What life skills can be learned through Dance?

When you think about dance, what comes to mind? It’s safe to say that most of us would think of upbeat music or fun self-expression. However, regardless of what we presume it to be, dance is a powerful teaching tool. Learning dance influences our discipline, respect, and even our emotions. That is why dance schools are wonderful places for your children to spend their time. At dance schools, kids have the opportunity to learn life skills that they carry with them for the rest of their lives. What better after-school activity for your kiddos can you find than one where they can go for fun, exercise, and friendships? Beyond those things, here are some of the life skills that learning dance can develop in young minds:

Respect

Learning respect from inside the dance studio is a great benefit for young dancers. At Suzanne’s School of Dance, we teach our dancers to cultivate respect in all areas of their lives. We strive to help them learn how to respect their instructors, their own bodies, and also their fellow dance friends. Developing respect in a dance environment also helps our dancers to walk out of class and respect themselves as well as those around them at home, school, and beyond.

Hard Work

Hard work is another value instilled in dancers through the art of dance. Young dancers learn how to devote themselves to something on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. Learning dance pushes them physically and mentally as they are stretched to new levels. As they practice hard work, they cultivate the skill of challenging themselves that they can apply beyond just the dance room.

Confidence

Through dance, we have the unique opportunity to foster a sense of confidence in our dancers through the combination of encouragement and hard work. In our dance classes, our dancers get the reward of accomplishing a skill or technique they worked hard for and then experience a deep sense of confidence as they demonstrate it to others. Through the process of growing as a dancer, they also grow their confidence as a person and learn to carry it into other aspects of their lives.

Teamwork

Teamwork is a significant value taught in the school of dance. As dancers gather together, they learn to grow with other dance friends as they prepare for performances. Our dance classes and companies have the unique opportunity to practice listening well, communicating well, and caring well for those around them in a dance setting. These skills are priceless inside and outside the dance classroom.

Misty Lown, the founder of “More Than Just Great Dancing”, put it best when she said, “We don’t teach kids to make great dancers. We teach dance to make great kids.” We love this quote and could not agree more.