Child Development and Dance.....

Children naturally communicate through movement.  They express their fears, excitement, and all other emotions with movement.  Dance for young children focuses on the following:

*  developing creativity
*  expressing emotion
*  building social skills
*  encouraging independence
*  building their self-confidence
*  stimulating mental processes
*  enhancing their physical development
*  expanding their rhythmic and body awareness

These young years are so important---and the very time to encourage these traits.  These are building blocks for the rest of their life, that will be used and needed in every arena.  

More About the Benefits of Dance for Young Children

Benefits of Dance, by Rachel Kemp

Toddlers love to move, stretch and jump. Teachers can introduce kids to new ways of moving their little bodies in entertaining and constructive ways. All forms of dance, and creative movement can be very beneficial. Kids should be introduced to exercise and physical exercise as early as possible. It might take a little more money, but in the long run it can pay off. Introducing your child to dance is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.
Dance promotes discipline, coordination, memory, flexibility, strength, line, grace and stamina. Performing builds positive self-esteem and confidence, helps with other sports, and is just great fun! All kids are capable of relating and understanding basic techniques that are shown to them and demonstrated properly.
The vocabulary they learn through dance can help them express themselves through movement and naturally incorporate it into their lives. Signing your child up in dance as soon as possible can be a great thing for him/her.
As long as children can listen and stay focused, no age is too young to get them started. Of course, forcing children into any activity is never healthy. It’s important to observe how they respond.
As children get older and more serious, the length of the class and the amount of class per week may increase. Again, it might mean more running around for you, but if your child is fortunate enough to find something he or she loves to do, it’s well worth the extra time and money. My parents ran around for me 4-5 times a week to participate in many classes, I don't know how they did it, but I’m so grateful, because I am now blessed to be making a living doing what I love.
Here you will find a teacher who inspires and has a true love and passion for what he or she teaches.
Remember the 4 D’s: DISCIPLINE, DETERMINATION, DEDICATION, DESIRE. Dance class can help your child conquer all four.

Needs of Little Ones.....

We have witnessed so very many dance classes over the many years of being in this industry.  You have the uninterested dance teachers that just want to 'get class over with'--and not the least bit interested in young children; treating their classes like some kind of sentence.  Then, you have the ones that think teaching 'Where is Thumpkin' and the 'Hokey Pokey' can actually count for dance instruction---they love the kids; but are teaching them zilch.  Then, there is the rigid, hard-core teacher that wants preschoolers to have perfect technique and stand at attention.  Then there is the misguided dance education majors that have been taught that preschoolers should be just fine and do nothing but walking and pausing for thirty minutes.  What a waste!

Young ones are capable and deserve so much more than this!  They crave eye contact, variety, challenges that are age appropriate, and passion for creativity!  Let's not waste this wonderful opportunity we have been given---to work with little ones.  We have a chance to make an investment for life!

Polls Show Dance Class Enrollment Holds Steady With Young Children

Several polls that have been conducted throughout the nation and on the internet show that parents are not cutting back when it comes to dance classes for their children.  They are finding other ways to cut back on their monthly budget.  Parents of older children that take 4-5 days per week are cutting back on the number of classes taken per week---but not cutting it out completely.

Dance for young children is a relatively inexpensive activity for parents to invest in---the very kind that in these tight times parents desire.  Young children only take one class per week and the average monthly tuition hovers around $45 per month.  That is an expense that most families can add to their budget without sacrificing much at all.  

While large studios that teach all ages and have huge overhead are feeling the negative side of this economy---mobile dance programs that concentrate on young children are not being effected.  Their overhead is extremely low and the cost of the classes is within reach of American families.

Mind and Body Benefits of Dance for Children

ARTICLE 

Dance provides youth with mind and body benefits 

By Debra Strickland 

FamilyTalk Magazine, March/April Edition 2006 

  

Many different types of dance classes are available for children, from modern dance, 

ballet, tap and jazz to dance that celebrates unique ethnic and cultural traditions.  What’s 

the most important thing for parents to keep in mind when choosing a dance class?  It’s 

that research has proven that dance provides physical, developmental and artistic benefits 

to your child. 

Physical Benefits - Students build muscle strength while increasing flexibility.  Young 

dancers develop a sense of balance and improve agility and coordination.  Importantly, 

children also develop body awareness and learn correct posture. 

These benefits extend beyond a student’s involvement with dance, helping youth involved 

in other disciplines, such as sports and martial arts.  Studies have shown that physical 

activity helps children relieve stress and feel relaxed.  It also is a great way to help your 

child develop a positive lifelong attitude about staying active and healthy. 

Developmental Benefits - Dance classes are fun and a great way to meet new friends.  

Young dancers develop essential social skills through interaction with other students.  

Group choreography fosters teamwork, communication, trust and cooperation.  Dance 

also has been proven to nurture important life skills, such as discipline and focus.  

Dancers naturally display confidence, self-esteem and poise.  These skills are developed 

through participating in dance performances. 

Artistic Benefits – One of the greatest benefits of dance is that it sparks a child’s 

imagination and nurtures individual creativity in a unique way.  Dance classes share the 

joy of physical self-expression in a supportive and structured setting.  This can have a 

positive impact on children who have limited physical abilities, who act out or who have a 

difficult time sitting still.  Involving children in dance also teaches the basic elements of 

creative movement, such as time, space, rhythm and design. 

While people may not be as familiar with modern dance as with ballet or jazz, modern  

 dance in particular honors the creative spirit and celebrates the individual.  Modern dance 

does not simply conform to conventional movements, shapes and patterns.  Instead, it 

requires the young dancer to learn movement from the inside out, nurturing the body and 

focusing the mind.  This form of dance especially is welcoming to children of all shapes, 

sizes and genders. 

  

There is one final reason to get your child dancing.  Research proves there is a strong link 

between involvement in the arts and increased educational achievement.  In fact, one 

study showed that “students who participate in the arts are not only more likely to 

participate in a math and science fair, but also out-perform their peers on the SATs by 87 

points” (www.artsusa.org).  These educational benefits are gained by students regardless 

of their socioeconomic status.   

There’s sure to be a dance class that fits your child’s interests and your schedule, so why 

wait?  Enroll your child in a dance class.  The lessons she or he learns will last a lifetime. 

Debra Strickland is the executive director of Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers, southwest 

Michigan’s only professional modern dance company.  Debra holds a Master of Public 

Administration degree from Western Michigan University and has been passionate about 

working in the arts and women’s issues for nearly a decade. 

Encouraging Words for Monday......

We all hear of the constant budget cuts and layoffs these days.  It is important to not get bogged down with all the negative---successful individuals choose to see the positive in the negative.  For our industry we see that dance and theatre classes are being cut out in public school systems because there are not the funds to hire the staff to teach these classes.  That is a shame for our young children.  BUT, it opens an avenue for independent business owners to offer their services to these schools and organizations.  We can independently contract with school systems to offer these much-needed classes at a much lower fee than the added staff member would generate.  School become excited that they can still offer these classes to their students and individual businesses grow due to the demand and increased business.  (Quite often causing businesses such as ours to have to hire additional staff to cover the classes that we are having to add to our schedule.)  Choose to see the opportunity that always exists in bad times or bad news.