ballet gifts?

[Farrar]

My ballet boy would like something balletish for Christmas, but I have no idea what.  We already have a couple of ballet books.  He asked could he have a barre, but the cost and the space just seem to make it silly to me.  He's a boy, so there's not so much in the way of hair things and frills.  He already has a bag, though maybe a better bag.  I'm kinda at a loss.  It's not really a hobby that allows for tons of stuff.  It's just time, time, time (three times a week at the moment...).

 

Any more experienced dance moms have a tip?

[Pippen]

Age?

[Chris in VA]

How about a few dvds of famous ballet performances? Baryshnikov's Nutcracker, etc.

Here are some nifty things for ballet boys.

[Farrar]

He's 9.  Sorry, that is kind of important information. :)

[Farrar]

Some of the Cafepress stuff is really cool.  Manly ballet men.

[Caroline]

Have you taken him to the Nutcracker? The Washington Ballet puts on a very nice one.

[hmschooln]

I know you said space concerns as far as a barre goes, but what about making one yourself from PVC pipe? We did this for dd last year for Christmas and left certain parts to where she can unscrew the whole thing and put it under her bed or in the closet for when she's not using it. Spray painted it to make it look nice and was way cheaper.

[Jenny in Florida]

You could take a look here, too:

 

http://www.boysdancetoo.com/

 

 

Bonus: They are having a holiday sale at the moment.

 

We bought my son several dance-themed t-shirts at the beginning of this academic/dance year, and he's really enjoyed wearing those. Granted, he is older and tends toward the snarky, but his favorites are:

 

http://www.zazzle.com/tap_dancer_deadly_ninja_by_night_shirt-235628064041380908 (It doesn't look like they have a danseur version, unfortunately)

 

and this one: http://www.zazzle.com/mr_twinkle_toes_ballet_gifts_tee_shirt-235493584881485842

 

And, of course, you can get most of the Zazzle designs on assorted merchandise besides t-shirts (travel mugs, keychains, mouse pads, etc.).

[redsquirrel]

I was going to suggest boys dance too as well.

 

My boys adore their t-shirts that state on the back "Boys Dance Too!"  They were them everywhere. We get so many nice comments due to those shirts. I am going to be ordering some for christmas gifts because last years are getting a bit small.

[Farrar]

Ooh, many good ideas.  We have taken him to the Nutcracker nearly every year.  We've done TWB's several times (I love their American theme for the show).  We've also done a lot of Kennedy Center performances.  Last year we saw Ballet Canada's Alice in Wonderland and it was AMAZING.  So maybe ballet tickets...  I should look at the season...

 

I like the idea of the PVC pipe barre.  He'd probably go crazy over that.

 

And the Boys Dance Too stuff looks sooo good.  I'd never seen that site.  Awesome.

 

Thanks...  getting ideas... :)

[K&Rs Mom]

I know you said space concerns as far as a barre goes, but what about making one yourself from PVC pipe? We did this for dd last year for Christmas and left certain parts to where she can unscrew the whole thing and put it under her bed or in the closet for when she's not using it. Spray painted it to make it look nice and was way cheaper.

 

 

This is what my 11yo is getting this year, though I haven't built it yet.  PVC is pretty easy to snap together with the connectors, and it only needs to be a couple of feet wide, not wall-length.

 

[kroe1]

All the boys we know wear Urban Empire clothing. Ridiculously expensive, but is the rave in dancewear around here.

[LibraryLover]

One of dd's fav ballet gifts was a turn board. I don't know if 9 is too young for one?

 

[redsquirrel]

You might want to talk to the teacher before giving him his own barre. Many teachers don't want their students practicing barre work on their own, in fear of bad habits developing. 

 

I am considering getting my older son a massage roll thing-y.  All of the kids just a little older than him have one. I would also get him a book or something to use with it.

[Farrar]

Hm.  And I just went and found a PVC ballet barre tutorial.  So cheap and easy...  I don't even know his main teacher this year because he changed to a new instructor.  I can ask the boys' teacher though they don't do much barre work in the all male class, I don't think.  I have a feeling that the barre, if I made him one, would end up in the basement playroom, used to help build forts and as some sort of obstacle with the mini-tramp at least as often as anyone stood there stretching and plie-ing at it.  And for about $15 worth of plastic and a kid who felt his life's passion to this point was honored in his Christmas gift, I'd be totally cool with that.

 

I saw turn boards when I googled for ballet gear, but I didn't even know what it was...  

[I talk to the trees]

This book has helped my daughter a great deal. (It was in her stocking last Christmas!)

[NotSoObvious]

Do boys go through shoes like girls do? I remember realllllly wanting a certain expensive brand of pointe shoes. Is there a splurge like that you could make? (I have no clue about boys and ballet slippers though.)

[redsquirrel]

Do boys go through shoes like girls do? I remember realllllly wanting a certain expensive brand of pointe shoes. Is there a splurge like that you could make? (I have no clue about boys and ballet slippers though.)

 

Not really. Boys don't need pointe shoes, although they can take pointe class. At least one boy in my son's school does take pointe, but my son doesn't.

 

Boys just use regular shoes and at least my son wears them until they start to fall apart. He goes through about 2 pairs a year. I won't be surprised if next year we are up to three.  But his shoes only cost about 30$ (I can't really remember how much). Those pointe shoes last a couple weeks and they cost 80-100$. And professional dancer's pointe shoes last even less time

[redsquirrel]

Hm.  And I just went and found a PVC ballet barre tutorial.  So cheap and easy...  I don't even know his main teacher this year because he changed to a new instructor.  I can ask the boys' teacher though they don't do much barre work in the all male class, I don't think.  I have a feeling that the barre, if I made him one, would end up in the basement playroom, used to help build forts and as some sort of obstacle with the mini-tramp at least as often as anyone stood there stretching and plie-ing at it.  And for about $15 worth of plastic and a kid who felt his life's passion to this point was honored in his Christmas gift, I'd be totally cool with that.

 

I saw turn boards when I googled for ballet gear, but I didn't even know what it was...  

 

No, they don't do much barre in the boy's classes. They study barre in their 'regular' classes. The boy's class is analogous to pointe class for the girls. It is a class to learn specific skills. The mixed classes is where general ballet learned. So, if you want to ask you should ask his not boys class teacher.

 

And we made our boys an 'inventors kit' a couple of years ago. It was a huge amount of PVC tubing and connectors and a bunch of other stuff. They did make tents and forts and any number of things...no ballet barre though, lol.

[Farrar]

Yeah, my balletboy has been going through shoes...  because he keeps losing them. :glare:   The director of the studio herself called me to tell me they had been found again and I was a little mortified.  But I can make him pay for the replacements because they're less than $20.  They let him wear canvas for now and those are really cheap.

[redsquirrel]

I write their last name inside the shoes with a sharpie. There are enough boys in our school that it could be a problem.

 

I put my boys in the 5$ black leggings from Target or Walmart. I find them in the girl's clothing section. I buy a size smaller than needed so they are snug enough for dance.  I buy women's black trouser socks as dance socks. Every time I go to target I pick up a few leggings in a variety of sizes so that we always have enough. I keep expecting styles to change and the leggings to disappear from the girls' dept. But, so far so good.

 

I wash them in cold and I don't put them in the drier because, let's face it, they are cheap as heck. However, with that care they have held up really well. My younger boy is able to wear leggins his brother has grown out of.