Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Moderator: busybusybusy

Littlemum
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 100
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 10:43 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by Littlemum »

Thanks Billysmum, I've sent them a message - let's see what else we can squeeze into all our lives, hey?!!
Thanks for all the advice everyone x
2dancersmum
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 493
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:23 am

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by 2dancersmum »

This might be of interest to some young male dancers in Birmingham - popped up on my facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/DanceUK1/photo ... =1&theater
RoseTowers4
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 282
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 3:37 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by RoseTowers4 »

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know anything about BBO (British Ballet Organisation)? How does it compare to ISTD or RAD?

Thanks :)
Last edited by RoseTowers4 on Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
gab
Nominee
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:01 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by gab »

Hi,
I'm new here. I live in Sydney Australia, and my son (9) takes ballet (RAD Grade 4 at present), Street Tap, Exam Tap (just completed CSTD Elementary Gold),Jazz, HipHop, Acro, Boys' Technique Class, Boys' Masterclass (a mixture of styles) Musical Theatre, Group Singing, Private Singing Acting and Piano. *exhale*
Consequently I live my life amongst tights, leos, dance belts, tap shoes and sheet music. And then there is the whole casting/auditioning game.
I recently heard one of his classmates (who prefers sport) ribbing my son about taking dance, and labelling it as "gay". I was rather pleased when DS said "Clearly, you don't understand what the word "gay" means. It's a sexual preference - nothing to do with dance. I spend my Saturdays with a whole lot of girls who wear leotards, while you're at the oval with a group of boys."
Sadly though, he no longer participates in any performing arts inside of school. He tells me it's because the standard there is so abysmally poor (it is). I suspect though that he's preventing himself from being opened up to ridicule on a larger scale.
TalyaB
BAFTA Award
Posts: 997
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:22 am

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by TalyaB »

Brilliant answer, gab - I love it. He's clearly very focused. Best of luck to him and to you - it sounds as if supporting him is a full-time job!
User avatar
CatKat_0
OSCAR Award
Posts: 1163
Joined: Sun Nov 21, 2010 7:14 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by CatKat_0 »

loving it - clearly he loves his dance and is comfortable being him - job well done I think. You should be proud - he dealt with with the other boy in a very mature manner x
munchkinmum
Nominee
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 4:49 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by munchkinmum »

Hi all, DS7 started ballet when he was 3 - he saw some street dancing on telly, said he wanted to "do THAT!", so I signed him up for street dance. He went twice, then came out of the second lesson saying. "No, I don't want to do this, I want to do ballet!" I asked him if he knew what ballet was, and he did a credible job of shaping his arms by way of illustration, so I signed him up, and he's been going ever since...the only boy the entire time. A clash from this coming September meant we had to look for a different school (and switch from IDTA to RAD), and we found one with a lot more boys. DS is incredibly excited about going. Living in "proper Billy Elliot county", he has been teased, but we had a wonderful moment when, aged 4, he also wanted to learn Taekwondo. There were a bunch of 11/12 year-old black belts there when the coach asked him if he did any other sports, and he brightly said "Yeah, I do ballet!" I held my breath........and then got a pleasant surprise when all the older boys told him how fab that was, as the two would complement each other with strength, balance and flexibility. We're currently taking a break from Taekwondo (DS decided he wasn't sure he liked kicking people in the head..............), but ballet is here to stay, it seems :)
2dancersmum
GRAMMY Award
Posts: 493
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:23 am

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by 2dancersmum »

ballet and tae kwon do - that takes me back. My DD took up tae kwon do when she was about 4 or 5. After a few lessons the coach commented on how strong and flexible my DD was and asked if she did any other sports. She said - no I just do ballet - and those around her laughed but the coach pointed out that the reason she could do all the exercises so easily and pick up the patterns was because of her ballet. She also could get her leg up really high and had the strength and balance to do so. The older ones soon discovered that if she was their opponent they really had to pay attention - even if she only was waist high on them (she was very small for her age). DD didn't like kicking people in the head either - and after her brother did get kicked in the head - she quit.
munchkinmum
Nominee
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2015 4:49 pm

Re: Any other mums of ballet boys out there?

Post by munchkinmum »

:) Looks like it's a winning combination. My son says he wants to keep going, but just for the fitness, and not to do sparring or competing. He decided to take a break from last Christmas until next academic year, so I guess we'll see what happens then.
Post Reply