What you should know about ballet schools if you want your daughter to become a dancer
Being accepted into a ballet school is a dream not only for many little girls, but also their moms. However, consistency and discipline are required from novice ballet dancers. Before you make the first step towards fulfilling your dream of a little ballet dancer, it's important to find out at the outset whether the girl even enjoys dancing and whether she has the necessary dispositions.
Teachers from a ballet school will tell you that your little girl should participate in kindergarten dance classes first. The basic prerequisite is physical disposition. The mobility in the hip joints is innate and cannot be learned. But to see your children on the stage of the National Theater is not as impossible as you might think. Just have them enter the National Theater Ballet School, which organizes its luxurious closing performance on that very stage at the end of each year.
When to start with ballet
The ideal age is about 4. However, a child's body is not yet ready for ballet shoes then, so it’s more about general dance lessons. The best age to enter a ballet prep school is 6. That’s the age when ballet really starts. If your children find their niche in ballet, they can apply for a dance conservatory and study it further. However, a career in this field is very uncertain and short. Ballet dancers go to “ballet retirement” at around 30 years of age.
Hard work and renunciation
Muscles have to be stretched, legs formed. The hard work requires not only pain, but also discipline, concentration and independence. These are some of the skills girls learn at ballet school. But ballet prep is not a hobby. For the youngest children, 1 to 2 lessons per week are ideal, then 2-3 lessons for children from 6 to 8 years of age, and older children can attend up to 4-5 lessons per week, each 60-90 minutes long.
Get ready for initial investments in ballet
A leotard is an essential part of ballet equipment. You will need two basic ones and one of your own choice. The basic on costs around 500 CZK, a luxurious decorated one around 1,000 CZK.
Ballet shoes / point shoes can be obtained in various designs. Each ballerina should have at least two pairs; they cost about 1500 CZK. Various insert shoe pads can be bought for around 500 CZK.
Skirts are made of a special lightweight fabric and each ballerina should have at least two. Prices range around 1,000 CZK. A more luxurious tulle skirt for a performance with an inner hoop costs from 1,500 CZK above.
Another piece of clothing a dancer might need is a sweaters or a top to keep the cold at bay. Sweaters cost about 500 CZK, sweatshirts about 1,000 CZK. Leg warmers cost around 300 CZK. Each ballerina should also have ballet tights made of 100% polyamide, a nylon/lycra blend or microfiber. Prices range from CZK 300. Three-quarter leggings (approx. 500 CZK) or sweatpants (600 CZK) will also come in handy.
The price of education
That depends on the length of the lessons and the selected attendance frequency.
Group lessons from CZK 150 / 1 h
Individual lessons from CZK 500 / 1 hour
Ballet schools in Prague and Brno
TERPSICHORÉ Ballet School is open to all children aged 4 and over.
Olga Kyndlová Ballet School at the Prague State Opera is open to all children aged 4 and over.
Pirueta Ballet School is open to all children aged 4 and over.
The Prague Dance Conservatory is open to children aged 13 and over.
The Brno Dance Conservatory is open to children aged 13 and over.
Read our inspiring interviews with ballet dancers Pavlína Kopecká and Monika Hejduková and find out what it is like to be a ballet dancer!
