If you are parents to a young boy and you want them to try ballet as a great after school activity, then there’s a well-known role model for them to follow – Prince George. At five years old, the young prince is trying dancing and according to dad Prince William, is already loving it. In fact, the royal family has quite a history with dancing in different kinds!
Benefits for Young Princes
As well as being a junior style icon, Prince George is setting trends for pre-primary school kids in his activities. He attends the Thomas’s Battersea school in London where there is a big focus on physical activities. In fact, it takes up as much as 20% of the student curriculum.
Among the various activities that the young prince is taking part in, there is ballet training. The school has their own live pianist to accompany the young dangers and they follow the Royal Academy of Dance’s Pre-Primary in Dance syllabus. And ‘George Cambridge’ as he is known at school, is apparently enjoying his lessons.
The Royal Family and Dance
While’s George’s aunt Megan Markle may want him to follow in her footsteps and explore the world of acting, the royal family does have a long history with dance of different types. One of the most famous was Princess Diana herself.
Many remember her dancing with John Travolta during a visit to the White House back in 1985 but this wasn’t the first time that the princess had been on the dance floor. In fact, she was dancing before she was a princess.
Diana was a child ballet student who wanted to be a ballerina. Sadly, as she grew up her height of 5’10” means she was too tall to become a professional ballet dancer. However, when she later became a princess, she always retained her love of dance and supported the English National Ballet.
The Queen and Country Dancing
The Queen herself has a secret passion that relates to dance – according to the royal website. While her interest in horses and horse racing and her passion for her Corgis are well known, the Queen apparently has a dance related hobby too – she loves Scottish country dancing.
Every year while at Balmoral, the queen hosts a dance for neighbours, estate and castle staff and people from the local community. In previous years, the Queen was also said to have taken part in the dancing herself – a clip from the 1990s shows the Queen dancing along with other members of the royal family at the event.
Royal Support
While many members of the royal family may enjoy a little dancing behind closed doors, their patronage of dance in different forms has also been very important. From supporting the The Royal Ballet and attending performances there to their charity support for a whole range of smaller and community programs relating to dance, the royal family has always had a strong connection with the world of dance, and this looks set to continue with the younger generations – perhaps even in a more hands-on way!