How do you motivate your child to keep going with ballet?

Of course, I am very interested in what motivates children to keep going with their ballet lessons, and I’m sure I very rarely find out the real reason that children stop attending lessons.  I’m always listening so please always tell me the truth 😉

We all know the benefits of Ballet for fitness, muscle tone, and posture not to mention the psychological benefits of dancing, which are well documented, but how do we keep them motivated to keep doing something we know is good for them?  

On my side, you have my commitment to always do my level best to make the classes fun and rewarding. I will of course need to push them to do their best work, but I never to lose sight of the fact that they need to enjoy themselves at ballet! Having said that, their heart must be in it. I will do everything I can to motivate them to continue, but sometimes it’s impossible to keep a child engaged who has decided it’s not for them. I am always open to a discussion in this scenario to see if we can keep them going but sometimes there is nothing to be done. The child has spoken.

In a world where it’s a daily battle to keep children’s screen time down, Ballet can play a really important role. Ballet is a great regular activity to form part of a healthy weekly routine which is important for anyone to maintain throughout their lives, not just as a child.

However, I don’t think parents should have to try too hard to keep the children coming to lessons. You must pick your battles but there are some key things that I have seen over the years that I would like to share.

·         Try and make the class fit in with their weekly schedule without causing stress. Avoid lift shares that they don’t enjoy or rushing around to get to their lesson.

I think it’s important to look at your own motivation for sending your child to ballet.

Be very mindful of how you speak about their Ballet to other people in front of them. I have often heard from parents ‘well, she’s not really a ballerina’, or ‘she’s not really built for ballet’ or ‘she’s never going to ‘make it’. I often hear the broken dreams of parents with ballet and worse still that they themselves were told ‘they were like a baby elephant’ and need to exorcise this demon. This is really missing the whole point of the child studying ballet and makes me very sad. Coming to ballet to please their mum or dad or because their friend comes is not motivating for a child. Ultimately the motivation must come from them.

Sending your child to ballet should never be to see if they can be the next Darcey Bussell or Carlos Acosta any more than sending them to football will turn them into the next Steph Houghton or David Beckham.

You must be clear that you are sending them for:

·         The physical & mental benefits

·         Enjoying time with their ballet friends

·         Learning and developing a skill which will last them a lifetime

·         Pure Enjoyment of dancing and or performing

·         Gaining qualifications to mark their achievements

You can encourage them by taking them to see a live ballet or follow one of the many ballet companies and stars on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. Look out for courses they can do with the Vocational ballet schools such as the Hammond summer schools, Elmhurst experience days or RAD syllabus courses which I will always let you know about.

Another important thing I would like to raise is that there is nothing more demotivating for a child than not having the right kit for the class or having to wear shoes that are uncomfortable or no shoes at all. It breaks my heart to see children turn up to class without shoes, or in shoes that hurt. You wouldn’t bring your child to football practice without boots and it’s the same for ballet. They can’t succeed with ill fitting shoes or kit. Leotards that are too small can have a devastating effect on their self - confidence. I have recently added black shorts to the uniform from Grade 2 and above as I realise from my own daughter’s journey that girls become uncomfortable wearing leotards from a certain age & require a bit more coverage. I was interested to see the German choice of kit for the Olympics and salute athletes and dancers wearing attire that makes them feel comfortable and confident. Obviously, there is a requirement for tight fitting clothes to assess line and posture for classical ballet – I can’t teach a child in a baggy hoody without x-ray vision but there are ways to make them feel less self-conscious that also allow for progression.

·         Make sure your child has the right kit, it fits, and they feel comfortable and confident in it.

·         Have they got enough coverage to make them feel secure?

·         Make sure their hair is in a bun or at the very least off their face. It’s impossible for them to succeed, particularly with turning at ballet when their hair is in their eyes.

Ballet Classes are a wonderful opportunity to encourage children to ‘Race alone’, they need to learn to find peace with the fact that they are not always the best in the class. I always will encourage them to beat their last score when it comes to exams - shoot for the moon, fall amongst the stars but it’s a wonderful achievement to pass a Royal Academy of Dance exam and it’s ok not to get the top mark. It’s all about the journey of a Grade for me, and if the examiners could see some student’s start position verses their end, there would be many more gold medals. I will always celebrate any child’s achievement in ballet, whether it be learning to skip or learning to Pirouette – it’s a wonderful skill to be proud of and in charge of your own body & have the ability to make it do beautiful, wonderful & magical things!

Above all, let me know if your child is struggling with their motivation – is there anything we can do to help them? Ultimately, it’s a collaborative journey between parent and teacher to keep them on the best path for them. I am always happy to talk about your child’s ballet journey – it is literally my life’s work so don’t hesitate to pick up the phone, I am always listening.