5 Benefits from Dance Classes
You May Of Never Known
Parents are happy when their children find an "activity" that they enjoy. But they are even more thrilled, that after many years of struggling and encouraging their child to continue with their classes, they find out that their child has actually developed stronger life skills than the children of friends and family that were never in dance training. So what can your child learn beside to count 5,6,7,8 or to leap and fall to the floor without getting hurt?
Let's talk a bit about the physical side of benefits from dance classes in this particular post.
1. Physical activity is the most recognized benefit for anyone that dances, young or old. Since dance does use the whole body for movement, it is a great exercise towards whole body fitness. When you add the stretching and warm up, with the actual dance steps, a total body and mind fitness routine is now created. It has also been stated that dance classes are a great way to set the direction for a healthier lifestyle throughout life.
2. Kinesthetic memory is created by repetitive movements and barre work in dance. The value of this is a higher level of coordination and the ability to change directions quickly. This is just one of many reasons that professional athletes either pick up dance classes to improve their athletic ability, or they trained in dance prior to being a professional athlete. When you look at only less than 1% of high school athletes play professional sports, children that dream of playing in professional sports need as much help as possible from ages 5 to 20 years of age. But is also helps us throughout life in being more agile as we age.
3. Balance is another skill that is important throughout life. Some studies have indicated that the balance we achieve by age 10 is the level of balance we carry with us through out life. Of course you still develop balance after age 10 years, but it is this balance after age 10 years that we loose as we age. So best to develop great balance at an early age.
4. Falling correctly and getting back up quickly is a skill that we all need. No matter if the fall is a physical one, or a situation one in life, school or business. Have you ever wondered how dancers can leap high into the air and land down on the floor, almost seemingly floating to the floor? Then roll and come up on their feet with great power and grace at the same time? It is because of the hours an hours of training each individual part of the body as to how it contacts the floor and travels through space and time. Then when it is time for a level change (or change in life), the total body just responds naturally (again another reason why professional athlete decide to pick up classes in dance to improve their athletic abilities).
5. Changing directions quickly is important in so many ways. Ever seen anyone change directions quickly and then claim they are dizzy from the abrupt change of direction? More than likely, they never took dance classes. The vestibular system is the sensory system that provide the leading contribution about the sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance. Vestibular disorders can include vision and balance disorders or difficulties.
The constant work of turning, rolling and changing directions abruptly in dance classes can help the vestibular system to be stronger and more balanced for better health and life.
These five benefits are generally not ones that are listed on studio websites or brochures they pass out to the public. But they are there for every child, teen or adult that trains in dance classes long term. These five benefits are just as important, if not more so, than the ones you will find listed on any of their marketing materials. So when in line registering for classes, know that you are signing your child up to learn life skills that may enhance their adult life. Dance classes are an investment for their future.
*Mary Myers is the Director and Owner of Academy of Fine Art in Woodward OK
