What can dance classes teach your child?
Not every child wants to become a dancer, but dance can help every child become what they dream!
Would you love for your child/teenager to go approach life with confidence, have the drive to achieve big, the ability to overcome hurdles unphased and have the ability to communicate and collaborate with others to make their dreams happen?
If your answer is “yes” it’s time to enrol them onto a dance class and read the following FIVE transferrable life skills dance is guaranteed to teach them…
- Better problem-solving skills
Dancers are faced with problems all the time; in class, rehearsals and on stage. Whether it’s figuring out where they need to transfer their weight to make the move work for their body, working out the sequence on the opposite side, making sure they don’t collide with anther dancer on stage or making an error during performance and having to think on the spot; consciously or subconsciously, dancers are constantly required to problem solve. These experiences teach children/teenagers that they can handle anything thrown their way and builds their confidence in finding resolutions to problems throughout their lives.
- Becoming an amazing team player mentality and great communicator
From their first ever class, children and teens pick up on the fact they have a responsibility to follow the class rules to ensure everyone, including themselves, can learn. This teaches children and teenagers that others are also important and in order to achieve and move forward as a group, they must put in the work individually. This team player mentality which is fostered is then developed when working with their peers on creative tasks or in a crew/team. Dancers rely on each other to be in the correct position on stage, put the work in outside of training and generally make their group dance look and feel the best it possibly can. There will undoubtedly be times dancers notice their team mates are feeling down too and so learn to develop skills to help support and encourage others. Working with others, listening to and sharing ideas, giving and receiving constructive feedback and working with a range of diverse personalities develops fantastic communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal and helps children and teenagers navigate working with a range of people throughout life. Dance helps children and teenagers understand they are a small (but important) part of something bigger and that coming together and being a team player can achieve amazing results!
- Self-Discipline
Turning up to class each week often for years on end takes some serious dedication (mostly on parents’ behalf!) There will be loads of times your child or teenager will miss out on friend’s birthday parties, family events and will (voluntarily or involuntarily) give up their free time just to attend a class, rehearsal or competition – it’s a huge commitment for both you and them. This dedication and commitment teaches children and teenagers that once they decide on something, they stick with it no matter what else might come up. It isn’t just about showing up though, it’s about putting in the work. The nature of dance training often means lots of repetition to get the movement into our bodies. This demands a certain level of discipline, both physically and mentally, whether children and teenagers are aware of this or not. Self-discipline however comes from somewhere else rather than the external influence of their teacher drilling them to death! Self-discipline is an inner drive. Dancers can only progress to more difficult content once they have mastered the pre-requisites of that movement. Dancers quickly learn that if they want to make serious progress and achieve, the drive must come from them, not their teacher or parents – they must give 100% all the time and be self- disciplined in their approach to training. You get out what you put in! This self-discipline and focused work ethic is then carried throughout your child/teenager’s life whichever goal or dream they put their mind to.
- Soaring confidence
When your child/teenager arrives at their first ever class, there is a good chance they won’t know any moves. Yes they might jump up and down a bit but we are talking real moves, – you know, ones with a name! Or will feel shy to show their moves off. They will most likely struggle with some of the steps for a bit, get frustrated with themselves, feel like giving up, shy away from the limelight, etc. However, if they persevere, eventually they will achieve the move they have been working so hard to achieve and will feel AMAZING about themselves! This builds your child/teenager’s confidence as they begin to adopt a “can do” attitude. If they can master a tricky move, they can do anything in life right?! This instils a strong sense of self-belief. Knowing how amazing this feeling is, your child/teenager will also learn the importance of celebrating others’ achievements too and help build them up to feel good about themselves and confident in their abilities as well. The performance element of dance is another great confidence builder! Your child/teenager will undoubtedly have various opportunities to perform in front of an audience. Repeated exposure to this kind of environment will naturally help increase your child/teenager’s confidence which will help them in future when they meet new people, attend job interviews, give public speeches and travel to new locations.
- Unbreakable resilience
Your child/teenager will most likely not get everything right away. They might see others in their class making faster progress who started attending after them and struggle to understand why. They might not get the part they wanted, they might get put to the back or cut from a dance routine, they might get told to work on their fitness or performance skills, they might not place at a competition. Point being, they will face loads of setbacks and losses as a dancer and will learn to overcome them. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! They will receive criticism and learn they are receiving it in order to improve. They will be in pain physically and mentally rehearsing for shows and competitions but learn to be okay with temporary discomfort when they can envision why they are doing it. Dance teaches children and teenagers to push through hard times, build endurance and to not take things personally. Focusing on the end goal is worth it and so satisfying when it’s achieved that your child/teenager will not have “giving up” as an option in life.
Help your child/teenager become the best possible version of themselves – book a free trial with Elevate Arts, drop us an email info@elevateartsuk.co.uk
