Childrens' ballet shoes

Ballet for children




At what age should children start ballet?

Many dance studios offer introductory ballet classes to children as young as three - obviously at this age children have a short attention span and can be a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. However, as long as the classes are mostly about having fun with a few ballet basics thrown in, children are more than capable of thriving. This is also the age where childrens' rich imagination has them obsessed with fairies and princesses, so ballet becomes a way of enacting some of their fantasies.

Older children can also start ballet lessons, even into their teens - although it does become a bit harder to find classes for the agegroup at beginner level. Chances are teen beginners will have a bit of catching up to do to keep up with their peers that have been dancing since an early age, but as long as the child is motivated they should be able to close the gap within a few months.

Starting young is something of a pre-requisite for becoming a professional ballet dancer - although of course children do not know at that age what they want to do later in life. Those who are particularly driven at an early age are in most cases probably being pushed by their parents!

Benefits of ballet

As long as they are being taught good techniques and not being pushed too hard by either their teacher or parents, ballet holds a number of potential benefits for children:
  • strength, flexibility and fitness
  • discipline
  • timing and co-ordination
  • social interaction, team work and sharing, taking turns
  • confidence and a sense of achievement
  • learning to handle nerves and stressful situations
  • develops excellent base for other dance styles like jazz, modern, etc.
Most important of all is that children have fun and enjoy their ballet. Realistically, most kids will not continue with ballet beyond school, but they will carry many of these benefits with them the rest of their lives.