Re: Dance classes for 7-year-old BOY (Feb 2005)
Berkeley Ballet used to have some boys only classes and they used to offer very generous scholarships to boys too. retired dancer

My fiveyearold daughter just started preballet classes at Berkeley City Ballet on Dwight and loves it. This would be a good class for a child who may want to continue with ballet classes (or any other kind of dance). It's a serious studio that offers good training for older students, as well as little ones. The atmosphere in the preballet class is cheery and unintimidating. The students move across the floor, earn to line up and stand at the barre, play imaginative movement games. Even the preballet students must wear the studio uniform: black leotard with pink tights and shoes. One possible word of caution: My daughter likes her current teacher, who will be there at least through the semester, but there has been some recent turnover with the preballet instructors. We also checked out Oakland Ballet, where the preballet class has a big focus on actual dance movement, though in a relaxed, inclusive way (the kids' outfits there ranged from leopardprint unitards to tutus with sparkles). Because this was my daughter's first exposure to the basic ballet steps, she ended up feeling as if she was in a bit over her head, but the teacher/director seems great with young children. (Unlike BCB, this class had boys as well as girls.)

I see that no one has yet mentioned Berkeley City Ballet on Dwight. They have Pre-ballet dance classes (though I'm not sure how young they accept). If you call (841-8913), they'll send you a flyer with all their classes listed, the ages recommended for those classes, and the cost.

As a comparison measure, I know that the monthly cost for a Ballet Basics course (1 time per week, 1 hour each time) is $44. Classes are ongoing, and you can enroll at any time.