Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance
For Their Child?
Every parent should consider dance classes for their child. But not because they get to dress up and twirl around on a stage once a year in a recital. Nor just because they are shy and you have heard it is a good "activity" until your child is no longer too shy for other things.
Every parent should give high consideration of dance for their child because of all the different life skills that are taught from age two to eighteen years. Why for that many years? Because you are helping them to be successful in school, including college (yes, we know you think you have already heard this many times) and beyond. Because you, the parent, are helping to grow a focused, dedicated, committed adult that will be successful in life, thus relieving any stress and worry on your part as a parent as to whether they will be capable of "making it" throughout life. Yes, this is about you , the parent, as well!
Ages 2 - 6 years
Most parents will register their children ages 2-6 yrs in a dance class in hope that they will have an outlet for their energy, a place to build self confidence and learn to get along with others before starting school. What these parents do not realize is that they just started their child in school!
Dance school can be your child's first experience of school. And since you can enroll your child in dance classes at a younger ages than most preschools, it has a profound opportunity of setting the pattern later in formal academic education. It probably is the first time they learn about standing in a line, or other formation, with others. It is the first place your child learns to attempt weight change from foot to foot in a patterns such as skipping, galloping, sliding, hopping on one foot, jumping from two feet, leaping over an imaginary line and much more.
Dance school can be your child's first social avenue to make friends, learn to get along with others, wait their turn, develop patience and understand that another person (child) is just as important as they are to completing a group project. Dance school is an opportunity to discover and share interests, thoughts, experiences and dreams with others in a setting that they would never be laughed at. You do not see "bullies" in a good dance school. Why? Because dance school offers free expression from all participants in a class, and bullies do not want to share that with anyone. Therefor, they are the ones that do not fit in.
Besides all of the physical side of learning, dance school also is a young child's first experience in following patterns, moving in sequence, expanding their thought processes so they can work towards and see ahead to the end of a project (after all, dancers have to think ahead of the music a bit to be on time with their movements, or the moment has passed them). This then sets your child on a great course for adding music training, enhancing their math skills and visionary skills for the future.
Ages 7-11 yrs
No matter if you are just beginning dance school after age 6 yrs or continuing from the younger ages, there is great growth during the seven to eleven years in dance school. It is during this time that children start sensing a stronger connection to their friends. Over the many years, we have been told many, many times by a child "I like my friends at school, but I really like my friends at dance better". Why is this? We believe it is because at dance school, your child finds acceptance at this age. It does not matter if your child is the best dancer in class or not. What matters is that they have friends by their side that are constantly reminding them (and hopefully great teachers) that they "can do this", and in turn, the child that was encouraged to try, openly and willingly encourages their friends as well in class. Special memories are created at this time, that carry forward to adulthood.
Dance school is also a great place to start learning that everyone has strengths. Not necessarily physical strength that can always be developed by just working out in class. But strength in character, mind and heart. It is during this time that students start feeling like the dance school setting, and the ones in class with them, are more than just classmates, they are a dance family. They may even ask to take more classes just to expand their time at the school, to be with their friends.
Another reason that they may start asking for more classes or time at the dance school may be that they are beginning to discover their own personal strengths and work towards a higher level of confidence and self esteem building. They start seeing themselves as a performer. Someone that knows that there are times that we fall, but all we have to do is get up and try again. And again and again.
Beyond social and personal skill advancement, this age starts to expand their memory skills with across the floor progressions that change from one class date to another. Each week, the progressions may be added onto, thus training the brain to recall the previous weeks sequence and add new information to it. Keep in mind that this is all done to music and counts, so the child is also having to count and think ahead in time. This is just one of many reasons that dancers are able to do very well in academic school work.
Ages 12-18 yrs
It is at this age, that peer support is very important. And you will find it in a dance school, because as we stated before, there are no bullies in a good dance school. In a class of this age group, you will see and hear encouragement and peer coaching from those boys and girls that have accomplished a skill or movement, to help those that have not accomplished it yet. You will also see and hear laughs of joy and clapping when someone is finally able to complete a skill. This means that your child has an opportunity to "network" with their peers to achieve higher levels and networking is another great skill to learn for adulthood success.
It is also at this age that we see the dancer mature tremendously. They become more intense and focused on the dance training and strive towards correctness of movements as well as determination to meet completion of work. If they are driving, then they know to not be late to class, but be early to prepare the body for class. This helps to develop better time management skills that carries over to college and work that professors and employers love. Being in dance classes from a young age to 18 yrs (high school graduation) also trains a child for long term commitment and dedication, again success skills to complete university studies and hold down a job long enough for advancement.
So Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance Training For Their Child?
First, so that you do not have to worry about them as an adult.....ever! You have made sure they are trained to ...........
1.Be where they are suppose to be in a timely manner.
2.Be organized, committed and able to follow through on everything they do.
3.Be socially committed and encouraging of others.
4.Be able to process information in an organized fashion and follow through to the end.
5.Be able to see value in long term relationships.
6.Be a person that takes on responsibility willingly.
7.Be a person that understands how to break down problems and rebuild to success.
8.Be understanding that learning high level skills means time commitment, personal energy and
dedication to seeing things completed.
9.Be the best that they can be. They set the level of accomplishment through their long term
commitment and hard work.
10.Be able to work as a member of a team and committed to the teams success.
11.Be committed to family and work hard towards success.
12.Be willing to coach and train others in skills they have high achievement in. Be a teacher.
And The List Could Go On.......
But we think you can see where all of this is going. Parents selecting long tern dance classes over other activities that can distract from training to be an adult, know and will see that your child does not have to have a dream to be a professional performer to benefit from being in dance class. We are very proud to say that we have had the opportunity to train many public educators, several nurses, a pediatric surgical nurse, many business owners, several business managers, a Chiropractor, a mental health expert, dancer teachers, a band director, a minister, a special needs advocate, and thousands of committed and dedicated parents that love their children and family. But of course, all when they were ages 2-18 yrs. And the majority for over 12 years of their life right here at our dance school.
We want parents to know that when they are at our dance school, our objective is to teach them great skills that will help them be successful in life. If a professional dance career is their goal, then we are more than happy to train and coach them towards that direction and hand them off to higher level training when the time comes. But in the mean time, we are happy to train young people to achieve the highest level possible for them in life, while having fun and being a part of our dance family.
* Mary Myers is the Owner and Director of Academy of Fine Arts in Woodward , OK.
Dance school is also a great place to start learning that everyone has strengths. Not necessarily physical strength that can always be developed by just working out in class. But strength in character, mind and heart. It is during this time that students start feeling like the dance school setting, and the ones in class with them, are more than just classmates, they are a dance family. They may even ask to take more classes just to expand their time at the school, to be with their friends.
Another reason that they may start asking for more classes or time at the dance school may be that they are beginning to discover their own personal strengths and work towards a higher level of confidence and self esteem building. They start seeing themselves as a performer. Someone that knows that there are times that we fall, but all we have to do is get up and try again. And again and again.
Beyond social and personal skill advancement, this age starts to expand their memory skills with across the floor progressions that change from one class date to another. Each week, the progressions may be added onto, thus training the brain to recall the previous weeks sequence and add new information to it. Keep in mind that this is all done to music and counts, so the child is also having to count and think ahead in time. This is just one of many reasons that dancers are able to do very well in academic school work.
Ages 12-18 yrs
It is at this age, that peer support is very important. And you will find it in a dance school, because as we stated before, there are no bullies in a good dance school. In a class of this age group, you will see and hear encouragement and peer coaching from those boys and girls that have accomplished a skill or movement, to help those that have not accomplished it yet. You will also see and hear laughs of joy and clapping when someone is finally able to complete a skill. This means that your child has an opportunity to "network" with their peers to achieve higher levels and networking is another great skill to learn for adulthood success.
It is also at this age that we see the dancer mature tremendously. They become more intense and focused on the dance training and strive towards correctness of movements as well as determination to meet completion of work. If they are driving, then they know to not be late to class, but be early to prepare the body for class. This helps to develop better time management skills that carries over to college and work that professors and employers love. Being in dance classes from a young age to 18 yrs (high school graduation) also trains a child for long term commitment and dedication, again success skills to complete university studies and hold down a job long enough for advancement.
So Why Do Parents Really Need To Think About Dance Training For Their Child?
First, so that you do not have to worry about them as an adult.....ever! You have made sure they are trained to ...........
1.Be where they are suppose to be in a timely manner.
2.Be organized, committed and able to follow through on everything they do.
3.Be socially committed and encouraging of others.
4.Be able to process information in an organized fashion and follow through to the end.
5.Be able to see value in long term relationships.
6.Be a person that takes on responsibility willingly.
7.Be a person that understands how to break down problems and rebuild to success.
8.Be understanding that learning high level skills means time commitment, personal energy and
dedication to seeing things completed.
9.Be the best that they can be. They set the level of accomplishment through their long term
commitment and hard work.
10.Be able to work as a member of a team and committed to the teams success.
11.Be committed to family and work hard towards success.
12.Be willing to coach and train others in skills they have high achievement in. Be a teacher.
And The List Could Go On.......
But we think you can see where all of this is going. Parents selecting long tern dance classes over other activities that can distract from training to be an adult, know and will see that your child does not have to have a dream to be a professional performer to benefit from being in dance class. We are very proud to say that we have had the opportunity to train many public educators, several nurses, a pediatric surgical nurse, many business owners, several business managers, a Chiropractor, a mental health expert, dancer teachers, a band director, a minister, a special needs advocate, and thousands of committed and dedicated parents that love their children and family. But of course, all when they were ages 2-18 yrs. And the majority for over 12 years of their life right here at our dance school.
We want parents to know that when they are at our dance school, our objective is to teach them great skills that will help them be successful in life. If a professional dance career is their goal, then we are more than happy to train and coach them towards that direction and hand them off to higher level training when the time comes. But in the mean time, we are happy to train young people to achieve the highest level possible for them in life, while having fun and being a part of our dance family.
* Mary Myers is the Owner and Director of Academy of Fine Arts in Woodward , OK.
