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| Young girls practice ballet routines at a dance training class in northern Shanghai's Baoshan District.(Photo/Shanghai Daily) |
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Ballet class is very popular in summer, but experts warn that pushy parents, poor teachers and unqualified schools can lead to injury. Li Anlan reports.
Since it's summer, many parents enroll their daughters in ballet classes, which look good on resumes, and push them to excel and perform on pointe, sometimes before they are ready.
Young ballerinas, imagining themselves on stage in white tutus, are also ambitious and push themselves, sometimes too far.
Unqualified teachers, responding to parental pressure, also push little ballerinas, sometimes beyond their ability.
Virtually anyone can open a ballet school these days. The field is largely unregulated, and many are opening to meet growing demand.
As a result of this pressure, over the years there have been quite a few cases of children injured in dance classes. There are strains and sprains, of course, but there can be broken bones, spinal cord injuries and paraplegia.
"Parents need to understand the step-by-step training process and not push so hard, and they should be cautious about the classes they choose," Wu Jie, a ballet master of the Shanghai Ballet, tells Shanghai Daily.
Dance is beautiful and can help develop flexibility, strength and grace, if taught in a scientific way. It is both exercise and artistry. But girls and their parents should not be carried away by romantic visions of little ballerinas on pointe.
Back bends are a common cause of spinal injury, if performed improperly and before a child is flexible and ready.
Earlier this year, six-year-old girl Yang Shanni from Hunan Province accidentally slipped while doing a back bend and her legs have been paralyzed ever since because of a spinal cord injury, according to news reports.
Yang had started ballet at the age of four and had performed back bends many times with ease. This time she fell.
Treatment and rehabilitation have cost more than 300,000 yuan (US$48,870) so far, but Yang is not expected to walk again.
"Parents should select the institution after looking at its site and facilities, teachers' qualification as well as their safety measures," says Wu.
Safety measures include nonslip flooring, handrails and appropriate teacher-pupil ratio. Classes should be divided by age and ability.
Standard dance studios have sufficiently large rooms with mirrors, comfortable temperature and good lighting. Reputable studios should present teachers' qualifications both as dancers and teachers.
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