26.3.16

A Parent's Guide To Finding Children's Ballet Classes Los Angeles

By Cynthia Thomas


If your child is interested in dance, you may be wondering how to find the right class for them. There are many different styles of dance and many studios that are offering lessons. You need to consider each child individually since different kids need different things from a dance teacher. Here are some tips that you can use to find the right ballet classes Los Angeles for your child.

Although many dance styles have only been developed in the last hundred years, ballet has actually been around much longer than that. It started in Europe and the French were responsible for developing many of the steps. This is why classes are often taught in French and why the steps have French names. Other nations such as the Italians and the Russians have also started their own styles of ballet.

One of the most important things to look for is a studio that has classes that are geared towards your child's age and experience level. Some steps and moves are extremely physically demanding and if a child has not had the right training or they are not physically strong enough they can injure themselves very badly. A good teacher will watch their students and be able to tell whether or not they are able to handle more advanced techniques.

It is also important to make sure that the person teaching the class is certified and has had dance experience that is related directly to ballet. There are teaching courses that people can take that will show them how to instruct safely and effectively. Because dance is such a physical activity you need to make sure that the person who is running the class will know how to keep kids from getting hurt.

It is a good idea to talk with your child as well to find out what they want to happen as a result of taking classes. Some kids want to be able to have fun and get some exercise while others want to make a career out of being a dancer. The classes that will be chosen for each of these situations are completely different. It is important to know how involved your child wants to be since a class that is too intense may be intimidating for your child.

A studio's location may make it a bad choice for you. It may not be a problem when kids are little to have one class a week and have to travel back and forth in traffic. If your child becomes very involved in this art form, however, it may mean that you are traveling to the same studio day after day. Travel time can really add up and so you need to be careful about this.

Of course, the cost of the classes is also an important factor. You should make sure you know up front what the costs will be and whether there are any additional expenses that may show up. These can include costumes, exam fees and other expenses that you may not have anticipated when you enrolled your child.

Finding the names of studios is actually fairly easy. Most will advertise heavily especially in the fall when classes are starting up for the year. If you know other parents who have children in ballet it may be worthwhile to speak with them about where they send their kids.




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