DD is 12 and she will be doing a workshop + competition. The styles taught at the workshop are what you would see on "So You Think You Can Dance". She would not be doing any pointe work, so that is not the issue. She has done many workshops with older kids and has always held her own. Even at 8 years old, she nearly won a scholarship competing against 16 years olds. I don't think that she is the best dancer (although she is very good)- it is just that she learns waaaaay faster than the other kids her age.
For those who are familiar with this, her solos always place in the top 5 out 100 - 200 entries. She can do 4 perfect pirouettes and can now do 5-6 about 50% of the time. She can do about 16 fouette turns without stopping and the judges give her high marks for her technique.
HOWEVER... dance is also about style and they teach style at the workshops. She has no problems keeping up with 16-18 year olds with the choreography. Dance Teacher says she should stay with her age group (which is mainly composed of dancers 1-3 years younger due to small size of the studio). I am mad that I have to waste my whole weekend because she learns the choreography after two attempts and then must spend the next 2 hours of class waiting for others to learn it. I think my dd just feels insulted because teacher is ignoring her ability.
I think one issue is that there are a couple of parents who would want their child advanced when their child is clearly not ready for it and also some parents are resentful of your child being afforded the opportunity to excel at a faster rate- just like some people are against offering accelerated classes for gifted children. The motto here is give everyone the same thing to be fair. I do not want to spend $8,000/ year unless she is placed where she should be.
