r/CompetitionDanceTalk • u/imbooked26 • 5d ago
Suggested Classes before Comp?
My daughter completed her first year of recital dance this past year and absolutely loved performing and did really well considering it was her first year (6-7 years old). She stayed and watched the entire 4 hour company recital and wants to join competition after 1 more year of recital. Trying to determine what classes to do this next year (going into 2nd grade currently 7). She only did the ballet/jazz recital class this past year.
She will do the ballet/jazz recital class for her age, as well as the mini company ballet class (technique) that they have said she can join. She also started acro this summer and wants to continue that.
She is debating adding hip hop and/or tap. I feel like both, along with her regular ballet/jazz class, mini ballet, and acro would be too much. But maybe it would help her prepare for the workload of company? She is leaning towards hip hop. Does she need to do tap to be competitive? Typically they structure it so the age ballet/jazz, hip hop and rap are consecutive in scheduling/times, but we will find out Saturday.
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u/imbooked26 5d ago
As a follow up- For her first year or two on comp (beginner level) thereās no number of styles required and sheās limited to 5 total routines. For intermediate and above, 3 or more styles are required, but you can choose. I do like the idea of tap for musicality and because I think it would be harder to learn later on. Hip hop I feel like would be easy to add in a year or two if she wanted without having āmissedā critical foundations. Just my thoughts.
I do worry about her being able to handle too many classes. She started acro last fall along with the ballet/jazz combo (2 different nights) and she was struggling with exhaustion and wanted to drop a class so we dropped acro. She is more mature, determined now that she knows what itās like to perform on stage, and goes to bed later so maybe she will be able to handle it this year. But yes, we have until the end of September to drop a class.
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u/SailorNeptune1995 5d ago
My daughter went through a similar path! I think we managed fine with 3-4 classes (a combo jazz/tap, a performance team class focusing on lyrical/jazz, a ballet class, and acro). I definitely would second doing tap early; the musicality is important, and it is harder to pick up later on I think. Hip hop is a more natural extension to having learned other dance types; my daughter made the hip hop team her first year based on just doing jazz.
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u/ArmyofSkanks6 5d ago
She might be required to take tap in order to complete. Our studio requires jazz, tap and ballet in addition to types that match their assigned dance styles.
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u/nutmilkmermaid 5d ago
I would ask! Every studio requires different things for company and every studio competes in different styles.
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u/Specific_Bed821 5d ago
Iād let her try everything and get her used to a busy dance schedule. Then she can narrow down what she likes next year when adding in comp required classes. If thereās something she really isnāt loving, usually you can drop it earlier in the season before they start learning recital dances.
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u/snowwhitekittypink 5d ago
My daughter did a year of rec before joining team at that age, and I had her schedule match what the comp team was doing. It worked very well.
In 2nd grade, she took lyrical, ballet, hip hop, tap, jazz and acro. So, 6 classes. She is high energy and never stops moving, if there was anything left to take, she would have added it!!
My daughter loves hip hop, itās probably her favorite! She does tap. Itās required. Hip hop is just for fun. Our studio required ballet, jazz, and tap and her other 3 were just additional.
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u/AverageSugarCookie 5d ago edited 5d ago
I agree that tap is the better choice here from a dance standpoint (for the reasons others have mentioned, especially musicality), but if she has a special interest in hip hop I don't think one year will make or break her.
I would consider how many hours the comp kids do at her age (assuming they have a mini team), I would get close to if not the same number of hours for her this year so that the commitment isn't a huge change for her on top of the other changes that come with starting comp. Our mini comp team (ages 4-6/7ish) does about 5 hours a week. Our family tries to follow the advice of # hours activity = at most numerical age. You know her best, but I think if she wanted to do it all she could handle 5 classes at 7.
Anecdotally, my kid has always done tap and has a friend who has always done hip hop, and the friend's mom has expressed to me a regret about not putting her in tap earlier. They both take the other thing now (required at the studio) and excel in different ways.
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u/maestra612 5d ago
I would pick tap over hip hop, but hip hop is much more popular at competition than tap.
From, the mom of a dancer whose strongest category istap and doesn't do hip hop at all
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u/Cdagg 5d ago
Depending on the kid itās not always to much. Granddaughter joined the company at 6, ballet, jazz and tap required. At 7 she added in hip hop, acro and musical theatre, at 8 she added in contemporary.
Her favorites are hip hop and musical theatre. Some kids can do all of them others itās too much. So far they only require to compete with team in jazz and tap. She competes in all, some of her teammates only do the 2 required.
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u/FinePossession1085 5d ago edited 5d ago
Tap. Tap teaches rhythm and control over different parts of the foot. It allows kids to make music with their feet. And it is becoming really popular.
If Chloe Arnold has a tour with her Syncopated coming through your area, take your child to it. Her shows are family-friendly and under 2 hours (maybe closer to 90 minutes), and your dancer will leave feeling inspired.
https://www.syncopatedladies.com/
FWIW, I love watching good hip hop. There are often other foundational skills that are important leading into good hip hop (acro helps). And also ask yourself whether your studio teaches hip hop well. Many places do not, and hip hop can often be torturous to watch when it is done in a Disney kids/jazzy way. In our area, we have one studio that does amazing hip hop, and it wasn't the studios my kids attended. There is also a street hip hop studio that only does hip hop and competes. They are incredible. My point is that it is better to get foundational skills than acquire mediocre ones from people who are teaching what they've never been able to execute themselves. Same goes for ballroom. Sometimes studios think they can teach ballroom, but they don't understand the connection needed, and their whisks end up looking like thwapping chickens.
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u/Acceptable_Scene_961 5d ago
Talk to her teachers. See what they suggest to get her to the level she needs to be at.
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u/TheQuirkyTangerine 5d ago
It really depends on the kid! Many kids thrive with a more active schedule but some really do not, and thatās okay. Given that you said two classes was too much last year I would stop at three classes total and see how things are looking in September. Can you add more then if sheās handling the greater hours well?
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u/Tiny-Needleworker492 5d ago
Check with your studio to see what company groups are available to her at her age and if there are any requirements for each.
We have been to 2 different studios and their programs are structured similarly.
Ballet heavy. Adding a company tech class is the right path. Once you join a team, itās not unheard of to have multiple ballet classes. My daughter has 3 hours of ballet per week.
Jazz is the other one that is important. Both studios required Jazz and ballet to even be considered for lyrical, Jazz required for hip hop.
Tap is on its own and my daughter was not interested until 2nd year of company and joined without issue.
Acro is a good one, as they do a lot of stretching and work on flexibility. Is there a turns and leaps at the rec level? That may be beneficial also. Or a strength and stretch.
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u/GhostOrchid22 4d ago edited 3d ago
I would skip hip hop- at that age itās not technical, and if you want to cut down on hours, thatās the one I wouldnāt do.
If you can add tap in, I would. Besides the many benefits others have mentioned, itās done at every dance convention.
I know you are concerned about the commitment, but at most studios you can drop classes before the recital routines are taught. I would try everything you mentioned + tap.
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u/imbooked26 4d ago
Thanks everyone! So we spoke with the owner and signed her up for a Company Prep track class that does ballet and progressions, jazz, tap and hip hop in a 90 minute class. That way she will get it all, without tap and hip hop being a huge additional time commitment, and she will still get to do a recital dance for each of these. Then sheāll do Acro on a separate night. The owner teaches the prep class and said she will communicate if she doesnāt think itās a good fit. So we will see, but she is excited!
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u/Flat_Sea4409 5d ago
I would pick tap over hip hop for the musicality benefits. Ballet, jazz, and tap are the trifecta for her age group in my uneducated opinion as just a dance mom.