Registering Children up for Dance Lessons

“Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music.”

 

–William Stafford

 

There are numerous reasons why a parent may want to register their child up for dance lessons.  Some parents want their children to become more creative and expressive. Others want their children to have a higher confidence level and get out of their shells of shyness. There are also many parents who want their kids to make new friends and learn to work together with their peers. However, several parents believe their children are destined to be ballerinas, because they dance around the house all day long.

 

Joining a dance studio is a great way to build up a young person’s confidence level, express creativity and to help in developing social skills that will lead out of the shy stage of childhood. On the other hand, several young children register for dance because parents recognize them dancing around the house. Just because kids enjoy dancing around does not directly mean they are destined to be a dancer, but also does not mean they will not become great dancers. It is truly dependent on the child’s likings. I have learned from experience that some of the “destined ballerinas” just like to dance around for pleasure in themselves, but once in a classroom lots of them become unwilling to learn, and would rather do their own thing instead of following direction.

 

Following directions is a challenge for many levels of dance, but especially in the discipline of very young children. Parents are looking for this direction to be provided to their child, hoping for them to gain a sense of knowledge in the areas of focus, respect and listening.

 

There are dance classes for every age group, but one of the most important levels of dance is the preschool to young elementary school age. These levels of dance usually consist of styles such as; tap, ballet, tumbling, jazz and hip hop. Having several classes to choose from to put a child in is very complimentary to both the dancer and parent. Parents can then have the opportunity to pick what style is best for their dancer based on their personality, likings and areas needing improvement.

 

I believe parents would benefit by enrolling their children into dance classes at a young age. It can indicate the future of the dancer, displaying whether dance is really what the child aspires to do or not. By putting children into just a few classes a week, parents can decide early on if it is something they and the dancer want to commit to for the future. It may save families a lot of money, or give parents a light of insight to the future dance career ahead of them. This can all be accomplished by simply registering children into dance classes early on in their life.

 

~Julia Brewer