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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not the OP, but very interested.  My DD is five.  She has always been very (almost bizarrely) muscular, graceful, and athletic generally.  So far we have had her in ballet lessons, but we think she would really enjoy gymnastics and honestly, I could see her being in the Olympics someday or being a professional ballerina.  We have gotten strong encouragement from every teacher she has ever worked with in any sport, and she also has a personality that is very competitive, focused, and driven.  We figure she is going to be at a high-level in any sport she pursues because she seems to be naturally gifted and she is just such a hard worker and pushes herself so much already at this age.

I would love to hear opinions from those who have more experience with competitive levels of Ballet and/or gymnastics about the environment for those who are at the upper level of these two sports.  I really want to steer her in a direction that will allow her to use her strengths, including her competitive personality without triggering her weaknesses (mostly that she is very perfectionistic).

I could see my kid being an Olympian, but I could also see her being anorexic.  Should I steer her away from both gymnastics and ballet in favor of something that is a team sport like soccer? She really seems to enjoy these two sports that have the added aspect of graceful movement. She is also not a very good team player, as she tends to have little patience with those who are not at her level.[/quote]
Yes. Soccer is amazing. I had these tendencies and soccer let me focus on what my body could do. Plus, I was comparing my (very slender) body to other soccer players not other dancers or gymnasts. Soccer will force her to be a good team player which I promise will serve her well for the rest of her life. I once had a boss who said he wished he could ask job candidates if they had a sibling and played team sports. [/quote]

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