I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

Their is a dance studio by me that starts at 18 months. DD is 2 and I decided to put her in that. So my questions are

Should I put her in tap, jazz or ballet and should I do 1 class or 2? I was thinking maybe ballet but I am not sure if she is too young for it. In Sept. she will be 26 months.

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

We started my DD in dance last year at the same age as your DD will be in September. It was a 45 minute combo class of ballet and tap. I would say that the tap portion of it kept the interest of the kids more than the ballet, however, it could just be the teachers she had. If it were me, I'd still choose tap. I'd start with one class and see how she likes it. If it goes well, definitely sign her up for the second class. My daughter liked it, but didn't love it by any means. In fact, I'm still not sure if we'll do it again this year.

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

Our dance studio MAKES them start in ballet and I think they are not allowed to other classes until they are they are around 4ish.

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

i got "peer pressured"/"suckered" into enrolling DD#1 in dance when she was 2 1/2. the studio by us does a ballet and tap combo. although cute and fun, the price i paid for what it was was insane. they had a recital and all in the end, and just the costume was $90.

if i had to do it all over again, i would not do it at the studio for that age group. our rec center has a class that i am going to consider for the fall for a fraction of the cost (but i may give gymnastics a try instead, who knows). DD "liked" dance, but could care less if she went or not. i'll try again at the studio only when she is a little older and/or shows more interest. DD#2 will start at the rec center...

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

If you want your daughter to have a solid base in dance you have to start with ballet. She will develop a solid technique that can be applied to tap, jazz, lyrical, ballroom, ect.

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions

I am a dance teacher and I don't even have classes for kids younger than 3. Here is my personal opinion on it- I honestly don't believe that kids gets very much out of it at that young of an age. You could easily do a creative movement, gym or music class at that age and they would enjoy it just as much. And I feel it's more appropriate for toddlers.
At 3 they start having more patience/attention for a class environment (my classes are drop-off). They are just beginning to have real balance and dance can assist them with muscle control. At 4 years old, they start to retain things. Their minds start working to remember steps, as opposed to just following what the instructor is doing. I find that when I have kids start at 3, I basically have to reteach them everything at 4 because they forget very easily. When I have my 4 year olds come back when they are starting kindergarten, you can really see that things have stuck with them from the previous year.

With all of that being said, I would probably sign up for a tap/ballet combination class if that's offered. I find that my litle ones really love making noise with their feet. The ballet is important for their body placement, but can often be too structured for them to enjoy at a young age.

Re: I am thinking of putting my DD in dance...have some questions