Dance vs. Gymnastics

[Nikki]

Have any of you done either? I'm looking for pros and cons of both. My girls really want to get involved in one of them, but I don't know which one would be better.

I will say that they are VERY limber (my girls are ages 7 and 9). They can lay on the bellies, pull their legs up behind them and touch their heads with their feet. They can do an awesome split and they love tumbling. Because of that, I'm leaning towards gymnastics.

BUT...I know that being limber can also come in handy when doing dance.

Just looking for advice/opinions. :D

 

[Guest]

My son (4) is currently taking gymnastic classes and loves it. I personally feel gymnastics is the way to go. Can't say I have great reasons for it - it is just a 'gut' thing.

 

[dancing queen]

I'd say dance everytime - its awesome. Being flexible is helpful in dancing too. Also dance in my opinion allows more freedom and greater expression. I started in ballet classes when I was four but when I reached senior school I wanted to try something new and change to jazz and tap, completly different. I then studied contemporary dance as an a-level as it is again so different and really suited my personality at the time. I think dance allows a greater flexibility to fit with personality, ability etc. My younger sister hated ballet, but loved tap.

I think either would be a fab choice really as its great exercise etc. and both allow your girls to learn new skills such as musicality, movement memory, balance, co-ordination, so whichever you choose I'm sure it will be fab.

I think both probably have similar pros and cons. I think a pro of dance is that it is much easier to keep up as you get older. You naturally loose your flexibility as you get older (getting into teenage years), in gymnastics this may mean more training sessions to keep improving, but in dance you can either step up lessons or change styles. I found dance very easy to keep going as a hobbie, rather than taking it too seriously. But the people I knew at senior school who had stuck at gymnastics felt you either were really serious about it or you gave up. This may however depend on the school and teachers of your local gymnastics class.

I think the best way to choose if to ask if your girls can have a trial lesson. How much they enjoy it will depend greatly on the teacher and style of teaching. Sorry for such a long post.

 

[Nikki]

Thanks for the replies y'all!

We ended up putting the girls in gymnastics. Today was their 3rd week. It was a smart move for our 9 year old. She's amazing at it. In no time at all, she'll be moving up to the next level class. She's so flexible and can catch on very fast.

My 7 year old is struggling. She has no idea though and she loves it. I'm giving it another month. If she's not progressing much, then I think we'll look for something else to get her involved in. She's never been very coordinated or strong. She's flexible and can bend, but she has no coordination or strength. Maybe gymnastics isn't her thing. I feel so sorry for her because she's always kind of struggled with everything....sports, schoolwork, and now this.

 

[dancing queen]

Have you considered finding something like an art club for your 7 year old to try? or did you want it to be something active?

 

[sparksfly]

:-D being 5'11 dance andgymnastics are hard for me. I love skating for exercise and horses. I had 2 years ballet. I could never do gymnastics in 5th grade so switched to basketball.