Children are naturally active, they love to move stretch, dance and dress up, so it's no surprise that ballet lessons remain a popular choice. Lessons usually begin from the age of three, these classes are still well structured, though the attention span of a three year old can be limited, this is all taken into consideration by keeping the classes shorter and providing plenty of interaction.

Children should be introduced to exercise as early as possible and pre-school ballet has so many wonderful elements to encourage their self expression in movement, it also promotes discipline, coordination, flexibility, stamina and grace. The performing aspect has an immense positive effect on their self esteem and confidence. Pre-school ballet offers a structured introduction into the art of ballet and the emphasis is on learning the basic traditional techniques and beginning to establish an understanding of posture and spatial awareness.

With plenty of local ballet schools to choose from, its best to choose a well established school where you can be confident the skills taught are of a high standard. You can buy leotards, skirts etc, but at this level it is not essential, although getting them used to ballet shoes is a good idea.

Remember you are never to old to start ballet, older children or even adults have successfully joined established classes, speak with your local teacher for advice.