What's a good age to take my daughter to the ballet for the first time?

Question:And what should we see? She's nearly 7.5 now. I remember the wonder of a ballet performance quite young and would love he4r to experience the same. What's your experience?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: And what should we see? She's nearly 7.5 now. I remember the wonder of a ballet performance quite young and would love he4r to experience the same. What's your experience?

Ballet's are often very long - & I whilst I think Swan Lake is truly beautiful I don't think it would be the most appealing to a 7.5 year old. Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty might fit better to hold a young attention span or maybe try a mixed performance to stimulate ongoing interest and give a taste of different styles. Remember that many of the classic ballets are danced in codified form and this could be lost on a young child, so a really well known story is the best option.

All my sisters started when they were 8.

take her now.Swan Lake is a very good Ballet to see

from one worrier to another, from the age they first start too ask questions, its a magical age.

Swan Lake - I think the only criteria is how long will she sit still. If it does not interest her particularly then sitting through a performance might be difficult much before say 10 but if she is already going to ballet classes then no time like the present.
I am old enough to have had the good fortune to see Nureyev dance.

Alternatively for the more modern youngster you might find that dancing on ice (if there are any performances near you) is more exciting.

Hi!

Sorry about this, but I went to see a ballet last year and I was bored 'sh*tless' !!

The ballet I went to see was Sleeping Beauty and it was three hours long. So, therefore, I would suggest you take her to a short one.

I can fully understand you wanting her to experience what you yourself have experienced, and I hope she has a truly magical time!!

She is at a good age now! The obvious choice is The Nutcracker, but that season is over for now...Swan Lake is also kid friendly. Look into children's theaters in your area. I was able to see "Where the Wild Things Are" performed as a ballet...it was wonderful!

I was baby sitting two little girls that were infatuated with Swan Lake, the draw back is that it was Barbie. lol. They were 7 and 5 then.

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She is old enough now,and providing she doesn,t get bored with sitting too long,The Nutcracker might be a good choice as there is a lot of variety in it.

I suggest Matthew Bourne his new adventures company have some wonderful shows I HAVE RECENTLY SEEN THE CAR MAN WHICH WAS FANTASTIC HOWEVER FOR YOUR DAUGHTER I'D SUGGEST HIS NUTCRACKER! sorry about the capitals

Personally i started learning ballet at the age of 3 because like most young girls i wanted to be a ballerina when i grew up!! However i do know that a lot of children start to learn the art from the ages of 6 and onwards so i would say your daughter is in a pretty good position. However i would recommend that dont push her to try it if she doesnt like it because sometimes this sort of thing is every girls cup of tea! But if she is adamant that she doesnt want to do it then suggest another type of dance that she may find more appealing such as tap or jazz. Dancing all is all is a great way to keep fit and enjoy yourself and personally it is my favourite activity of the week so i suppose im lucky that i do it so often! Anyways i hope she has a great time and hopefully she will find it enjoyable!

If she's interested then take her now, the ballet is wonderful at any age, I think the magic of the story unfolding in dance, even if she is unaware of the nuances is just fantastic at any age. I believe the younger we are exoposed to this kind of thing the greater the chance we develop a love for it.

Something short - an hour or so. My mum took me to see swan lake when i was 10 and I did just get bored. I'm sure I'd appreciate it more now as an adult - but at the time it just seemed to go on forever!

Remember also that it's classical music, and kids can find this quite tedious after a while.

The ballet it beautiful and could inspire her and if she has never seen anything like it before then she should be fascinated! Swan Lake is like the typical ballet everyone thinks of and she may have heard of this one. If she likes fairy tales then you could take her to see Sleeping Beauty or something. I hope you enjoy it. Also if you wanted to wait until she was older, then take her at Christmas to see The Nutcracker!

I think this depends on your daughter and if:
1) she's interested in going to a ballet and
2) if she can sit for long periods of time in a dark setting.

My 15 year old (a ballet student) and I love the ballet, however my 11 year old (also a ballet student) is just not interested in sitting through one (even though she loves to do ballet herself).

Ask your daughter, 7.5 is fine if she wants to go :)

PS: the others are right; Swan Lake and Nutcracker are two of the best choices for kids!

I myself was impressed by ballet from an early age even before i had been to see a performance of Swan Lake at the age of 9 . I would say 9or 10 is a good age and a performance of The Nutcracker is one to be impressed by .

the sooner the better. to get good at she needs to train her body as it matures. 3/4 are the best ages but if she is still an underdeveloped 7 year old she would do fantastic.

TAKE HER THIS YEAR!!! SO SHE WILL HAVE ALOT OF EXPERIENCE AND SHE WILL BE AN AMAZING DANCER BY THE TIME SHE IS 13

I first went to see the Nutcracker at 6 years old. I fidgeted on the seat and coughed alot, but I did enjoy the show. I think around 7 or 8 is a good time and see something which is short if she has a short attention span or longer if she has a long attention span.