Tips on Teaching Baby Ballet

Finally, my hyper active baby ballerinas managed to behave and sit in a circle

When I first suggested to the school to start a baby ballet class (i.e. toddler from 2 ½ - 4 years old) as Salaree will need to attend one, I was like, “OMG!! What did I just get myself into?”. I have been teaching ballet for the past 20 years on a part-time basis and have never, and swore never to teach baby ballet. I have no choice now; especially as I need to teach Salaree.

So prior to starting to teach the class, I did some research by watching baby ballet on YouTube, reading lots of articles and the best thing of all, observing Salaree and trying to teach her some steps to see how she responded.

So after all my research, here are some tips to teach an effective baby ballet class:-

Music

Music plays a very important role in baby ballet class. You will have to get familiar tunes such as nursery rhymes and songs from Disney, where you can effectively see the little ones singing, giggling and being extremely happy, especially playing their favourite songs.

For example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star will always be one of the little ones’ all-time favourites, along with Let it Go as the current trending cartoon song for toddlers.

Props

Props such as hoops, ribbons, fairy wings and wands, teddy bears and flower petals make a huge difference in the child’s development. Not only do they get to play with the props but they are able to develop their motor-skills and co-ordination at the same time.

Attention

Now, toddlers get bored after a while playing with props. What is the next step? You can either change the props when you see the little ones getting bored or yawning or start relating your steps / exercises by telling them stories. For example, you want the little ones to walk around the room. If you ask them to walk around the room, they will start playing catch with the other girls. So in order to avoid that, tell them stories like we go walking in the jungle and we saw a “Lion”, “Tiger”, “Elephant” and so on. And you will see them start walking the way you want them to.  

Praise

The little ones love to be praised all the time. Of course, if they were able to point their toes, straighten their knees, create a diamond shape (i.e. plié), give them praise from time to time using simple words as “good job”, “very nice”, “well done”. This will certainly encourage them to continue to do better.  

Rewards after class

The little ones will definitely be tired after an hour class and looking forward of going home. Give them something to bring home like candies (sometimes better to check with parents as some parents do not allow their children to have candies), stickers or rubber stamps on their hands.

Parents’ intervention inside and outside of the class

Sometimes, parents can be a distraction for the little ones. Strict rules must be in place depending on each toddler.

Some can be seen as very clingy to the mother and if there's a peeping hole at the studio door, toddlers will tend to peep out and start waving at their parents who are waiting outside.

It would be advisable to talk to the parents and inform them that strictly only 1 parent is allowed to enter the studio while the class is ongoing and even then only for the 1^st 2-3 lessons, for the child to get used to the teacher and other students. 

After the 2-3 lessons, talk to the parents and ask for their permission to allow the toddler to stay in the class alone, even if they cry. At this time, parents should go away from the studio and not come close, even if they hear their child cry. The parents must be willing to co-operate with the teacher, otherwise it will not work.

So to all teachers, good luck in teaching baby ballet.