hello I am new

[Guest bran]

I am so happy to have found this. My son is 6 and dances ballet Jazz and Tap. Already he is facing challenges , he is the only boy in his entire dance school. I don't want him to stop dancing because people make him feel out of place. I am just glad to find so many other moms that have boys in dance.

[Hans]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, bran! You'll find that we have many parents of dancing boys of various ages here, so hopefully we can provide support and answer any questions you may have. If you haven't already done so, please read Ballet Talk Rules and Policies at the top of the forum list and the "stickies" at the top of each forum page to get an idea of how we work. We're glad you're here!

[slhogan]

Hi, Bran! I'm glad you found this message board. YOu'll learn a lot-- I've only been on this board for about a month and I can't believe how much I have learned! I took a weekend and read just about every past post-- it's practically a book on the subject of boys and ballet. I give it five stars! If you haven't taken the opportunity to read past posts, I highly recommend it.

 

My son is 7 (first grade), and like your son he also takes ballet, jazz, and tap (three one hour classes a week). He plans to give up jazz after the Spring recital (it's just not his thing), and he gets a kick out of tap (no pun intended) because it's so noisy and fun. He really loves ballet and wants to be like Angel Corella "when he grows up." Well, he also wants to be a Jedi Knight, but what little boy doesn't?

 

I'm sorry your son is getting teased, but hopefully he will develop thicker skin as he gets a little older. I think they have to if they want to remain happy. My son takes dance with a 7 year old friend of his, and that helps him a lot. I wanted him to have a dancing buddy and I basically asked about 10 boys he was aqcuainted with until I found one whose parents were interested in trying it (and now they're great friends). Perhaps it's possible to recruit another boy to dance with your son?

 

Also, consider finding a studio where more boys dance. I know the studio we are at right now wasn't my first choice and is a pretty long drive from my house, but we went with it because he wouldn't be the only boy. The drive is worth it for him to have a male peer, IMO. It also helps that we homeschool so teasing at school isn't an issue, but I recognize that homeschooling isn't a solution that works for everyone.

 

One more thing that I think helps young boys is "dressing the part." I don't know what your son is wearing to class, but when my son began dressing in tights and such he felt more like a real dancer (and more confident) than when he was in the baggy black pants and t-shirt that he wore at first. He takes a lot of pride in his ballet clothes, just as he would with a team uniform or something. He wears form-fitting cotton/lycra black leggings (not technically tights, but they fit VERY snugly and he calls them his tights), a simple white cotton/lycra tank leotard, thin white nylon socks, and black canvas ballet shoes. The leggings, leotard (what he calls his "ballet shirt"), and nylon socks were all purchased in the girls' department, but he doesn't have to know about that!

 

Before purchasing his ballet "uniform," we searched the internet and found lots of pictures of boys in dance class wearing the standard black tights and white shirt/leotard, so that by the time I actually bought them he was very excited to look like those boys we saw pictures of. We also watched ballet DVDs and saw how those men wear tights. Men wearing tights isn't something he is exposed to in his everyday life (and there are no older boys at his studio to look up to), so before I bought them I wanted him to completely internalize the fact that men wear tights when doing ballet and there's nothing strange about it at all. If you'd like to get some DVDs for your son to watch he may enjoy my son's favorite DVDs-- Teatro alla Scalla's "Romeo & Juliet" (starring Angel Corella; my son likes the sword fighting), American Ballet Theater's "Swan Lake" (also starring Angel Corella; my son likes Rothbart), and Slovak National Theater's Nutcracker (he likes this version of the Nutcracker because the mice are played by pre-teen boys and it shows them getting ready for the performance at the beginning of the DVD). We also just watched "Born to be Wild" and while he was bored with the talking/interviews, he did enjoy the dancing and scenes that showed young boy dancers.

 

Anyway, sorry this was so long. I just like seeing parents of other boys as young as mine. Welcome to the board!

 

--Laura

[dancetaxi]

Welcome Bran!

 

I agree with slhogan, there is a lot of info on the boards here. I still haven't read it all. But the things I have learned here have already helped me more than I ever imagined!

 

We parents of boys are all here to give advice and support as needed, so make yourself at home. It is nice because all ages of boys are represented by their parents here, so you get a range different perspectives. (Or shall I say, the veteran moms are here to mentor those of us with young ones and to keep us from getting too !)

 

Great to have you aboard!

[dianec]

Dear Bran, Hello, it's great you've joined us here. My son is 7 and the only boy in his school too. He enjoys his class & has been going for just over a year I think, but is certainly already sensitive to the whole business of ballet supposedly being for girls and getting teased. I've found the support and advice here really useful, so hope you do as well.