All About Ballet

[dingdang]

Hi,


You may want to consider Dance Castle at Bukit Merah Central.
http://www.dancecastle.com/

I'm totally impressed with their Ballet teacher, Miss Nicole. She may be young but she really teaches the kids with heart. She's always caring and has her way to pacify the kids or get the shy ones to participates in the dance class.

'branded' dance school may not be the best. My girl is shy by nature, and she tried a few 'branded' ballet schools but none of the teachers are able to let my girl overcome her fear and shyness in 1st few lessons.

The cost fee is quite reasonable too. You may call n enquire.

[vfong1]

Any more recommendations for the ballet schools?

[georgewong22]

Hi, my 5yo daughter wants to try ballet. Not sure if it’s the best for her. My 7yo son wants to learn hip hop. He loves dancing.


Why do parents of most girls think of ballet for their daughters? Is there any apparent benefit? Are there physical dangers? Some say it’s painful.

I reside around Bishan’s Junction 8 and I sought help from RAD for a list of their registered teachers around this area. This is what they came back with:

1. Moving Arts @Bishan CC
2. Crestar @Thomson
3. Sylvia McCully Dance Studio @Thomson

Others which I got from this website are:

4. Jitterbugs
5. Ballet & Music Academy

Some recommended:

6. Singapore Ballet Academy

Please help with advise, thanks.

[ImMeeMee]

just want to understand whether having coaching classes is a standard practice across all ballet schools.


My girl is in crestar, and we have signed up for coaching classes recently to prepare her for the exam. its not cheap, about $190 for 3 months, and the fees get more steep with the progression of the grade. this is on top of the normal ballet classes that the child is already having.

isnt this equivalent to accelerated learning, ie. actually the child may not be ready for the exam, and the teachers are pushing for them to be ready within the year.

am not certain whether this is a school policy, or whether it is a common practice for all ballet classes.

anyone with experience from other ballet schools to share? TIA

[summer]

Dance Pointe also conducts dance lessons like ballet, Jazz, hip hop …

This year, after the RAD ballet exams, teacher teaches the students Jazz for 2 months during ballet lessons. Jazz exam is optional in June.

Coaching classes before the ballet exams is quite a common practice unless the students are very well prepared for the exams.

[LadyBird]

Not one welcoming staff there.


The indian lady at reception is a bit rude and unkind. My daughter wanted to go pee pee (happened only one time in two terms at there), she was scolding and warning my maid who was waiting outside the class not to let it happen again. I wonder who does she think she is.

Besides, the way I see it, the classes are intended for fun only. I won't recommend for those girls who want to make it serious.

Not to my satisfaction at all

[CalMat]

Hi georgewong22


I used to take tap classes at Jitterbugs, before I gave birth.
Don’t know much about the Children classes, but I find the environment there pleasant and the owners are nice and professional.

I’ve seen youngsters (not kids but more late teens, young adults) doing
hip hop… very popular class and they look real good dancing!
Just pop down for a look since it’s in Millenia walk.

As for S’pore Ballet Academy, I was with them years back (feels like millions of years) and did my ballet till senior grade. Very professional. And back then, Goh Soh Khim would even teach some classes. (She’s the co-founder of SDT)
If my boys do become interested in ballet, I would let them join SBA cos linked to Singapore Dance Theatre and I feel the standard - definitely there and not just some commercial dance school. : )

[georgewong22]

Hi Calmat, thanks alot for the advise.


Will pop by Jitterbugs & SBA for sure. Dilemma I have is because it’s quite a distance from my house in Bishan.

Then again, good schools good teachers are equally important.

Sigh, thanks again.

[Poonie]

Hi Calmart

You did ballet for many years at SBA. Did you by any chance learn piano too? Were you given a choice back then? If yes why did you choose ballet over piano or a musical instrument? On hind sight would you have chosen piano or any musical instrument instead? I am just having a hard time deciding between dance and musical instrument for my daughters. Would appreciate your advice.

[CalMat]

Hi Poonie,


Hee... yah when I was a kid, my mum let me learn piano too.
Did my grade 1 exam..

But I really disliked my piano teacher.

Even as a kid, I could sense that he was very insincere. Whenever it was pay-day, he would be very nice to me during lesson and then smile and be very kind when my mum comes in to pay him. But the very next lesson, he would be mean and sarcastic again. Then the last straw came when he hit me very hard on my hand one day. (Hee... maybe I'm a spoilt brat lah... never been hit before... but my mum was so fierce, she need not hit us, glare and scold only we will submit to her. I remember thinking to myself... \"Even my mum doesn't hit me... how can you!?\" Sorry.. lah.. I small spoilt girl... 7 years old.)

So, after that hitting incident, I told my mum \"Ma... it's very tiring to learn both ballet and piano. Can I just pick ballet?\" (Maybe should have just complained about my piano teacher and change teacher....cos I did enjoy music). And my mum just let me continue with Ballet lor!

But I suggested SBA cos I started learning ballet with some private teacher, she rented places, I guess... so at 1 point I was learning at the old NAFA campus, then shift here and there.. and then ended up having lessons at her condo's squash court!

Mum finally brought my sis and I to SBA when heard about it from other people. At the assessment at SBA, they actually 'downgraded' us from Grade 3 level to Grade 2, cos they felt our foundation was very weak. However, they pushed my sis up to Grade 4, cos if I recall correctly, there's a age limit for taking the ballet exams. (Till now my sis still sometimes lament that if we had started off with the right school, then she might have gone further in ballet...but cos foundation weak, she struggled a lot in the Grade 4 class...so subsequently stopped. But also cos of school lah)
I stayed with SBA till start of Sec 3, then cannot liao... too much school work and 'O' levels coming up. It was like Mon, wed, fri - ECA. Tue, Thurs -Ballet. And it didn't help that school in AMK, home in Marine Parade, SBA, back then, at Kiliney.
But also, cos by then, I realised as much as I love ballet, I'm not gonna excel in it. No natural talent lah... and classes were getting very expensive.

Asked my mum recently how come she so clever, knew about SBA. She just said... \"aiyoh.. how I know, just follow people lah!\" Hee hee...

But I really loved my ballet lessons, and I learnt so much! Not just dance, but also music appreciation, appreciation for the arts, good posture (no, you don't stick your butt out, like what comedians do when they make fun of ballet) good sense of balance...

As an adult, I picked piano again a 4 years back... and my friend taught my hubby and I. So funny... she accelerated us to Grade 5 theory and came exam time, we were the 2 old foggies struggling with the exam papers, surrounded by kids. Quite malu. But great fun. But practical, I was doing Grade 1 lah... hubby learnt jazz piano instead. But after baby arrived... had to stop. : (

If die die must choose btw ballet and piano....
1 - up to your kid's interest
2 - easier to learn ballet as kid (I think)

So, on hind sight, my choice would still be ballet over any musical instrument... (But...Man.. I so wanted to learn cello in Sec 1... but cos the requirement given by the ECA in school, was minimum Grade 3 theory... so I blamed the bad piano teacher again! Hee hee...)