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LisaR
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 10:22am | IP Logged
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hello, I am very slowly growing used to having a girl around- she is only just over 2 1/2  I would love to hear from moms who have had their girls in either Irish Dance, Ballet, or both, and the pros and cons of either.
I am a bit concerned with the body image issues that I see with Ballet, and I DO like that the Irish Dance girls dresses are more modest, but that is about all I have figured out so far. There seem to be equally adequate programs for each in our area,down to the cost/caliber of instructors.
We know we will not most likely go down any route other than these two options. Just gathering info while it is on my mind.
My oldest ds is playing High School football. Little Maria escapes from the stands to stand behind the cheerleaders and imitates their every move  .
Maybe we will have to steer her into dance earlier than I thought!!??
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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KackyK
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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My 12yold dd has done both. We started ballet when she was 4. It was really just creative movement...get to run around in pink and be very sweet. Recitals were a joy too. On top of the ballet, she started Irish when she was I guess about 8 or 9. She really reallly liked that. She was with a sort of start up school so it was like as she progressed, they were growing too.
In the end...she is 12 now and does TaeKwonDo!! What happened was, ballet was fun but when it got to be more serious stuff...lots of standing at the barre and so forth, she still really liked it...but she had no aspirations of going farther than using ballet as "something fun to do"...and I wanted some more exercise for her. So she stopped just last year when she was 11.
She had stopped Irish when she was about 10 because she had progressed really well and really liked it, we really liked it, but it kept us too busy for our schedule...lots of parades, performances and meetings about town, recitals and then...competitions! These require fancy expensive dresses (ours was considered cheap at $450) and money for the competition registration and getting there too. My dd isn't competitive with anyone other than her brothers so all of this was too much for her and although she was sad not to be dancing anymore, she didn't want that atmosphere.
So back to TKD, her brother was doing it, I saw it as good exercise and there is choreography with all of the forms and sparring techniques...so it's been a good compromise...oh and it satisifies her "something fun to do!" need.
I don't know if I listed pros and cons well. I think it really is about what are you looking for for her and how each one can meet those needs. For me in the end, ballet didn't meet those needs we had, Irish did but was too expensive and too time consuming for us...taekwondo works best for us.
Oh and you asked about modesty...and I think that depends on the schools you find! The ballet school my dd went to was very modest, but another one in town is considered almost scandalous! Ask around your local moms usually they'll have heard which ones are better than others. And note what sort of things they do outside of the school...ie...are they doing parades? games? or just end of the year recitals and special performances...all of the above???
That was really long HTH somehow???
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 11:28am | IP Logged
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One thing to consider is that after your child is 5 or so it gets harder and harder to switch. Do both programs start at the same age? Here you can do ballet or Irish dance at age 3.
My daughter has done both, but when it came time to choose between activities she went for Irish dance. (Competition #2 is Saturday!). One thing I like about Irish dance at our school is that competition is optional. So is the spring "recital" performance. (We do both, but some families do neither and that is OK.) I've been told that some schools are really into the competition part.
Irish dance shoes and costumes start to get expensive fairly early on. Hard shoes are $130, and you usually start using them after a year or two of study. Recital costumes are the same cost for ballet or Irish dance (all the costume suppliers market to all the differnt studio styles). Don't know what toe shoes cost.
If you do get into competing, your school dress will be a few hundred dollars (there should be an active market in reselling outgrown dresses at the school you choose). As your daughter moves up in competition she may end up needing a solo dress, again several hundred dollars at the low end. (Our school dress for advanced beginners is $90 and the school dress for novice level and up is $365.)
I'd ask to observe (without daughter) at a class at the school you're interested in, even for a few minutes. My dd's teacher never, ever mentions body type, size or weight. She does point out things like turnout and toe pointing and timing, but in over a year of lessons I've never, ever heard her or anyone else at the school talk about any body differences except height (to line up girls for a performance). I know that some of the northern Virginia moms here have found a ballet studio that is like that, as well, all about positive body image.
Irish step is very aerobic. It's fun to get involved in the related Irish cultural activities (many schools do St. Patrick's day events, etc.).
Hope this helps!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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folklaur
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My oldest dd loves tap. She never liked ballet, always wanted to do tap. She still does it now, when she can.
My youngest dd5 has done ballet, but only through city classes (which actually are very good.) This was to help with just how very, very pigeon-toed she is. She also took a beginning Irish dance class this way. Seemed similar to tap in some ways, and then dd17 wanted to take it too . Although she likes dance, she likes gymnastics more, so that is what she is involved in now.
Although I did just find out about an Irish Dance school nearby.
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 8:25pm | IP Logged
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We do ballet. Well, actually dd10 does  She is also beginning Irish dance this year.
One thing with ballet is that to get really good you need to take more than one class at my dds school, and dance is not cheap. That adds up pretty quick in our family of 6. Otherwise I would say that ballet is great- one thing we have especially appreciated is the quality of music and movement. Sometimes the jazz and tap music at my daughter's school can be very off color, as can some of the movements (and this is a well known school). But I know each school is very different. It is just that I have heard this about the jazz music at quite a few of the schools my friends children dance at.
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Kristie in Canada
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A Walk in the Woods
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4Real Forums : The Arts in the Everyday
Topic: Ballet vs Irish Step?
