My 8 year old has a talent for dancing, singing and theatre. What are the best options for her?

My 8 year old has a talent. She currently goes to a local dancing school, where she does ballet, modern, jazz, as well as competition and showclasses. She is the youngest in the classes, and has a real natural talent. She only started most of these classes a year ago, but is one of the best in the classes already.

I don't want to be one of those 'pushy parents', or even sound like one. My daughter dances all the time at home when she isn't in classes, and has told me she wants to be famous, and be a dancer on stage when she grows up. She is quite the perfectionist, and hates to make any mistakes when dancing, so she works really hard to get it right. I can see real ambition in her already.

I want to make sure that she gets the best possible opportunities to develop her talent. The dance school she is at is good, but not that 'serious'. What should I be looking for, and at what age should she be doing it?

We live in the UK, by the way. Wirral area. Thanks

My 8 year old has a talent for dancing, singing and theatre. What are the best options for her?ms stress

Yes she sounds like she has a real passion for dance which is very good especially at that age!!

Try to get her into a stage school.....i went to stagecoach theatre arts stage school every saturday and it was so professional!! Is wirral near liverpool or chester? because if so there are stagecoach branches in both areas!

http://www.stagecoach.co.uk/stagecoach_l... Liverpool stagecoach

http://www.stagecoach.co.uk/stagecoach_l... Chester stagecoach

http://www.stagecoach.co.uk/stagecoach/h... Pick your nearest location stagecoach

Seriously it helps you so much...it builds confidence and even gives you the opportunity to perform in different locations.....just before i joined people had performed a dance in The Royal Albert Hall and individuals participate in many shows and casting directors come to sessions!! For example lots of people have worked in eastenders and casulty!

It consists of 3 hours 1 hour singing, 1 hour dancing and 1 hour drama/acting! With professional coaches (my dance teacher performed in the orginal Cats and Starlight express..just to give you an idea of how high up the teachers are) However it is quite expensive but fully worth it!! There are also many other stage schools around such as limelight, centre stage, Chaplins, theatre training however stagecoach is the most well known and professional.

Also you should start getting The stage delieved to your house...it contains lots of castings and information about theatre! Also within the package of stagecoach you receive the magazine Young Peformer which is good!!

Also if your daughter is interested in the whole stage not just dancing how about getting her an agent?? Agents would give her work and make her dream more achievable!!! There is a stagecoach agency aswel if she did start!

Another idea is researching schools....for example once she reaches 15 she would be able to attend somewhere like Hurtwood House school.....which specialises in theatre this would again give her a stepping stone to success. Also try inrolling her in a youth theatre at your local theatre....i am currently rehearsing ready to perform in Les Miserables with my youth theatre group! Additionally you could enroll her in a summer school for musical theatre......try researching it on the internet or she could attend Pineapple dance studies during the summer for intensive dance training...its whether she is old enough and she would be able to cope under the pressure and away from home!!! Therefore try and find the perfect school for her to better herself....this may require you moving!!

Good luck with your daughter achiveing her dream it sounds like she is a treasure and you do not sound like a pushy parent as they do not always put their children first and realise what they want!!! However i wish my mum put forward the way to my dream as i found i had to acheive it myself and i didnt get any help!!! Just make sure you listen to what she wants for example if she decides its no longer what she wants to do....however it sounds like she is perfect for it!!!

Good luck!!

Charlotte x x x x x

My 8 year old has a talent for dancing, singing and theatre. What are the best options for her?home theater system opera theater

THE STAGE! If she possesses a talent for all of these things, the stage could be a great opportunity for her. All three are required on stage. (Sometimes at the same time!)

Show Choir is also a great start.

She's already eight years old and you should be looking for education which leans towards this direction and takes it very seriously. However, I have to say that some places take it too seriously and all the fun drains away from the experience overall. Start looking around for schools of dance/theater/music now. Many private schools of this kind offer tour, brochures, and other general information.

If she has the talent, provide her with the tools to better allow her to express it. She'll love you even more for it.
My daughter also showed those same signs of having a talent for dance at a very early age. She started "pre-ballet" when she was 3, but your daughter is the perfect age to start studying ballet at a serious dance school. As an American, I can't help you find a school in the UK, but the folks on the "Ballet Talk for Dancers" message board are from all over the world and are very well connected, so you could probably find a recommendation on that web site:

http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.ph...

I'm from the school-of-thought that feels that jazz shouldn't be introduced until a child is at least 10 years old. And, frankly, ballet is so complex that it really should be taught alone for at least a year before introducing other styles. Modern, especially, is about breaking the rules you learn in ballet, so it's a lot harder to get the ballet rules straight if you're also learning about breaking them at the same time. Most of the programs I've encountered in the U.S. introduce modern when kids are about 12 years old. Tap, on the other hand, can be started as early as 5. But, basically, ballet is the foundation of all western styles of dance, so that is the style which should get priority.

I commend you for not wanting to be a pushy parent. My daughter is about to finish university as a dance major and I can tell you that it isn't easy being the parent of a dancer. That perfectionism and ambition that you see in them, which then must deal with all the negative aspects of a dancer's life at a very young age - physical pain, rejection, competitive peers, leaving home earlier for advanced training, etc - is often enough to make a parent feel like a sadist for even supporting their child in such a grueling vocation because they endure it all with a mixture of tears and determination. It's always a delicate balance to seek out the best training for your child while always making sure that the ambition consistently resides in them and not in you. If you can honestly say and even tell your child that you'd be just as proud of her if she wanted to be a teacher or doctor or accountant, then you know that you're not being a pushy parent, even though society will continue to attack you for being one, just for signing your child up for dance lessons.

Best of luck to you and your talented daughter.
Move to New York and have her train at Steps On Broadway. They do voice, dance and theatre and if she's good she has a better chance of actually getting on Broadway if she knows the people and teachers.