Three or four years old may seem early to start a child in ballet, but there are many new skills a child will learn in these classes.

5 Things Children Learn in Toddler Ballet Classes

There are many reasons parents enroll their toddlers in toddler ballet classes. Sometimes they are hoping these classes will help to engage their child and help them wear off energy. Other times, they’re focused on helping the child to develop balance and physical strength. Some parents may choose ballet to help their child engage in social opportunities, and others may be excited for the chance for their child to perform and develop confidence. Whatever the reason, there are several things your child will learn in toddler ballet classes.

1. Early Ballet Foundations

While your child won’t come out of toddler ballet classes with advanced technical classical ballet skills, they will have built foundations for these skills later. They will understand introductory concepts such as early posture skills and basic vocabulary. They will also learn ballet positions, how to stretch and warm up their bodies, and how to use a ballet barre.

2. Interacting with Instructors

For many toddlers, a toddler ballet class is one of their first experiences interacting with someone in a leadership role who is not their parent or caregiver. This is an important time of their lives! They will be simultaneously learning how to take instruction from someone other than an adult and doing so while surrounded by other children and taking part in fun physical activities.

3. Balance, Strength & Flexibility

Although your child will not be learning advanced ballet skills, they will be getting weekly exercise that will help them build strength and flexibility. Toddlers are still developing, learning to control their ever-growing bodies. Ballet helps them to practice balance, strength, and flexibility to better handle the future growth they will experience.

4. Social Skills

An early ballet class is also a great place for your child to practice early social skills. It may be their first experience in a group learning setting without a parent—and may be their first time working together with a group of children their age to complete common goals. Toddlers will learn how to pay attention to the teacher even if another child may be distracted. They will learn how to interact with other children on the stage, handle minor conflicts such as taking turns or getting their teacher’s attention, and more.

5. Confidence

Since toddler ballet classes introduce students to new skills, it’s also a great way to build confidence. Children love to learn new things—and love to be praised by parents and other adults. Your child will enjoy practicing the skills they learned each week and hearing positive feedback from their teacher as their skills progress. They’ll also have fun showing off their new dance moves to you! Ballet gives your child an opportunity to build confidence in trying new things in the presence of other children or adults (which is important for preschool and other challenges they will face soon) and may even have the opportunity to test their newfound confidence in short on-stage or in-studio performances.

Explore Classes

Central Utah Ballet offers pre-ballet preschool and toddler ballet classes for children 3-5. Learn more about these classes by clicking the button below!