10 Hidden things your child is developing through participating in our dance challenges
When we entered the first lockdown, we started running weekly dance challenges exclusively for our students to keep them engaged and to encourage regular, fun practise. These challenges became so popular throughout lockdown that we decided to continue with them for the whole academic year as well as throwing in some bonus ones such as our upcoming Christmas themed challenges!
The children have fun doing the challenges, the parents enjoy watching them and entries are a successful hit across our social platforms. What the kids don’t know is that they are actually developing a number of additional skills through participating in what appears to be just a “fun dance challenge.” Some of our parents have worked a few of these out, have a read and see if you have noticed any of these or any additional ones!
Our dance challenges:
- Encourage your child to practise outside of class time which helps them retain what they have learned and plants the seed that dance isn’t just a random hour on Saturdays to be forgotten about until the following week
- Encourage friendly competition amongst their peers and help build up confidence in preparation for when showcases and competitions return
- Help your child refine and develop the skills and moves they have learned in class on a deeper level and take ownership of their learning
- Help your child (and you) learn how to self-source suitable music and open your minds to music you may not usually search for and listen to
- Help teach your child about time management and fitting in dance around busy schedules. It is imperative to find time to fit dance practise in if you want to become a professional dancer, no matter how busy you are. Time management skills stretch across the board too so this isn’t just dance specific!
- Develop your child’s freestyle and choreographic skills and encourage creativity and out of the box thinking. We believe it is important to grow young dance artists (freestylers, choreographers, dancers who can work with the camera, etc) not just dancers who want to be spoon fed choreography!
- Help build resilience. Your child won’t win every week, they might not win at all. Being able to take a loss well and rise and grow from it builds resilience in your child as well as encouraging them to appreciate and genuinely support and cheer for others
- Encourage self motivation. Your child won’t feel like entering every week, however learning to push and motivate themselves when they “aren’t in the mood” is a key skill to develop in life
- Help facilitate a friendly, Supportive, family atmosphere where your child can be themselves and have their efforts celebrated. Parents congratulate other children and give feedback which brings a community vibe to Elevate Arts and helps build your child’s confidence and self-esteem knowing they have the whole parent team backing them
- Provide weekly feedback for your child so they actively know what they are doing well and what they could improve on. Of course, implementing it comes down to them. Being able to accept constructive feedback is a key skill in life and is necessary for growth