Ballet/Dance for Gymnasts?

[GymGran]

When/what/where/how/why?

When is the optimal time for a gymnast to begin ballet/dance?
What is the best type of ballet/dance class for a gymnast?
Where does your child attend ballet/dance classes?
How differently is ballet/dance taught for a gymnast?
Why? Does taking ballet/dance improve a gymnasts skill?

I apologize for the length of my question, obviously I know little of this subject.
If you can answer the above questions, please do.
And, Thank You.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

ahh...we have some experience with this. My dd's coach suggested additional ballet for her last year. She has been taking a one hour class a week (at gym, with her teammates) and another ballet class 1hr, 1 time a week at a ballet school. She has issues with keeping her knees straight and pointing her toes. Also, her turns and leaps have become much nicer with the extra ballet.

At the gym, our level 4 team girls are offered a one hour ballet class with the team ballet teacher, but it is not required. Level 5 and up, it is an automatic hour in their gym schedule, and it is required for them to attend.

It can't hurt, and in my opinion, it is very beneficial for not only leaps, turns, toe point, etc, but it helps their musicality and grace-it has also really helped her ankle and foot strength, making her releves higher and prettier.

As to the type of ballet class...the one at the gym is geared for gymnasts, and her other class is classical technique. I honestly think she gets more out of the classical technique class, but she thinks the other one is more fun

 

[sportyspice]

Great questions! My DD had 3 years of classical ballet class from ages 7, 8 and 9 whilst also competing gymnastics. This greatly helped her with foot and toe strength (pointing) and turning out in dance on floor. Ballet and gymnastics are very complimentary to each other and the younger the child is when they start, the better as, in our experience, once the hours of gymnastics take over, there is often very little time to do ballet.

My DD currently (aged 11) does one hour of ballet barre work with her coach a week, mostly kicks and turn out, pointing toes, high holds on releve etc. This is also beneficial for beam as the girls must be in releve doing turns etc in routines. I would look for a classical ballet class, other types of dance would not be beneficial.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I have some experience with this as well. Here goes...

When is the optimal time for a gymnast to begin ballet/dance?
I would say the sooner the better--it definitely can't hurt . But if I were to say an age, I would say 7 or 8. At this age they are old enough to understand body awareness and follow directions a bit better. My dd started ballet classes at age 8 and then started taking 3 classes a week and pointe at the age of 11.

What is the best type of ballet/dance class for a gymnast?
Any beginner ballet or jazz class is good.

Where does your child attend ballet/dance classes?
My dd attends ballet class at a ballet school that teaches the Vaganova method.
[The Vaganova method of classical ballet encourages dancing with the entire body. Dancers trained by the Vaganova method will likely have high jumps and powerful turns, aided by the use of the arms. Many movements of the Vaganova technique require dancers to remain in the air for as long as possible to give them an illusion of floating through the air, which requires great flexibility and extension. The Vaganova technique encourages dancers to move their arms, legs and torso together in perfect harmony. A strong torso is a necessity for the Vaganova method, as the torso forms the foundation of all movements.]
I really like this method of ballet because it complements gymnasts very well since they are taught to use expression with their entire bodies. DD also attends jazz and lyrical classes at a competition school--they have a great performance show at the end of the year that all the kids love.

How differently is ballet/dance taught for a gymnast?
I am not sure how it is taught differently, but there are often more corrections that gymnasts are often told because of the habits of gymnastics, i.e. keep your ribcage down, shoulders down and try not to arch the back so much.


Why? Does taking ballet/dance improve a gymnasts skill?
Since my dd has been taking dance, her artistic expression in gymnastics has improved dramatically! Her core strength and balance has also greatly improved and she is a much more expressive performer.

*I wanted to add that one of the male leads at my dd's ballet studio was a gymnast up until 7th or 8th grade and then had to give it up to pursue ballet full time. His hard work and dedication to both paid off because his dancing is so athletic and dynamic. His talents also earned him a full paid scholarship to Juilliard for dance!!! He is starting his sophomore year.

 

[gymgal]

my dd is almost 11 and has never taken dance. It is one big regret I have for her. She never wanted to take it and I was quite fine with it when she was young as I never really liked dance. But as time has gone on, I realize what a great benefit it would have been for her. Now at 11, I'm not sure it would be too helpful and I doubt she would want to go anyway. But I am going to look into it for her - just a beginner's class for grace and rhythm

 

[MdGymMom01]

my dd is almost 11 and has never taken dance. It is one big regret I have for her. She never wanted to take it and I was quite fine with it when she was young as I never really liked dance. But as time has gone on, I realize what a great benefit it would have been for her. Now at 11, I'm not sure it would be too helpful and I doubt she would want to go anyway. But I am going to look into it for her - just a beginner's class for grace and rhythm

It's never too late for dance!! My dd took a jazz class this summer at the age of 12 and LOVED it! She has now just started a contemporary/lyrical class and really enjoys that too. It's a bit different and there is some improv that she is not used to doing, but it challenges her and gives her the chance to let loose, open up and express herself freely in a new way. I say sign your dd up for a beginner jazz class and see how she likes it. It can't hurt!!!

 

[GymGran]

Thank You all for the wonderful answers.
This site is the best! because of it's members!

 

[MaryA]

My DD just started a new gym where they take dance 2x a week (not sure for how long... it's just part of their "rotation" so I'm thinking 30-45 minutes each time?). It's actually very funny because, as I've mentioned here before, Kathy is a twin. Her sister takes dance so Kathy would NEVER take dance (and likewise, her sister scorns gymnastics). But now that she's taking it, she actually likes it. And will tell ME that she likes it, but she will not tell her sister. Any time Tory asks Kathy about her dance class, Kathy will just say "eh. It's O.K." And meanwhile, Tory is paranoid about her sister taking dance because she's afraid Kathy will get better than her. Ah, family dynamics!

 

[Bajanswife]

My gymnast DD took a year of ballet as a school extra-curricular when she was 5 or 6. She enjoyed that, but she didn't want to pursue it after that - said it was too slow and boring. Now she's 8 and does jazz once a week - she enjoys that a lot more. I know having a ballet background would have helped her a lot with how she carries her body, but she just didn't enjoy it enough.

 

[monkeysmom]

Here's what I find out this summer about dance

I recently went through through this decision for my daughter. I live in a bigger town, so there are a variety of dance choices here with a little driving. My daughter (age 7) has been in the pre ballet program at a classical dance school for several years. Last year she was in the 7-year old (oldest) preballet class. Here is what my choices were in our city:


Dance/theater/voice studio in our town, I could walk from my house. Programs for kids up through high school and even some adult classes. Wonderfully friendly, creative sorts. (Daughter ended up in a one hour voice lesson there I discovered during my ballet search. : )) They have all kinds of dance (including clogging), theater, voice, etc. It looks like some of the dance was more serious for some of the older kids, but not a structured leveled technique program. Ballet there would have been more just for fun/recreational without a lot of technique.

Competitive Dance Studio in my town. Profitable, busy suburban dance studio near our house. Either just-for-fun recreational classes or very into competitive dance. My neighbor's daughter does the competitive dance there. I think she does jazz, ballet, hip hop, individual and group numbers in competition. She spent over $1,100 on dance competition outfits in three months. Requires weekends at competitions etc. Though I'm sure there is lots of crossover, this seems to be geared for girls who end up doing dance line, cheer, etc in high school etc. (we have a good dance line at our high school). This was not a match for what I was looking for. There are a few of these in our metro area.

Other Competitive Dance studio in nearby suburb. I did find two competitive dance studios with ballet teachers who had been recommended by an acquaitance. They were willing to let my daughter just do a "technique" class with their competitive girls. but the times conflicted with my daughter's gymnastics.

The other options are the 4 (or more) classical ballet schools in our area. These are leveled, and the time commitment grows a lot as they progress. At a couple of these, by high school they are in what they call a "pre-preprofessional" level training program. Most of these programs seem to have both ballet and contemporary dance. At the school where we are, recruiters come in from colleges and professional dance companies to look at the older girls. My daughter in Level I would probably do one or two performances a year.

They also have the opportunity to do some worshops put on by dancers who come into town for the dance company. Because it worked with my daughter's gymnastics schedule, we ended up staying where she did preballet and going into level 1 ballet. They do a lot of bar work to start out. It is 1 1/2 hours of ballet and 1 1/2 hours of contemporary each week. The organization has both a professional dance company which does shows and the school. I am really happy this worked for us this year, it seems like an ideal tie-in with gymnastics. Its very technique-oriented with some of the best instructors in the area. I am interested in spending the time and money on the dance training versus competitions. (The downside of course is that she doesn't have the fun of the dance competitions).

We did find out my daughter will be competing in her first gymastics meet in a few months (prep op). She is so excited!

As for the dance, I'm taking it a 1/2 year at a time. If/when she gets on "regular team" in gymnastics, we will probably have to take any dance we can get that works with the gymnastics practice. Or maybe she'll decide to go the dance route, who knows. Within a couple of years, their dance program is a huge commitment similar to the gymnastics hours.

For one more year though, we ended up able to put off the hard decisions.... This fall she has 2 (2 hour) gymnastics practices and 2 (1 1/2 hour) dance practice each week. The ballet girls have to be Level II (around 9 years old) to be in the Nutcracker, so we don't have to worry about that decision this year.

My own committment for the fall is to excercise while she is in dance to run a $5K run on Thanksgiving weekend. : ) I used to do half and full marathons and am WAY out of shape, time to get my rear in gear.

 

[putri]

Mine does ballet (7-yrs-old). She's been doing it since after the Easter break (before she started gymnastics) and so far loving it still. She just did her first primary exam for the Royal Ballet and she thinks she'll get at least a merit. Last week it was watch day (there's no formal recital, parents could just come in and watch) and I was quite impressed with how focused and poised she was. My dd's not the most graceful child either but I could see that trying to come out. The funny part was that at the first watch day (before the summer break) dd was still soft and willowy. The last one, after four months of gymnastics, her movements were between a ballet and gymnastics girl. She was sticking a lot of the moves

 

[marie83]

We don't offer 'dance' at our gym, but I really wish we did - we are planning to have a dance studio added next year so maybe we will!
To be honest any type of dance will help. When I was younger I did ballet, tap, jazz, acro, greek and something called Margaret Morris Movement. As a coach I am so glad I did all of that as it has helped me have an eye for the small important things like arm movements, hands, toes, leg extension etc and it also helps immensely with choreography (although I don't claim to be amazing or anything!) It also helps me to teach the girls to 'show' their routines.
I know some clubs in my region offer 'ballet' as part of their programme.
It is very much geared towards gymnastics but uses the technique of classical ballet. The gymnasts are taught the more difficult ballet techniques much earlier on (still very well of course!) The particular club I'm thinking of use Daniella Nanova and here is a clip of a DVD she has out Dance for Gymnastics - Daniela Nanova - YouTube

 

[cher062]

My DD in all the years she has been in Gymnastics has never taken dance class and done very well in Gymnastics. I think the "need" to take or not take it is different for every kid. My DD has taken Intro to Dance in HS as a class this semester and her teacher tells me she is a natural and would love to see her as part of the schools dance company, but with gymnastics there just isn't time for that type of schedule they have for dance too.

 

[mustlovejumping]

I will always advocate for dance because that was my life for 14 years :] I just started gymnastics as an adult, and I have no doubt that my dancing bg helps immensely! I have good balance and core strength, and I understand proper body shapes for skills much quicker.

As for what type of ballet is best, I would say a classical ballet class because I have personally never seen great technique come from any other type of class.

 

[mamaoftwo]

My DD is a 7 year old Level 3. She has taken a couple of dance classes (rec program only) over the years, but she never really cared for it and it was not consistent. She simply thought it was "boring". We stopped about a year ago, as she just did not like going. (She had been taking the classes with school friends - in the end, she wanted to take the classes only to spend time with them).

We just switched gyms and at this one, the girls do an hour of ballet on top of their gym schedule. From what I understand, it's about a half an hour of classical ballet, and the rest of the time they work on leaps/turns/flexibility. As it's with her new teammates and she's still very enthusiastic about the gym, my DD doesn't mind it so much at the moment.

While I am sure it's beneficial on some level, to be honest I don't think it's anything that I personally would have sought out for her while at her old gym. At least not yet. Especially with her lack of interest.