Hours vs Days of Training

[gabby's mom]

Planning ahead for the fall, my daughter, 14 in October, would like to take classes with two amazing teachers who are in two different small programs, neither of which offers full time ballet training.  We can cobble together enough hours between the two to meet the recommended hours, but some days would be pretty heavy.  My daughter is home schooled this year and plans to home school again next year.

Would anyone care to give me some feedback about the following proposed schedule?

Monday:  Ballet 1.5 hours and pointe .5 hours during the day, with 2.5 hours ballet and pointe in the evening.

Tuesday:  Jazz and Comtemporary, 1 hour each in the evening.

Wedensday:  Ballet 1.5 hours and pointe .5 hours during the day.  One hour conditioning, 1.5 hours ballet, and 1 hour pointe in the evening.

Thursday:  Ballet and pointe 2.5 hours in the evening

Friday:  one hour conditioning

Saturday: four - six hours rehearsal, most en pointe

 

My concern is fatigue on Monday and Wednesday.  My daughter is sure she will not survive without ballet class on Friday.

 

[ballet1310]

Hi Gabby's mom - my 2 cents,   Wed seems like too much 5.5 hours ( if that's correct)   is a lot and I would be very careful about over use injuries. What I have learned over the years is that quality of training trumps hours although I believe 6 days a week is necessary to train the body -

[Victoria Leigh]

I have some concern about Mon. and Wed. too, gabby's mom. I think it's too much for a 13-14 year old.

I don't have a problem with the 5 days a week of ballet, at this age, but is there a warm up class before the Sat. rehearsals?  

[Boydancermom]

Gabby's mom - I am not a ballet expert (just a mom) but I can share with you that at CPYB in PA, our 14 year old boy (about to turn 15) trained 5.5 hours+ a day, 6 days a week, not including conditioning.  But CPYB is known for being a ballet boot camp and this is, from what I can see, the high end of the hours for training. 

[gabby's mom]

I was able to confirm that the first hour and sometimes more of rehearsal on Saturday is a ballet class, depending on how close they are to a performance.

Wednesday's conditioning is optional, but she's found it very helpful this spring.  She only has one ballet and pointe class on Wednesdays now, however, so it isn't quite so tiring.

Would it be better to take fewer classes overall than stack them on some days?  This schedule gives her 5-6 ballet classes a week on 4 days.

I am taking her to trial classes at some other schools before fall, but this arrangement would involve much less time in the car and let her study with some teachers who have really been able to connect with her and correct some long-standing issues.

 

 

[dancingjet]

gabby's mom, I asked a similar question here once and was counseled that taking multiple technique classes in a day/in a row was not a good idea. 

[Dansant]

According to Dr. Linda Hamilton, who spoke at the Dance Teacher Summit last summer, 70% injuries occur after the fifth hour of dance.