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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can speak from the ballet side. DD is now in her mid teens and a serious student of it. I agree with many of the statements here. Eating disorders can occur in any high level of sport/dance. It has more to do with wanting to be in control I think although watching yourself in the mirror incessantly with ballet probably could be a part of it for some too.

Ballet is all about corrections and typically dancers receive few compliments and they are hard earned. It is best to have a thick skin as a dancer. Ballet engages many senses and most dancers are extremely intelligent - I haven't figured out if they started out that way and are attracted to the mind/body challenge or the art form develops it - probably a bit of both.

It is an amazing, rich, historical, oral dance tradition but if I had the choice I would have steered DD away - we had no idea what it entailed. Check out Ballet Talk for Dancers for more information before you encourage your DD in it.

Becoming a professional is honestly as or more difficult than becoming an Olympian and the pay if any is abysmal and not enough to support oneself. However, if your DD, like ours, just has to do it, then you may choose to let her follow her passion. At the upper levels, the child has to love it or they will leave it - there's no way a parent could force their DC to work so hard at something.

She will come away with musicality, artistry, an amazingly strong, flexible yet controlled body, and a sharp mind with laser focus. She will be able to accept criticism readily and apply corrections to her work immediately. She will be amazingly organized and very hard working. She will also learn some French. Many of these are the traits any high level athlete has (except the artistry and musicality and French). They are held to very high standards at all times and are expected to become very independent by the time they head away for summer training. They are not hand held at any point and become "adults" in many ways by the time they are 14 and traveling alone, perhaps preparing their own meals, getting from point A to B on their own in large urban areas using public transit with tons of luggage.

Both gymnastics and ballet will eventually take up all of your daughter's free time - gymnasts peak about 5-7 years earlier than ballet dancers though so a gymnast puts in more hours at a younger age.

I would say you let your DD do both until age 8 and see if she has a preference for either. Plenty of gymnasts switch to ballet by 12 but if your child is too short, broad and muscular, I wouldn't encourage her to switch. Ballet has become a bit more forgiving about body types but not much, bu also a child's body changes so much before that dancer is ready for a professional career at 17-21.

With ballet be prepared for hours of driving, not seeing your child except at breakfast and before bed, weekends and evenings full of rehearsals, paying/sending them away for 4-8 weeks of intensive daily training in the summer, no holiday travel if doing Nutcracker, and $$$$$ by early teens.

[b]Also, find the best training possible near your house and make sure it's not a competition studio. I wouldn't recommend pursuing one of the biggest names in DC - very few children move past the lower school there.[/b] If you are in MD, there are some very good options as well as out by Reston and in Arlington/Alexandria. By age 13, serious training during the summers, whether local or far away is necessary - big name schools in area are fine for summer intensive training.

Best of luck - ballet is not for the faint of heart parent or one without the willingness to sacrifice family activities/closeness, money or their own personal time to let their child follow a passion. Finally, as noted above, if your child doesn't have a fair amount of natural turnout, I wouldn't pursue ballet - it just won't work in the long run.[/quote]

Hi, I have been lurking on this thread and I hope this isn't too off-topic but this (in bold above) concerns me.  DD is seven and just about to begin level "1A" at Washington School of Ballet.  (She has been there two years in pre-ballet.)  We selected WSB because we though it would give the best training and it has the added benefit of being extremely convenient to us, location-wise.  But is it true that very few students move past the lower levels?  Also, what is meant by the lower-levels (I never did ballet)?  Does that mean before they are on pointe?  I would hate for DD to be asked to leave.  Could someone with experience at WSB please clarify?  And would it be worth switching for this reason even though WSB is near our house?  TIA.

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