Ballet v. Gymnastics

[Melissa in St Louis]

My 3 year old daughter is begging to go to gymnastics.....every day. So, I had signed her up for a class and then it got cancelled due to low enrollment. I have been on the hunt ever since for somewhere with 1) good teachers 2) recital outfits that are modest 3) appropriate music 4) affordable tuition/good location/schedule that works for us. I finally found somewhere to go check out, and then I start getting this sick gut feeling about ballet giving her body issues .... I want her to grow up thinking of her body as strong, not worrying about every inch of it. I am so torn now. I know I am overthinking it, but I had such a rediculous time with body issues that I am trying so hard to help her thru the inevitable. Would gymnastics be the same issues? Or promote strength? She is a wild climbing monkey and would do just as well in gymnastics as ballet.

 

Ok, done rambling. Please give me your thoughts!!!! :tongue_smilie:

 

Melissa in St Louis

[threetreasurs]

My daughters have been heavily involved in dance, especially ballet and I don't feel that they have developed body issues. Dance studios are very aware of past problems and only a very few still emphasize the super skinny look.

[PiCO]

She is a wild climbing monkey and would do just as well in gymnastics as ballet.

 

I think your daughter would be happier in a gymnastics class, based on the above statement. As for body image, I think both are fine. Both have had widespread problems in the past, but any decent studio or gym avoids pushing girls to lose weight these days.

[Tracey in TX]

Ballet and gymnastics are similar in the body issues category for those girls who pursue it with a passion. Being strong is vital, as is flexibility and healthy weight. To do either activity for recreation, it shouldn't be a big deal. When it becomes competitive, being aware of the coach/teacher's attitude about body imperfections is imperative. (ie one coach tells her athletes to eat dark chocolate days before meet b/c they're "fat"--the girls who are normal sized, not her waifs. Not every coach is like this, but you need to find one who doesn't emphasis weight, just well balanced meals and exercise.)

 

I was bulimic for a decade. Your concerns are something which I face daily: two competitive gymnasts and one dancer (who wants to make company). I know the pitfalls the mind plays comparing one's body to 'perfection'. My girls all attend particular gyms/studio because the coaches and owners have a liberal and normal attitude toward girls' bodies. Skeletal is not preferable to a strong, confident girl. Thank goodness. If it ever becomes obsessive, we'll have to pull the proverbial plug on the sport and find something more suitable to DD's mindset.

 

For a girl that loves to climb and hang, gymnastics is probably more suitable to your DD than ballet right now. She might put that energy to good use quicker! Either way, have fun and enjoy!

[Georgie]

I honestly think you can get a poor body image in either one. I think it depends on more on a parent's or family member's comments on body types as the children are growing.

 

My daughter was involved in gymnastics and loved it. Now she has moved over to dance and loves it. She has made casual comments here and there over the years about body types in general and I have told her what I think without overemphasizing. Short and simple seems to work. When we see pictures of dancers she herself picks out the muscular athletic ones rather than one that may look thin. In the magazines the dancers seem to be moving to a more athletic build and she likes that. Her ballet technique class also involves a lot of strength exercises to be sure their bodies can handle what they are doing.

 

When listening to some elite gymnastics women speak, it seems they too can have issues. The ones we saw did mention about watching what they ate and calorie counting. So I don't think it either sport is better than the other when it comes to body image. I think it is more important how the families handle the issue.

Edited October 8, 2008 by Georgie

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Well, if she wants to be a dancer she is still going to need gymnastics training in some form so I would go with the gymnastics. At most studios they teach the 3 year olds next to nothing in dance anyway and there are a lot of kids who can not pay attention, follow instructions, etc. IMO the flexibility is more important at this point regardless. I would look around the studio, especially at the top girls- do the girls look healthy? Do they have different body types? At our studio you will see girls of all shapes and sizes. My dd's ballet teacher is a regular sized woman, and she is beautiful.

[plansrme]

competitive gymnastics and ballet. She excels in both, though she is better at ballet, but gymnastics gives her something ballet doesn't: a competitive outlet which, for her, is very important.

 

No dance teacher or coach has ever said anything about weight or done anything else to promote an unhealthy body image. The oldest girls at both ballet and dance have beautiful, strong bodies, with nary a waif anywhere. So does my 10 yo, for that matter--strangers ask her if she's a gymnast because of her muscular arms and shoulders. She is not skinny, but she is visibly more muscular than most girls her age.

 

As for choosing one or the other, gymnastics is harder to do recreationally once you get to a certain level. Competitive gymnastics is also tougher on your body--lots of girls leave the sport by 11 or 12 due to chronic injuries. While dance can lead to injuries as well, the dance girls don't have nearly the level of injuries the gym girls do.

 

Yes, I know, she's only 3, but if you go with gym, before you get onto a competitive track, please take a long, hard look at what you could be in for. I wish I had done this when my daughter was 5. As I've said repeatedly, we might still have made the same decision, but I would have liked more information about what the future could hold--the hours, the injuries, the $$$, the limitation on other activities, etc.

 

Terri

[JFSinIL]

Martial arts, too. A black belt is a great thing to have. I'd go with a twice a week martial arts class AND a dance or gymnastics class.

[Paula in MS]

My daughter is 6 and takes ballet at a Christian ballet company. They promote modest dress and a healthy body. There is no pressure put on them about weight or their performances. It is a very healthy environment. I'm not sure if there is a Christian ballet company near you, but you may find ballet classes at a local church for someone your daughter's age. I'm not sure about gymnastics, but I might look for a class that focused more on skills and less on competition.

 

Paula

[threetreasurs]

The other posts jogged my memory a bit. My girls started with gymnastics and preferred it when younger (until 6 or so).

[camibami]

I think gymnastics is much for fun for a preschool age child- more moving around. Have you considered rhythmic gymnastics? Its a combination of both ballet and gymnastics, plus some other circus freaky stuff (but not at 3!).

 

I worried about the body image issues of ballet, having been a serious dancer for 10 years as a child and teen. They were definitely there. We do ballet now as part of RG, but I avoided it when they were younger based on my experiences. I think the climate has changed a great deal though, from when I danced. And the issues are there just as much with gymnastics, all disciplines.

 

We started out in artistic gymnastics (regular gymnastics) and I worried about the injury rates. We knew girls on the Level 7 and 8 team who were 11 and 12 and having rotator cuff surgery, multiple knee surgeries, etc. It worried me, since they compete for such a short time in their lives but carry those injuries forever. When my youngest turned 6 the gym moved her to the Level 4 team and she would start doing meets, so we had to decide then. She picked RG instead, which made worry-wart me pretty happy.

 

It *is* hard to find recreational artistic gymnastics classes as kids get older, though. We tried getting my DD in one,she wanted to take just a class one day a week, but even the advanced rec classes were below her skill level. It was competitive team gymnastics or a one hour class working on skills she already had, no inbetween. I think dance is easier to continue at the "hobbyist" level.

 

Well, that was quite the novel, huh? FWIW, a dance place that forces recitals on you is one I would avoid. My DDs take classical ballet, but do not do recitals at all, since the ballet is only to help with RG. Some schools insisted on recitals (and the expensive/scary costumes) and we just turned around and walked out.

[Marie in Oh]

they actually emphsize strength over their size. Both girls are waifs- in the

3rd percentile for height and weight, and they are encouraged to work on their core strength as well as upper body. So far I am pleased. Their gym has level 9 and 10 gymnasts who placed at nationals this year, and those girls are all sizes. They are not, by any means, itty bitty, or anorexic looking. They look healthy and strong.

[abbeyej]

It sounds like your dd would enjoy gymnastics more at this age. I'm a huge fan of ballet for the training and discipline it gives the body, but that doesn't really kick in till around age 6-7 -- before that, it's "creative movement", and if you have a climber, she's going to get more out of gymnastics at this point.

 

Both activities *can* impart really healthy body image -- or they can both promote very unhealthy attitudes toward weight and eating. It depends *so* *much* on the leadership at the individual gym or dance school! And within gymnastics, the attention on weight is *very* different between the disciplines of rhythmic gymnastics (most body/weight focused), traditional artistic gymnastics, and tumbling/trampoline (most focused on strength over thinness)... In a classically oriented dance school, there will certainly be some emphasis on weight and healthy eating as girls get into their teens. Only certain body types will have the opportunity to perform in a professional corps de ballet. But other body types should certainly have the chance to perform in student companies throughout their teens, and if dance is their real love and talent, there are many other styles (besides classical ballet) that allow for more leeway in body shape...

 

But for a young girl (pre teen), there certainly *shouldn't* be pressure to be thin or look a certain way. (Although, again, it depends on individual teachers and leadership.)

 

Ballet technique is (or at the very least should be, with good teaching) more exacting than gymnastics technique. And there's more focus on musicality. Both obviously require a great deal of discipline, athleticism, and flexibility. Gymnastics will feed that need to climb and tumble and a greater need for speed than ballet ever will.

 

I danced. (And did a little recreational gymnastics.) My sister is an internationally competitive gymnast (tumbler). My own kids dance. And when my dd mentioned to her beloved aunt that she wanted to do gymnastics, Aunt S said, "Noooo!" She said, "I did it because I had to -- but I wouldn't choose it for a child!"... But it's true, we all knew S was meant to be a gymnast from before she was a year old -- even though she didn't really give it a try till she was seven. (She took a couple of baby gymnastics classes before that, but off and on.) She couldn't help it. She *had* to tumble. :) It would have been cruel to keep her away from it. And she would never have been a dancer... (She was joking -- sort of -- about not letting dd do gymnastics... But my dd is not like my sister and I just don't think I need to be concerned about gymnastics taking over her life.)

 

Given what you say of your dd, I think I'd keep looking for a baby gymnastics class for her for now. She'll be just fine starting ballet at 7 or 8 if she wants to. (And that'll give you a chance to find a good classical school that focuses on correct technical training and artistry, not bu*t-wiggling and sequins...) Choosing something at 3 does not mean she has to do it at 12 or 15...

 

Also, wherever you go, whether for dance or gymnastics, keep an eye out for the older girls. What do they look like? Healthy or anorexic? Do they treat the coaches/teachers with deference? Do the coaches/teachers seem to *like* their teenage students? Are the older kids kind to the younger ones in the school/gym? The culture that is created in the dance school or gym *is* important -- and it will likely tell you a lot about how body image is treated as well...

[nmoira]

Martial arts, too. A black belt is a great thing to have. I'd go with a twice a week martial arts class AND a dance or gymnastics class.

This is what my girls do: gymnastics, Aikido (once per week), and acrobatics/trapeze.

 

I have a friend who used to be a professional ballet dancer. She cautions against ballet for young children unless the teacher is extremely knowledgeable because there are particular repetitive motions that can do long term damage if training starts too young. Her daughter started at 4.