3.5 and ballet spectacle?

[BellaClaudia]

we are thinking about taking our 3.5 to a sleeping beauty ballet.
a serious one..

does it make any sense?

thoughts?

[GuildJenn]

It depends on the child, but we've been taking my son, also 3.5 to children's symphony concerts that are 45 minutes long, and that's just about his maximum right now. He's also been to children's theatre.

He also has a hard time not talking (but since it's a kid's concert, it's okay). He asks a lot of questions. Admittedly, we haven't taken him to a full length film in the theatre or anything.

My view's been that although we really want him to enjoy the good stuff in life, if we're not sure, we tend not to go. Because I don't want his first memories of the ballet or whatever to be "I was shushed and told to sit still and then I got in trouble."

If you're prepared to leave if it's not working out I think it would be okay, but if it's an expensive treat that you won't want to give up on, I'm not sure it would end up being a pleasant experience. If I were sitting next to you I would definitely expect that you would leave if your child were being disruptive - and by that sadly I mean talking, at an event like that.

[Bluegoat]

My daughter went to see the Nutcracker at that age and loved it. Just be prepared to leave if you have to would be my thought. I bet there will be lots of kids there.

[Caneel]

We take our son to things like this (no ballet yet) and excited questions are our biggest challenge. Like the other poster said, have a plan in place if he/she gets too loud.

We had one event where DS just couldn't keep his questions at an acceptable level so I took him out and we watched thru a window. During intermission, DH switched with me.

Not ideal but it is important to us that DS experiences culture.

Other times, he was so interested in what was going on, he didn't utter a word.

[Delicateflower]

Mine went at that age and loved it. Make sure you sit near the end of the row so you can leave for a while if she gets bored. But you don't have to leave-leave, you can go out, run around and come back in.

[betsyj]

My tickets to one ballet were $50 each and I would be bummed to have to sit next to a little kid. I would be waiting for something to happen and it would really curtail my enjoyment.

There are places where bringing small children is not appropriate and this is one such example.

I would try children's events first for practice and so you will be able to explain and model good behavior and wait till your child is older for clearly adult performances where any talking will be severely frowned on.

[1xmom]

Originally Posted by betsyj

My tickets to one ballet were $50 each and I would be bummed to have to sit next to a little kid. I would be waiting for something to happen and it would really curtail my enjoyment.

There are places where bringing small children is not appropriate and this is one such example.

I would try children's events first for practice and so you will be able to explain and model good behavior and wait till your child is older for clearly adult performances where any talking will be severely frowned on.

Are you serious? It's like you're assuming the child is going to act up, just because......
I think it totally depends on the child. And like others have said, be sure you try to get an aisle seat if you need to step out for a minute.

[betsyj]

I am totally serious-that is too young for an adult ballet. Also, do you have any idea that it is often the longest ballet out there? Some are more then three hours long. I am sorry in that I do not know a single 3.5 yr old who would sit quietly without bothering others for that long.

You know children don't belong in every situation. There are places where they are not appropriate and in my mind an adult ballet is one of them.

[Freefromitall]

I would really consider taking your dc to a children's performance first. Especially at that age.
That's a really long time for a child, (any child, not just an average child, but even the most well-behaved child ever) to sit quietly at 3.5yrs.

[stik]

Ballet was hard for my dd when she was that age because there are no words, and she wanted to check in a lot to make sure she knew what was going on. Also, many companies do not allow people to enter the theater during the performance - you can leave, but then you can't come back until intermission (or at all, if intermission is over). Sleeping Beauty is one of the longest ballets. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

A lot of ballet companies do shortened children's performances for school and home school groups. If you check with the ballet company, they can let you know if they do that and how you can arrange to attend.

I'm all for introducing children to culture, but it has to be done in a developmentally appropriate way. Sitting silently through a 3+ hour performance, even with an intermission, is not an age-appropriate expectation for a 3.5 yo.

[zoebird]

i would go to a mantinee for certain, and perhaps on a week-day as well; you're more likely to have children of many ages in the audience then, and so it's less of an issue.

let me tell you, i took my friend's daughter to a panto at that age. she loved it. of course, panto is *very* audience participitory with stuff being thrown at you (confetti, etc), as well as things moving through the audience (singers, dancers, usually with some sort of ribboned-fancy garland), and sometimes you're given bells and told when to ring them.

if you can find panto in your area, GO. kids love it. adults too!

[zinemama]

No way would I take a 3.5yo to a full-lenth ballet.

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by Bluegoat

My daughter went to see the Nutcracker at that age and loved it. Just be prepared to leave if you have to would be my thought. I bet there will be lots of kids there.

I think some depends on where you are and what the expectations are. In Toronto for example the National Ballet's Nutcracker is designed to be an "easy in" to ballet and a real crowd pleaser even for kids. Not to get on any kind of high horse about it, but a serious ballet enthusiast is probably going to skip it for that reason.

Whereas even though Sleeping Beauty is fairly accessible and tends to draw larger crowds than a lot of things, if I were attending it I would expect a serious audience. Not all adult, but kids old enough to be able to be quiet. I love kids and I'm a big fan of including them, but if I had paid $75+ to and a child was talking through the Aurora variations, I'd be upset. Only the OP knows if her daughter's ready.

As other people have said, Sleeping Beauty is three hours long; Nutcracker is two hours long.

If, on the other hand, it were a shorter (and less expensive) production in a less formal setting, I'd be more relaxed from the get-go.

I came back to the thread to say that I was thinking about this more and although I still think it totally depends on the child and situation, what I don't think I made clear in my post is that you don't have to rush these experiences. There is time to introduce full-length, full-scale ballet at 5, 6, 7, 9. It may not be worth stressing out at 3.5.

There's almost always another season, unless it's truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a retiring dancer or something but at 3.5 I'm not sure those nuances are apparent. I'm totally for culture, but there are shorter culture things around than a full-length Sleeping Beauty.

Just additional thoughts.

[ChetMC]

I agree that it depends on the kid. We started taking our older DD to stage productions like that when she was 2. She saw the nutcracker at 2.5, and aside from the fact that she thought the bit with the rat ring was really scary, she loved it. I don't think she blinked at all during the first half of the show. She has also been to several three hour shows. The first thing we took her too was actually three hours. She was enthralled by this kind of stuff though.

Our older DD is nearly 3.5, and she could barely handle a 30 minute IMAX movie at the science centre.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

We took ds to the "fringe festivel" at 12 months or so, and he was already a CRAZY toddler, never still, never quite. We took him to a dance piece that one of our housemates was in.

He was still and quiet for 45!!! I have never seen him that still or quiet before or after that!

But 3 hours, man I couldn't sit still and quiet for three hours!

[beanma]

My kids love ballet and my dd1 (now 8) has been taking dance class for 5 years. My dd2 has grown up around that and has been taking dance since she was 2.75 also. I'm just now starting to think about taking them to the fancy ballet. Part of it is because I'm cheap and don't want to spend the $$, but part of it has been because I've been intimidated by it being the professional company.

We have seen many different youth ballet productions and they're truly wonderful. One of their dance teachers has been very involved in the American Dance Festival and she really knows how to put on a production. We also have gone to the kids' matinees at the ADF. My kids are 8 and 5 and I think this might be the year I take them to the big ballet (if we have the $$). I think my 8 yr old in particular would be wowed by it and really appreciate it. I think she would have been wowed at 3.5 and she truly loved dance then, but I don't think she would have appreciated it. By working up to it I think they both will appreciate it more, or maybe I'm just cheap. Not sure.

[Ruthie's momma]

Originally Posted by betsyj

I am totally serious-that is too young for an adult ballet. Also, do you have any idea that it is often the longest ballet out there? Some are more then three hours long. I am sorry in that I do not know a single 3.5 yr old who would sit quietly without bothering others for that long.

You know children don't belong in every situation. There are places where they are not appropriate and in my mind an adult ballet is one of them.

:

DH and I have just started leaving DD for an afternoon or evening, to attend such events. At Christmas, we attended the Nutcracker. After spending over $200 on tickets, we would have been very, very annoyed had the average toddler sat down next to us.

Some events, especially formal ones, are not child appropriate. Not only do most attendees want such events to be free of children but many children would not find these events very enjoyable.

DD is regularly exposed to classical and jazz music and attends art and science museums. Plus, we do the "usual" enriching activities like visiting the zoo, children's museum, and festivals. We are always reading, too. But, she is able to have control over her participation in these things. Plus, we are able to take breaks from and/or leave the aforementioned activities. When she is old enough to express a true interest in formal ballets (or similar events), and to sit still long enough to enjoy them , then she will be invited along! My siblings and I were 7 or 8 before we accompanied or parents to such events.

[TEAK's Mom]

Of course it depends on the child and you should be willing to leave if things get noisy or distracting. That said, both of my dds have sat through (and loved) full-length ballets starting at age three. Before seeing a production, we always talk about the story, listen to the music, and generally get excited about it.

betsyj, I am kind of offended that someone would be angry to be seated next to my children. They sit still and frankly, are more quiet than most adults. They are also very into ballet and probably know more about it than half of the adults in the audience. I can't tell you how many performances I have seen that were punctuated by prolific coughing in the audience that did not come from kids. And, if there were ever to be an issue, we would be out the door as fast as our legs would go.

Something else to think about: My youngest is growing to be quite a good dancer for her age. This winter, she danced with professionals from a major company in the Nutcracker. The professional dancers treated her with kindness and as a colleague. She is four years old. It seems incongruous that you would pay to watch her dance, but be irritated to sit next to the same child.

[MsHiss]

YES! I've taken several young children and they love it! CHeck out the floor plan, make sure you can get out if you need to.

Good luck!

[tayndrewsmama]

We took dd a few weeks ago. It was a big to-do. The tickets were around $60, half the place was extremely wealthy and not so tolerant of children. That said, there were many little girls there. However, they were not disruptive or under the age of about 5 I'd say. It was two and a half hours long.

I wouldn't bring a three year old to it. That's JMO and my children have always been quite well behaved at events. That's just a very long time to quietly sit in a seat.

Side note, for anyone who feels they have paid through the nose for tickets to an event and finds themselves with a sick child on their hands. DO NOT ATTEND. Suck it up and don't go. A girl puked during the show and was obviously very sick before she even came in. Needless to say, people were nothing short of livid about that. Rightfully so. Some people have no respect for others.

I think that some of the ideas people have about children in certain situations come from experiences. It shouldn't be taken personally. For example, we steer clear of any child who doesn't look well.