Why Ballet Moms Need a Blog

Blogs about ballet are numerous. Written mostly by dance teachers, dance professionals and dance students they offer an excellent glimpse into the world of ballet but like most blogs they are written from the point of view of said dance professionals and students.

What about the parents?

I know what you are thinking - why should parents be involved? Aren't they just pushy people who think their daughters are the next Margot Fonteyns and their sons the next Baryshnikovs?

Well, the simple answer, is that parents are already involved. They pay tuition, they support studio fundraisers, they drive their children to class and they buy pointe shoes, pay for summer intensives and tickets to watch professional productions. They are already involved and they deserve to know if they are getting their money's and time's worth.

That's the purpose of this blog. To help parents navigate the mysterious and complicated world of ballet training. It is a place where I will share some of my experiences and knowledge about ballet training, from a parent's point of view. I am not a ballet professional. I've never even taken a lesson but my daughter has wanted to be a professional dancer since she was little and has never changed that focus.

In order to help her, I have had to learn - sometimes the hard way- as much as I could about locating good dance schools, how pointe shoes are fitted, and what it takes to survive and thrive in a world that, to me, seems, completely illogical and sometimes detrimental to a child's health and self esteem.

This blog is not a place for me to brag about my child's accomplishments or a place to "dis" schools and programs. I will blog about things I know and things I wonder about. Most of the blog will be from the perspective of a parent of a girl. I don't have a boy that dances so I can't explore the issues surrounding that, although I can share things I have heard.

Overall, I will try to be informative and accurate but I will probably make mistakes or pass on information that might not be true anymore. I'm sure my readers will make sure to share their own wealth of information.