Ballet and Cheer Moms - What Are the Tricks and Rules?

(Former) dance and (recent) gym mom here.
It's frustrating in the beginning, you almost feel like there should be a manual or something!
Just relax and stay involved. Chat with the other parents. Ask questions. It takes time to get seasoned with all the information, tips and tricks and advice. Like many other things in life the longer you're involved the more experienced and informed you get. That's all, there's no magic formula.

Ugh! Please don't look at those "Dance Moms" type of things. They depict the very worst behavior from parents. Take the time you would spend on that and just spend it at your studio.

My perspective will be different from those of others who posted -- my child does ballet and not competitive dance or cheer. Just FYI>

Your kids are very young yet, so please don't stress about not knowing the ropes! And remember, as the previous person posted, each studio does things VERY differently (in fact I've never heard of a ballet studio that did cheer and my child has done ballet for nine years, so things can be very different in different places--is this a ballet studio or a dance studio that has competitive dance teams and cheer and also offers ballet classes? Just curious.).

Just talk with the parents at your studio but also bear in mind that parents may not have all the info so that's why....

It can also be a huge help to form a good relationship with the receptionist, secretary or whatever person basically runs the business side, takes your payments, keeps and hands out the schedules, etc. I really hope your studio has one or more staffers who do this and who are not the dance teachers or the owners! (It's asking too much for teachers or directors do to all that!) Get to know this staffer so that you are never shy about approaching him or her to ask a question, get an extra copy of a schedule, sit down and ask for an explanation of something -- whatever. If you just drop the kids and dash away each time, you'll be a stranger to that person and you might feel less inclined to ask questions whenever you have them.

Also, it helps (as you will find it helps in elementary school too) to volunteer when volunteers are needed. It helps the show go on and it also shows that you are committed to the studio. Of course you should take on only what works for you and not feel pressured to do things. But if the studio uses parent volunteers to sell tickets to performances, sew a little bit on costumes, sell snacks in the intermission, whatever -- try to do it when you can. You will be more "plugged in" and will get to know other parents, teachers and staff better.

Do be sure you know how your studio does its schedules -- do they send them by e-mail? Post them in the studio on paper? Both? Does the studio schedule sometimes contain changes that have happened since the e-mail went out, so you always should look on the bulletin boards too? And so on. It is a miserable feeling to realize your child missed some critical rehearsal because you misread an e-mail or never received it in the first place, or because you didn't double-check the updated schedule on the bulletin board!

If your daughter who is dancing continues with ballet (not hip-hop/jazz), you will find eventually that it is very different from cheer, so the schedules may become widely divergent -- and you may end up with your husband taking one kid to a cheer event in one place while you take your ballerina to her rehearsal elsewhere. If they both stick with these activities as they get older you will find that happening more and more, so be prepared for that possibility. You may even end up with the girls at different studios if one does non-competitive dance and the other does competitive dance or cheer. But that's a long way off -- just tuck the thought away for now.

Also be open to the idea that at ages four and seven, they are not married to these activities -- they may decide to try other things, and please be willing to let them...So....as a parent, encourage them and make everything possible for them, but also let them know you don't define them by the activities. I see a LOT of that in our hard-charging area--kids who do an activity "because it's fun and it's what I've done since I was little" but not really because they love it. Be sure the girls have the chance to try very different things over time.

Not sure what you are asking. Obviously they are young. Heck next year they might want to do something else. You go to classes, wait outside, when done go home. You will be told what is required of you as time goes on. Not sure what you are expecting. This is not Dance Moms. This is a 4 and 7 year old! Right now it is a recreational activity. Sounds like this is the first activity outside school your kids have done. It really is not a big deal. You can also look at it as time for yourself to go food shopping, running errands, etc. you really do not need to "know" anything. Think you are way over thinking things. Try to relax.

My daughter has been dancing for 7 years, 4 of them competitively. She will be 10 later this week (eek!!)

The BEST advice I can give you, is to keep your check book with you :). Honestly, these are both VERY expensive sports when you get to the competitive level.

But more than that, listen to the dance moms and dads at your studio. Every studio does things so differently, so what ours does will not match what yours does. Be flexible, be prepared, be friendly (these people will become like a second family), and have lots of money.

Notice isn't something that comes with competitions for dance. Schedules aren't typically released until 10-14 days in advance, this can make for difficult travel arrangements. Make sure you have everything you need, and then some. Ask a veteran dance mom/dad what they keep in their kit for your studio.

Also, you'll know what you need when you need to know it. Take it all in strides. Jumping in head first will frustrate you. Take it year by year, and increase your knowledge as you go...it will all make sense.

I think the most important people to listen to are your kids! Both activities can come with quite a bit of pressure, especially competitive cheer. I'm a competitive cheer coach, and it takes quite a bit of skill just to be up to Level One.

Just make sure your kids are happy and having fun. That's ALL THAT MATTERS!! Especially at their young ages! Nothing turns a talented child off faster than being pushed too far by a coach or parent.

Competitive dance and cheer competitions take ALL DAY. Be prepared to sit there for hours...and hours...and hours. There are requirements for the routines and to make each level team. Just talk to the teachers and find out what your child needs to work on. I would advise AGAINST practicing at home. Home is where bad habits are learned and injuries happen. I always tell my kids NOT to practice at home except for stretching and strengthening. You will not believe the number of broken toes from accidentally kicking furniture and strained backs and wrists from doing things at home. Not to mention the bad habits I have to spend weeks correcting. It's very discouraging to a child to think that they have a skill (because they did it on their own at home) only to have to completely re-learn the whole thing because they are doing it incorrectly. Both ballet and cheer are very precise. It's best that they take extra classes rather than practice at home.

Your best bet is to go to a dance competition or a higher level class and just watch. You can watch cheer competitions on ESPN on TV, but that's Level 5 and above, and your girls have a long way to go before they get there.

You can also go to YouTube and search "Level One Mini Cheer" and "Level One Youth Cheer" and you can see some examples of routines. That will give you an idea of what skills they need.

Expect to open your pocketbook! Ballet means shoes, tights and leotards. Makeup and costumes (which can run anywhere from $35-100 each). Cheer expect to buy shoes, socks, briefs, bows, makeup and uniform (which can cost anywhere from $75-150 for just the uniform). Our dance competitions were about $35-50 each and cheer competitions run from $35-65 each with bigger competitions costing upwards of $125. Then there's the spectator fee of about $10-15 each person! Then travel and hotel depending on where they are.

Good luck!

I'm not sure about dance but as far as cheer, I learned most of my information from sitting in the waiting room and talking to other parents.

Also, look at the companies website that is hosting the competitions. They should have a score sheet and rules available for you to view. Up here in Illinois, there are 2 companies that our gym usually goes with and the final schedule is not posted until friday night for sundays events.

Expect that it will take all day for competition...we spend several hours on hair and make-up, travel time, warm-up, performance, awards, travel time home.

Find our if there is a cheer mom for her team. That is usually the point person for all questions. Each gym does things a bit different when it comes to hair, make-up, pre and post outfits, goody bags, gymnastics classes, clinics, camps...oh my!

Let me know if you need help understanding something to formulate a question for your gym :)

HI! Welcome to dance and cheer!

Each teacher is unique and different.

Ours has a class leo for each and every class. If they have 2 different classes on the same day they go change from one leo to the other. The classes should look like a ballet class. That means hair in a ballet bun, tights small holes only or tiny rips or clean and nice. Ballet shoes can be cleaned with a Mr. Clean Dry Erase sponge. The wooden floors of a ballet classroom have years of dust and stains on them. Some have other styles of floors that may not be hard on the shoes but often the shoes are filthy looking after only a short time.

Check the kids shoes every month or so. They will grow overnight and their shoes won't fit as well.

Listen to the teacher. Ask questions. If they don't like to have parents take up class time for this then ask the front desk people. I work in the clothing store inside our gymnastics and dance studio. I enroll, take money, give tours, answer questions, do special orders, and pretty much know a little bit about each class and area in the studio.

I am fortunate that I am able to work there. I enjoy it so much. It is the only way I can pay for the kids classes.

There are so many more things to say about dance and cheer but I am trying to keep my answers a bit shorter at this point. Make acquaintances with the other parents. Find out which ones usually know the right answers. Some think they know everything and often do know something but they may not know everything.

Our cheer kids were what ever they want to practice but always wear their cheer shoes. Otherwise they practice in clothes for tumbling.

I am a VERY THRIFTY dance coach. I do not like spending lots of parents' monies. I see contests where the girils are all dolled up but the dance routine lacks. I would rather the parents spend the extra money on classes that will help the dance routines (yoga, gymnastics, etc.). Costumes mean zip to me.

I'm a ballet mom, and have certainly spent my fair share of hours in the studio lobby. My girls attend the student division of our local professional ballet company's school. The way our studio works is that children who are 5 and under are in "creative movement" classes. At this age, they are really too young to have the coordination and strength required for barre work, so really they focus on gaining coordination, following directions, and paying attention. When they are ~6 years old, they begin with Beginning Ballet, and that curriculum spans 3 levels (generally each level takes a year, but it can vary from child to child). After the child has mastered the BB3 curriculum, they move on to level 1 (that is the start of the "student division"). Level 3 is pre-pointe, and Level 4 is beginning pointe. From there, levels 5-7 are the "pre-professional" division - many of these girls go on to dance with professional companies, and level 7 girls are typically home-schooled due to the extreme time commitment required. (They are at the studio 30 hours per week, sometimes more.) My oldest is in level 3, and spends about 12 hours per week in class.

All of that being said, kids would typically not be in Level 1 at 7 years old (although it does occasionally happen for kids who are extremely coordinated and can pay attention for the entire 1:15 duration of the class). If they are putting your 4 year old in Level 1, I think you need to find a different studio. She's still a little one, and should be in Creative Movement for a few more years to build her coordination and strength. With ballet, even girls who are very advanced can find things to work on in lower-level classes, so there is no harm in young children being in the same class a few years in a row. Unlike in school, in ballet, kids do not always move ahead one class per year, and that is okay, and totally normal!

In terms of what they wear to class, generally speaking, you want them to be in a solid-color leotard, pink tights (no underwear underneath, it looks lumpy), leather, full-sole ballet shoes (no canvas, no split-sole - leather full-sole strengthens the feet). Even if that is not required at the younger level, I would still have your kids dress in proper ballet attire. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have, right? ;)

The other thing I'd mention is that if you really live in Austin, and your girls love ballet, send them to the ballet school at Ballet Austin: http://www.balletaustin.org/academy/ We have been at a few different studios throughout our travels, and by far the best ones are the ones that are affiliated with a professional ballet company. The teachers will be top-notch, your kids will develop proper technique right from the start, and generally, these schools really want the kids to love the art form, so they keep things very positive and fun. (Also, your kids can try out for the Nutcracker, and other shows when they're old enough, which is pretty much what my kids live for ;).

Anyway, I hope that helps! My oldest is in Summer Intensive this year - before you know it, your kids will be, too!