves and moving creatively to music. At that age you're just trying to see if she likes to dance in a structured environment.

Stick with a ballet school though so you don't get pressured to have her join the "mini's" competition team when she turns 5 or 6. Not that it's hard to turn it down but the longer you stay, the more friends she'll make and the harder it will be to leave.

Real ballet starts at 7 or 8.

[Anonymous]

A local non-competitive dance school or WSB. MYB is not low key for littles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is very in to dance. I would do
something low key at that age. My daughter did creative dance at age 4, which was basically very laid back ballet. You just want something fun and to see how she likes it. From my daughter’s class at 4, only maybe 2 girls are still dancing. A lot try it out and then decide to do other things. Fun and relaxed at that age!

Also, you don’t want to do real ballet with a child that young. Ballet is very technical and it would be a very rare 4 yo who would want to do the necessary technique and practice for ballet.

OP here -- Right, right. Sorry, what I was trying to say is that even places like MYB and WS label their little-kid classes as "creative dance." I wasn't sure whether there was a difference between creative dance at MYB and creative dance at Neighborhood School Near Me.

I think the big difference is in terms of performance. At some Neighborhood Schools Near Me (near you may vary) there's a big emphasis on the recital, and the costumes, and the show. Whereas at a more traditional ballet school, that isn't a thing, until they're in the Nutcracker. i'd figure out if you want the show (we didn't, we just wanted class) and figure that into your choice. Nothing wrong with a show, but our dance obsessed 4 year old is the youngest and schedules are busy, so something like a show that upends them with rehearsals on different days etc . . . wasn't for us.

[Anonymous]

Go to a good neighbirhood school the puts an emphasis on littles classes. They will get better foundations. Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to a good neighbirhood school the puts an emphasis on littles classes. They will get better foundations. Where do you live?

We live in the College Park area. The closest school to us -- as in, we could walk to it -- is Berwyn Ballet, which is a newer place (founded in 2021) but with experienced faculty. https://www.berwynballetschool.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is very in to dance. I would do
something low key at that age. My daughter did creative dance at age 4, which was basically very laid back ballet. You just want something fun and to see how she likes it. From my daughter’s class at 4, only maybe 2 girls are still dancing. A lot try it out and then decide to do other things. Fun and relaxed at that age!

Also, you don’t want to do real ballet with a child that young. Ballet is very technical and it would be a very rare 4 yo who would want to do the necessary technique and practice for ballet.

OP here -- Right, right. Sorry, what I was trying to say is that even places like MYB and WS label their little-kid classes as "creative dance." I wasn't sure whether there was a difference between creative dance at MYB and creative dance at Neighborhood School Near Me.

I think the big difference is in terms of performance. At some Neighborhood Schools Near Me (near you may vary) there's a big emphasis on the recital, and the costumes, and the show. Whereas at a more traditional ballet school, that isn't a thing, until they're in the Nutcracker. i'd figure out if you want the show (we didn't, we just wanted class) and figure that into your choice. Nothing wrong with a show, but our dance obsessed 4 year old is the youngest and schedules are busy, so something like a show that upends them with rehearsals on different days etc . . . wasn't for us.

Thanks, this is helpful! We don't care about recitals. Honestly, at this age what I care most about is helping my daughter find an activity she enjoys doing -- Soccer? Tennis? Music? -- and since ballet is the first thing she's asked to try without prompting from me, I want to help her try it in whatever way is mostly likely to lead to a positive experience for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to a good neighbirhood school the puts an emphasis on littles classes. They will get better foundations. Where do you live?

We live in the College Park area. The closest school to us -- as in, we could walk to it -- is Berwyn Ballet, which is a newer place (founded in 2021) but with experienced faculty. https://www.berwynballetschool.com/

That looks fine for now, for the Creative Dance level.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t go into anything called “ballet” at that age. It should be creative moment and all your options will have it. They will probably have a dress code and wear flats but it’s not ballet training beyond dancing , listening to teacher moving to music because strick ballet could injure littles

[Anonymous]

Go with your local studio and if she still loves it at 7 or 8 then switch her over.

[Anonymous]

Just do whatever is easy and cheap and fun until she's 7-10, though if she's really into it, getting the splits at a younger age is easier.