Why Dance May Be What Your Pre-Teen/Teen Needs

The Pre-teen and Teen years can be fun and difficult for the child and parent alike. For those living through those years,especially the pre-teens and teens, it can be confusing, emotional, and stressful.

Dance can be one of the best forces in dealing with the ups and downs of the pre-teen and teen years. Just ask the successful former students that now find themselves as doctors, mental health experts, teachers, graphic designers, real estate professional, financial planners, academics and more.

Dance gives a pre-teen or teen a safe avenue for creativity and expression when they feel that they are being shut down in other areas of their life. Dance also allows them an escape into something physical, and so it can relieve stress and emotions of the day, thus allowing them to be more calm and focused in school and at home. Working and moving with the music has an extra added benefit of connecting right brain and left brain activity.

Dance can be an escape for some teens and we have experienced that the most when there is difficulty at home, such as a pending divorce or illness of a parent or other family member. The studio can be a haven at these times of great stress and emotional upheaval. Over the years, some former students have actually stated that the studio is what saved them.

On a more upbeat leavel, dance can offer your young teens a better self image and higher self confidence (as demonstrated in the second paragraph of this article referring to former students). It can lift them beyond their current feelings and bring creativity and dreaming back into their lives.

Dance helps a young person to set goals and to learn to meet the smaller goals (process goals) that leads to the accomplishment of the main goal. Dance allows exploration without intimidation and humiliation. No one laughs at another in their dance class (if it does happen, then your child is at the wrong studio) because they are all working for the same goal. Dance teaches a young teen about true cooperation and not competition with others in the class.

Dance can bring back a smile to your teens face and sense of accomplishment when everywhere around them they feel like they cannot measure up to the standards. Dance will challenge them physically, mentally, emotionally. Dance can be the path to future successes in life.

Dance changes lives!

*Check out our face book page for the Woodward location at facebook.com/tumbledance&cheerproductions to leanr more about how dance has changed the lives of former students. Follow us on Twitter @FineArtsofOK

Only Strong Men Dance!

In case you missed the news, JR Martinez won the mirror ball trophy from Dancing With The Stars. Over the weeks, Jr has improved alot. But he has done more than that. As an American Veteran, actor, motivational speaker and now an award winning dancer, JR has proven that only strong men dance. To put everything on the line for ten weeks in a row and a willingness to risk his image on national television, JR has demonstrated determination, courage, camaraderie, cooperation, loyalty, patience, focus, self discipline and the abilty to meet a goal.

Dancing challenged him and push him forward to a whole new knowlege about his body and his mind, I am sure. Dancing is one of the toughest sports around and carries some of the biggest benefits for everyone that participates. But most of all, it can give young men and young boys a better sense of who they are and who they can be with the right focus.

Rob Kardashian stated on GMA this morning that the competition changed him as a person and his partner highly agreed. Dancing with a partner or even in a group, can help a person beome more focused on meeting the needs of others and not just being self focused all of the time. It can help you to dicover your personal weaknesses and strengths.

Dance lessons for boys and young men have been talked about for generations. It has also been a topic of criticism towards those that do dance versus any other sport. But the ones that truly get it, are those families that support their sons dancing and performing. How many other sports does the runner up come off the floor or the field still feeling good about themselves and not defeated??

Dance changes lives. Parents should be lining up to get their boys into dance classes. With role models such as JR and Rob ( and all of the other male dancers that have participated in DWTS and other dance programs), life is changing for male dancers. It is now cool to be a dancer. It is athletic. It is focused and goal oriented. Only the strong dance! It is time to get into a class!

Dance changes lives!

A Workout Program For Your Brain

A recent article in The Globe and Mail, a Canadian Newspaper, stated that Sylvain Morena, a neuroscientist at Baycrest's Roman Research Institute, has focused his efforts of training the brain. He recently reported the results of a study in which children aged 4-6 years learned about music- the basics of rhythm, oitch and melody, in a computer based cognitive training program that involved games and cartoon characters. After 20 days of instruction, the children performed significantly better on a verabl IQ test compared to scores before the training.

Why would studying music lead to gains on verbal IQ? "Music and language share brain processing and structure", Dr Mareno says.

Interacting Musically with Your Child

Interacting musically with your child is very important. Rob Sayer, the author and producer of The Music Class materials we offer in our Mom & Me Music Class has written an article that we would like to share with our readers. His well written article tells of some of the vaules for you and your child in interacting musically together. After reading the article, we would love to visit with you about  our music program here at Academy of Fine Arts .

Click this link to learn more about musiccally interacting with your child:
Interacting Musically with Your Child

OK-LA Dance Connection

Our friend Lisa Woods will be holding the OK-LA Dance Connection regional event in Oklahoma City very soon. Click on the title above to go to her website and regional brochure. You just cannot go wrong with going to her events. Lisa is a class act and always offers great classes.

10/4 On This Day In History

On this day in history:
1962 - "Love Me Do" by the Beatles was released in the U.K. It was their first single.

Come and Celebrate!

Come and help us celebrate! On October 15th we are holding a student appreceiation day and a 30th anniversay celebration! The public is allowed to attend on October 15th from 10 am-2 pm. Enjoy refreshments, games, 15 minute "try it " classes and more! Tour our facility, get information about classes or just meet up with friends that are students with us. In any case, we do hope you will come and enjoy our event.