Nurturing Talent

Ok, I'm not saying DD is mega talented, at 3yo it's a bit hard to tell, LOL. But she does have an amazing passion for singing and dancing. To the point where she will quite happily stop in the middle of the shops and perform for anyone who will watch. Being completely hopeless in both singing and dancing, I have no idea what I should do with her. ATM we listen to lots of music, her favourite since she was 2 is Phantom of the Opera and she does pretty well at singing along. She has also just started ballet which she loves. I'd be interested to hear any opinions on how I should go about encouraging her, particularly from any performers.

TIA

(She's currently in the play room acting out a story with great enthusiasm, :D)

Cuuuuute!!!

There is a great Angelina Ballerina CD/Book that I know she will LOVE, my DD loves all the books too.
Get thee to an Op Shop and gets lots of dress ups, hats gloves etc, she will have a ball!

Yep, we have a huge load of dress ups, from fairy wings to bubble wrap (apparently bubble wrap makes a great wedding veil, lol)

Maybe some Angelina Ballerina for Christmas. I'm sure she'd love that.

Definitely! Dress-ups are wonderful creative fun for everyone :)
I think you are already doing wonderfully at nurturing her talent - you are taking an interest and encouraging her. You're welcoming music and performance into your home (even though they can be inconvenient and occasionally messy passtimes!). Good for you, and good for her - she sounds adorable!

ETA: They had a gorgeous book on playschool this morning - Josephine wants to dance - I'm thinking of finding it for Natalie, just because I thought it was wonderful! (About a kangaroo who loved dancing.)

Im a singing teacher, and these are my tips...
Even though singing/dancing arent your thing, do them WITH her - encourage her creativity and expose her to as many different styles as possible. Most of all keep it FUN! :)

Amy, we missed Play School, but I'll keep a look out for the book. It sounds cute.

SneakySparkle, So me attempting to be Phantom while she plays Christine is good for her, excellent, because I'm not so sure it's good for the neighbours:rofl:. Thanks for the advice, will definately keep it fun for her.

I think you're doing a great job too! Sounds like you bothhave fun :) .
Have you thought of taking her to plays or local theatres. Lots of small local drama groups put on entertainment for kids, particularly in the school holidays. It might show her what she could do when she gets older. Or even things like the wiggles/dorothy/the faries shows that are on at clubs and stuff.

As someone whose "talent" was nurtured to death I must say "keep it fun!" and don't let her value be entirely about what she can do. Our 2 yr old has a lot has some scary talent musically.... she has a lot of natural talent. We sing with her daily and play "key board" with her every few days. But we always keep it fun and as part of a game. When she looses interest, so do we. Both DH & I are musicians, I have studied classically through to uni and DH has done informal musical training. We have decided at grade 4 we will start formal training if that is what she wants.... if not than we won't force her, we will encourage her ;)

Sounds like you're having fun with your daughter's hobby, which is a good thing!

I would say... keep with what you're doing.

As your daughter gets older, maybe some am dram groups (in summers you can usually find ones that run for a week or two just for children and a play at the end), maybe music lessons if she wants to do that, lots of time for just having fun with it too.

Also, encourage other interests your daughter has, even if she has less talent. I have no talent for singing but enjoy it - it was quashed a lot as I was growing up (save 2 nights a week with some chums) so I'm very self-concious about it now, but DS doesn't care! I am better at quadratic equations than I am football... but that doesn't stop me kicking a ball around in the park. It's great not to have to work for your hobby, but even better to see yourself improve at something with a bit of effort IMO.

Thanks ladies for your advice. Pushing her to hard was something that was a concern for me. I want her to keep enjoying what she is doing. Though at the moment I can't stop her doing either, lol. What amazes me is the way that she actually makes up and sings her own songs, usually about what she is doing.

RF, I do encourage her to try other things, but her interest never last. She also does swimming, but some days just doesn't want to go. We do lots of crafts and other things. She actually thinks the playground is just a place where she can get on stage and sing some more,:lol:

Christy, it's good to see your POV as someone who has been through it. I'll leave any sort of formal training until she is a lot older. Singing is always something I wished I was good at, so I don't mind sing with her.

Lilias, thanks for the idea. It turns out there is a local production of Snow White on so that should be fun to go to.