Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 5/30/2009

Question
Hi,
I have a 7 year old that has been dancing for a year. She is doing Primary RAD syllabus, just about to go to grade 1. She is having trouble remembering her steps (I think she is concentrating too much on looking good) and has trouble sometimes doing them in time to the music. Any tips? She loves it though.

Answer
My only long-distance advice for this would be to drill her as much as she will tolerate, putting her through the combinations. (just like you would to help her remember multiplication tables or something like that). Not that she would be doing them full out, but just marking through the combinations until some mental ease was reached.

Your daughter may have less of a musical ear for dancing. Or maybe as you say she's just concentrating on how she looks. If she loves ballet, the grading and pass/fail system doesn't really matter and it is unfortunate in that way that children who love to dance have to learn in an ejudicational system.

I'm afraid I don't have another solution to offer you except to encourage her to dance because she loves it.

She's lucky to have a mom who is engaged with her development. Keep cheer leading for her, she's very young and things may change with ballet, or not.

Sorry I didn't have more on this for you.

All the best, Dianne