How many ballet classes does your child take per week?

[b1]

I am asking this as a parent of an almost 8yo. How many ballet classes does your child take? At 8, how many did they take? My child is at the studio with me 3x a week so she takes 3 one hour ballet classes (2 will be with me).

 

And, yes, I know how many our school recommends, but I am curious from a mom's standpoint.

[dancingjet]

Two 60-minute classes and one 90-minute class.

[sam7]

..

[MelissaGA]

At 8, she was only taking two 60 minute classes a week. At the studio we changed to, it would have been two 90 minute classes a week. At 9, she went to three 90 minute classes.

[AmaLari]

My 8yo DD is in the quiet part of the year, learning the RAD curriculum for Grade 3. She takes two 60 minute ballet classes and two 60 minute jazz classes.

 

Once January arrives, she will have extra classes to prepare for her exam. After the exam comes the end of year performance, which has its own schedule.

 

Her ballet hours will increase next summer when she starts Grade 4, so we are both happy with the amount of dancing she is doing now.

[petnzoo]

my dd is 8 and will take 3 one and a half hour classes, one hour of historical and one hour of pre-pointe. so 6 hours total a week.

[LauraR]

When my dd was 8yo, she took two 90 min ballet technique classes, one 60 min flamenco class, and one 60 min stretch/mat Pilates class.

[ddm1]

My dd took two 60 minute technique classes at seven and two 90 minute technique classes at eight.

[Bebe]

Uh Oh - I guess my DD is really behind the 8 ball!

 

She only had 1 class per week for 1 hour (ages 5-7)

Than she went 2x per week for 1 hr each class (age 8-9)

 

This fall she'll be 10 and will be going 3x per week for 1 hr each class

She'll be going into pre-pointe classes.

 

Our studio is very small and only emphasis's ballet ( no other dance technique is taught). The Ad and teachers don't want to overwhelm the young girls to early, they like the slow methodical approach to ballet. They are very concerned about the girls foot plates, etc. They examine each girl's foot before promoting them and teach Vaganova style.

 

There is another ballet studio in town that is on the RAD system and they also teach character.

 

Yikes, am I doing DD a dis-service by not having her do more???Do you all think she's not getting enough class time in??? DD really likes our studio and she's doing very well, even though she's not taking as many hours of dance. She's been approached by the other studio by (former advanced students from our studio) to join their school. But, she's refused and wants to stay where she is presently. So, I've not pushed her (figure it's her choice) and I really like her studio too.

 

Should DD be taking other forms of dance too??

[3girls1boy]

Bebe -- I would not worry that your daughter is behind at all. My younger DD takes class twice a week for 45 minutes at a time (she will be 8). The amount of class time gradually increases as the children age and I think that keeps them from burning out and saves them injuries. I know plenty of dance kids who took this type of schedule at this age and have grown into wonderful dancers, getting into all the big name SI's, and so on.

 

I would say that if you daughter is happy where she is and the training is solid, it's the right place to be. As to other forms of dance, if she's interested in it, great -- but I wouldn't worry that it's something she has to do at this point. As she gets older and goes to SI's, she'll get a good introduction to jazz, character, modern, and other types of dance.

[Bebe]

Hi 3girls1boy,

 

Thank you so much for your comments.

 

I feel much more relieved knowing it's okay for DD to take it slow and just go with the flow...I must admit I got a little panic striken after reading how much more time the other DD/DS were devoting to ballet/dance.

 

You're an Angel!

[trythis]

My older dancer took two 1 1/2 hour ballet technique classes each week and one 1 hour jazz class. My current 8 year old didn't get into ballet as early as my oldest, so this year she will be taking two 1 hour ballet classes and one 1 hour tap class as an optional addition.

[12345]

When my oldest dd was 8 she hadnt even had a ballet class with barre yet. The year she turned 9 she had her first class with barre/center work and has progressed since with no issues.

[cowgrrl]

My 8YO takes 2 1hr ballet classes & 1 jazz class per week. Not looking forward to the next level which means 5 days/week. We may just move in!

[wannabe]

At age 8 my DD took (3) 90 min ballet classes per week (at a pre-pro ballet school). She also took jazz, hip hop and clogging class at her previous recreational school. By age 9 ballet was 4 or 5 days per week + rehearsals and she had to choose between the pre-pro ballet school and the recreational school. Of course ballet won out!! Don't worry about the number of classes at age 8. If they're in a good school, put some faith in the number of classes the teachers recommend. If they are looking for more than the ballet school recommends, give them the opportunity to try other things. The time will come all too soon when the time demands of ballet do not allow for many other activities.