This might be a chicken/egg type question, however...

Or even MORE unique... picture this...

An opera singer, doing ballet on TOP of a baby grand while tinkering the ivories with her toes! 

My daughter primarily is interested in opera though.  When she was little she saw an ad on telly where they were singing opera - was it for some bank or insurance or something?  Anyhow, from that moment on she was hooked!  I think she was about 6... I guess if the universe didn't make 6 year olds interested in opera, we wouldn't have any opera because most kids want to grow up and be pop singers :)  She likes Gilbert and Sullivan and Mozart and sings along with the coloratura's parts... sings along with all the soprano's parts that she likes... she's even singing now, in fact... she's at her computer playing one of her games and singing The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze :) 

I wouldn't let her 'teach herself' to sing or 'get by' singing - it's a bit more complicated than that.  And I'm still not sure about dance classes for her - I'm not convinced - not been enough replies to sway me one way or another.  I watched Beauty and the Beast at MPAC and didn't notice Belle doing any demanding dance routines - but her voice was outstanding... the narrator of Joseph and his Amazing...etc... doesn't do any serious dancing either... the girl who played Sandy in Grease didn't either... so I'm just not convinced. 

As I'm the one controlling the budget here, I will let her do things but within reason - I'm not made of money, but if something is important to her that she wants to do, that will get serious consideration... she's querying whether she should also learn "proper dancing" because to take that up she'll have to quit one of her other loves - swimming.  I think she might have swimming out of her system in another couple of years perhaps and by then she'll be 11/12 years - that's not too late to start "proper dancing" lessons is it?  That is, if she needs it.  That's the question I think - does she need it?

She might end up doing none of this, realize :)  Or she might turn into another Delta Goodrem because she's started writing songs now too - she enjoys that... so maybe she'll end up a singer/songwriter instead... (her current song she's made up is like a mini opera song and its about an owl with evil eyes!!!  No, no, there is no need to say anything - let's just move right along...), or as I said before, maybe she'll end up a dental assistant or some other job but I bring her up to do what she believes in and what she is passionate about, because if you love what you are doing, it doesn't feel like work, and really life is too short to spend it on miserable or mediocre things.

So more opinions please... what about folks in the industry doing this - what do you reckon?  At the moment I am telling her no she can't do dance classes because she is doing too much and it's costing me a fortune so something has to go and that is likely to be swimming, but she doesn't want to give that up - so it boils down to this - knowing what she wants to do when she's older, sort of, swimming won't be a part of that, she doesn't hate dancing, she likes dancing and she'd go if there were enough hours in the day and I had enough money and she didn't have to give up anything else!

Failing that I will see if I can find an understanding dance teacher who would just let her do one class a week and not have to do performances and shows so we can avoid the extra costs with costumes etc.  I don't know if such a teacher exists, but one could look and one would look if the overwhelming majority here all said yes, dance is a must, do it.  But if people say, no, she doesn't have to learn "proper" dancing, she can still have a great career as a singer who can dance a "little" rather than a dancer who can sing a little, then I'll save my money, or if folks say she can take it up when she's a teenager, that's fine too because I can tell her to relax and enjoy her swimming for a few more years.

I just want to do the right thing by her and for her... but in this case, I don't know what the right thing is :)  And she's worrying that maybe she should be doing it now... I don't know how to advise her - I don't know what to tell her so she can choose herself.

Maybe it is just children's roles that dancers who can't sing or can sing a little get more opportunities, rather than singers who can dance a little?  ???

DFE