First time dance mom and dads have a hard time choosing an appropriate dance teacher for their child. Here are a few tips of what to look for in a ballet teacher.
It is always traumatizing for a child when he or she has to move from one town to another. There is no continuity and friends come and go with very little value in their life. The special union a child has with their childhood friends is something that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Similar to moving from town to town, changing ballet schools is also a traumatizing experience for a young child. Even more so when the child unknowing to dance studio politics, moves to a rival studio. This can be prevented by parents' overall knowledge in finding an appropriate dance teacher from the get-go!
1. Find out through a cheap and easy way if your child really wants to pursue ballet
You can simply do this by entering your first time dancer protégé in a community centre ballet class. Your child could have been begging and pleading to you for years, twirling and jumping around your house like it was centre stage of a huge auditorium, but who knows if your child will really enjoy it? The teachers at community centres are usually very educated in child development and work with the developing bodies of your child. If the teacher encourages parents to remain in the class room during the ballet class and even incorporates your participation in dance with your child, the better the teacher is!
2. Make sure the dance class you enter your child in is age appropriate - ask for Trial Classes
Upon registration of your child in either a community centre class or a studio class, you may want to ask if you can bring your child in to one class first to see if your child is comfortable with the class environment and the syllabus. Kids usually enter dance as young as 3 years old! Classes are usually divided into ages 3-5, 5-7, 7-12 and if the dance studio you choose has a ballet syllabus such as RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) or Kirov Ballet, the ages per class level tend to be more diverse than at community centre classes. It is good for an older child to be with children their age, rather than enter a class with all younger students - this will not do well for their confidence. And if a younger child is placed in a more advanced class with older students, ensure that he or she is comfortable with the challenge and maybe observe a couple of classes to make sure that the teacher is not exhausting your child.
3. Ensure the level of competition is appropriate for your child
Same thing goes with choosing whether competition and festivals are right for your child. A little competition never hurt anyone, but sometimes it puts too much pressure on the child. Just because every other student in his or her class is entering competitions (as young as 5 year olds can join ballet competitions and do RAD examinations), does not mean you child has to if he or she is confidently and personally not ready. It is very sad to say, but even though everyone wants to be a prima ballerina, there are only a hundred spots to be a principle dancer in the world and there are millions competing for those elite positions. However, every child can be their own prima ballerina if they know that they are being supported by their parents in their endeavours and if their supporters are balancing the lines of encouragement and support. Some studios are very into doing as many competitions as they can in a year, others simply put on an end of the year recital as performing experience. Given this, finding a studio that provides you and your child with what you can commit to is key.
4. How to deal with a demanding dance teacher
There are teachers out there who demand far too much from their students and often their students' parents. These teachers usually have the best trained students. It is entirely the choice of the parents and the child whether they want to be exposed in this intense environment, but like it was stated above, the best trained students usually grow from these demanding and often rude teachers. However, if the young student can take the demand yet the parent is finding it too difficult to be involved in the politics of dance studio (this is meant for dancers around the age of 12 where they can be left alone by their parents), parents have the choice to be as involved as they want. There are many parents out there who just drop their kids off, give them a big welcoming hug and inquire about their dance class afterwards who are star parents in their own right. Not all parents have to be caught up in the dance parent politics of who's going to make their next costumes, who is going to buy the teacher a year end gift, who is to work with the teacher at a close distance.
5. End of the year recitals - what do parents do?!?!
Like mentioned above, the parent can be as involved as possible. From creating their child's costume, doing their make-up backstage to simply presenting your little performer with a big bouquet of flowers post-recital. Just being there for your child is more than enough, but in many dance studio's cases, you can go the extra mile by helping out with the big nights technical nuances.
So check out your local community centre for their scheduled dance classes in kinderdance, beginner ballet or your local dance studios and ask for studio information. Also, please email me if there are any personal questions.
