Son Doing Dance Class??

At his age who is going to make fun of him? Later, he might have to decide if he likes it enough that it's worth the little pricks in school that will inevitably make fun of him. But, it will serve him well if he wants to be in theater later on. The guys I knew in middle and high school who got the leads were good dancers (we did a lot of musicals). And, for the record, not one I can think of who was a lead in a musical was gay. None of my gay friends did theater! And, the only guy I can think of that came out after highschool was the quarterback :P
Just remember, most famous actors started when they were young and most of them went through musical theater in school to get where they are now!

My daughter had several boys in her 7-8 year old dance class last year. The boys also played football, baseball, soccer . . . all the boys had either an older or younger sister in dance but not in the same class.

Let him take classes.

I once heard a college dance professor say that he met his wife in a dance class, he traveled around the world performing with beautiful women before he settled down and decided to teach, and he loved what he did whether it was performing or teaching. Meanwhile, the football players were stuck in locker rooms with sweaty guys. :) Let the little guy go for it, and more power to him!

My son, now 18, took dance class with his sister when he was small. The only comment I got (in front of him) was from a male at the performance who asked me the oh so intelligent "why do you want to make him a Q***r?" My response was that won't happen and at least it won't make him ignorant. My son loved the classes and he liked his costumes - he was the only boy. There will always be ignorant, narrow minded, bigoted people but dance is a wonderful thing and a great foundation for sports and grace.....hope he loves it!!

I'm a dance teacher. We LOVE the boys! We NEED the boys.
If your husband is worried about it, tell him when he gets older, (if he still does it), he gets to pick up half naked girls all the time. (Though, having a boy now, I don't like to think of the day that he will think it is cool to be in a room full of girls. lol!) ;)

Also, many pro football players are required to take ballet classes for the strength and coordination. Are they not cool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg90L_o9TCo

The footwork they teach in dance for both tap and ballet will help him tremendously in soccer. Think of it as 'cross training' :) My DS loved dance class too and our local rec center is now offering "superheroes" dance for little boys, so you're NOT the only ones!!

i commend you for that, i bet you patrick swayzes mother was supportive too, he got made fun of, but struck it rich and famous doing something he loved, and lived a great life.

There will always be buzz kills, but its important to follow your happiness

My daughter does ballet and there is an older boy in 1 of the other classes (he's the only 1 with about 12 other girls) and he is really good. My son has also been asking if he can do dance aswell , but as yet I have not seen a class that will fit in with his school times , if he really wants to do then let him , he's only 3 and kids that young don't tease each other yet , it could be a flash in the pan thing anyway and after a few weeks may wear off , if not then cross that bridge when you come to it.

Check out "The League of Extraordinary Dancers". YouTube has quite a few clips of whole routines.

I don't think anyone is making fun of those boys.

While some are predominantly rave, or hiphop, or break, all of their routines incorporate multiple styles. And for anyone familiar with Ballet, you can spot the ballet training many have had. The oscar preformance really highlights that ballet background.

Same token, my son is in Gymnastics, Snowboarding, Akido, and Breakdance. They all move SOOOOO fluidly between each other.

I hate to break the news to you but he will get made fun of. All kids get made fun of. If it is not dance class it will be because he is smart, dumb,tall, short, skinny, fat whatever. If he enjoys it let him go. What he enjoys at 3 may be totally different than what he enjoys in 6 months. Dancing will also help him with balance and coordination which is great for development and if he decides to be a football player or a tennis player or a golfer or any other type of athlete the dance background will help. Did I mention that all of our famous dancers and coreographers started as dancers. He is 3 lighten up.

I had my son in a Plano Parks Dance and Creative Movement class. He loved it. But he was the only boy. All the little girls had cute dance outfits and he was was running around in shorts and tshirt. But when I asked the teacher she said not to change anything, they need more boys in dance. I am trying to decided between dance and gymastics.

Have you seen So You think you can Dance? 4 out of the last 5 a guys that all the girls are screaming for!

Let him do it! I took ballet from 3yrs to 16yrs old and there were always boys in dance - later on, we needed them. Nowadays, he has more options that might be "cooler" if he feels uncomfortable when he's older. He's 3, who's going to make fun of him at 3? I know you mean later, but I would let him do what he loves and cross that bridge when you get to it.

Anyone who makes fun of a 3 year old has some serious problems, and hopefully no other kids his age have parents who would put them up to something so silly! Other 3 year olds won't make fun of people for doing things on their own unless someone plants it in their heads. Who knows -he may love it his whole life, or it may just be something he wants to do for a few years. My sons aren't currently in dance, but we have several friends whose sons (ages 3 and 4) are. They posted pictures of their recital, and it was so cute! If one of my boys -ages 4 and 22 months wanted to do it -I would certainly sign them up. Most small children just love to dance and move to music!

A 3 year old won't get made fun of. Just send him He'll have a great time. I'm going to send my 5 year old boy to gymnastics this year. He will love it. His 3 year old brother is more into sports. So be it.

I agree with DanaW... Watch an episode of So You Think You Can Dance... Not for any specific reason, except for the fact that it's an amazing show! :)

I say, let him do it. When my son gets here (And is old enough) I'm going to encourage to dance... Unless he completely hates the idea and then even though I'll be poutting I won't make him do it. Lol.

I talked to my husband about adding the combo class for our 3 year old but since we are already doing 4 other classes he said to wait. Our 6 yr old is in 3 classes, tumbling, gymnastics and combo 2 classes, the 3 yr old is in gymnastics already too. The girls all wear matching leo's, tights, and shoes, the boys wear a "team" tee shirt with the studio logo on it and a pair of black shorts that are tighter than regular shorts, this way the teacher can observe their little leg muscles and other stuff better. Their tap, and when older ballet shoes, are black instead of the camel colored.This is much more masculine.

Their aren't many boys that start dance that young but I don't see anything wrong with it.

My son is seven ans has been dancing since he was 3! The first few years he was the only boy in the class. Once he hit age five, we found an all boys dance class at our park district. Many of the studios also have all boys class. When they are little they have to start with Ballet and tap, just to form a foundation of dancing. When they boys are older, most of them do jazz instead of ballet. My son is also thinking of taking a hip hop class. Totally let him dance! The dance studios love the boys!!!

My 5 yr old is starting his second year of dance this year.
He really loves it. There was another boy in his class last year. They had lots of fun.

Whether you are in Oregon or not, look at the Oregon Ballet Academy's website. My daughter has attended there since she was three--the director and her instructor is a man named John Grensback, who danced with the NYC Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, was principal dancer for the Houston Ballet, and started his own ballet company in Guam with his wife--also a ballet dancer. They moved to Eugene and started a school, because they wanted to raise their kids here.
John is amazing--he started dance at age 14, and in an effort to get more boys dancing, he offers a free boys only class on Wednesdays. These guys not only learn dance, they learn poise, self-confidence, gain all kinds of strength and maturity, and some of them go on to the regular classes, doing lifts with the girls, throwing one another across the room in amazing physical dance moves, and generally becoming the next generation of male dancers.
There is nothing wrong with boys who do dance--and by the way, whether he goes on professionally or not, there is EVERYTHING right with a boy who knows how to move to music when it comes time to date.
If he loves it, let him go for it!

my sister was a competitive dancer and said that it is fantastic for learning corrdination and that it will help any kid. If you want to encourage something else for some reason tae kwo do will teach the same things. My hubby wouldn't let a boy, if we ever had one, do dance. He wouldn't see a problem with tae kwo do. I think you should let him try dance. He may love it. You can ask the school if they will let him do 3 or 4 classes for free. They like to have little boys because it makes the show sooo cute.

My son was totally set for ballet and tap, but I could never find a class that works around my schedule.

I would still love him to do it. It teaches discipline and encourages fitness and music appreciation. My son isn't a huge fan of wild get togethers, so anything like tumbling might be too busy for him at this point.

I say go for it! I can't imagine at age 3 he would get made fun of!

Let him do dance! He's not going to be made fun of at 3.

You have to try to teach him to do what he loves regardless of what his peers think, i.e. not conform to peer pressure.

If he loves it, let him do it (my opinion) despite possible teasing down the road.

Watch 1 episode of So You Think You Can Dance, and you'll see exactly how incredible of athletes they are.

I did gymnastics, and a lot of guys in the sport are made fun of as well despite being amazingly toned and buff. Especially in a place like TX where football is everything, I can see how you'd be concerned.

If it were my child (who happens to be wearing red tights tonight so he can look like SuperMan - he's 4), I'd support him as long as he was happy, committed and putting all his heart into it.

My son takes a hip hop dance class in Dallas. He has done so for the last 2 years, since he was 3. He loves it so much he has opted to do it again for the 3rd year in a row. He's played sports and loves playing. He is very sports-minded, but as long as he is interested in other things, I will certainly encourage it because one day I suspect it will be all about sports. My in-laws are not too encouraging about dance and we have a lot of friends who don't really get it. Who cares. As long as they don't say negative things to my son, I'm ok, but once a negative comment is made by someone who knows better (an adult), I'll be all over damage control. If a child chooses to say something, then it will be a perfect learning opportunity for my son that everyone has different interests and ideas of fun and he needs to stick with the things he feels passionate about. That is part of life, so while he is learning some moves, hopefully he'll learn some lessons at the same time. I would encourage all moms of boys who want to dance to ask your local studios about developing a hip hop class. If they get enough interest, perhaps they will start up a class. Ours did. hth

My teenaged son danced in productions with his younger sister because they needed boys. As he said, "Mom, it's a great place to meet girls! And most of them are HOT!"
Let him dance.
It's good for flexibility, posture, and more... why not?!
LBC

Hey -
My son took dance when he was 3 and he loved it. I'm an engineer and work 100% with men and I'm telling you, 100% of them (the male engineers) made fun of ME for putting my son in dance class. But, my son loved it. However, he was the only boy and by the end of the class, he said he didn't want to take it anymore. I asked him if it was because he was the only boy and he said yes. I asked him if I found a class with all boys would he keep taking it and he said yes. There are classes out there with all boys, but none of them really fit into our schedule, so he is no longer taking.

In my opinion, he will tell you when he doesn't want to do it anymore.

Good luck!
L.