The True Value of Dance
This is crazy, but most people will often undervalue the importance of dance in general. And I believe it’s absolutely normal if you’ve never danced before. But, since I’ve danced all my life… I know for sure that dancing can change someone’s life almost instantly. I know it from my own experience. And let me tell you, that this experience is one of the most amazing things that have ever happened to me.
Keep reading and you’ll understand what I mean. But before we start here is a cool Sabrina Lonis Choreography video of her young students having an enormous fun dancing to The Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin’s “RITMO”:
Main advantages of dancing:
- It is a physical activity, which is already something that most children lack nowadays
- It is an entertaining form of social outlet, which is the most important thing when it comes to psychological and emotional development of your kid
- It improves blood circulation which in turn improves immune system as a whole
- It helps to keep a balanced and healthy lifestyle overall, which makes raising a child a whole lot easier for some of us
And all of this was just the beginning, to learn more about how dancing compares to gymnastics for kids check out the link.
The Importance of Dance in Early Childhood
It helps to relieve your child’s excess energy
If you have children, you probably already know that sometimes it is almost impossible to manage your child’s behavior.
If so, then you may be seeking for healthy ways to deal with their enormous amount of energy.
While team sports may be one of the options to engage your kids in physical activity, sometimes it may not be totally appropriate.
This is where dancing comes in as a more gentle alternative choice. Actually, there are even some dancing schools that offer classes for kids as young as 2 or 3 years old.
So, now when you’ve seen how happy kids can channel all their abundant energy into something fun and beautiful at the same time, I bet that it will be a lot easier for you to understand the true importance of dance.
By the way, those of you willing to learn more about dance benefits for adults you just have to see our infographic!
It reduces the risks of developing health problems
There are some medical studies that show that children who engage in an active manner in dance and similar performing acts spend less of their time watching TV or playing video games.
Therefore the risk of developing health problems due to lack of physical activity like obesity is much smaller.
Kids that spend more than a couple of hours daily in front of the screen have a higher chance of having health problems, which involves physical, psychological and emotional health.
It Fosters Creativity
Obviously, dancing it is a great source of entertainment and physical activity.
An exercise is, of course, valuable, but the chance to express creativity is just as important as exercising or as keeping balanced diet habit.
Once children learn the basic steps and movements, they can start adjusting them to any song. This will help develop their imagination and it will also inspire them to express themselves through different ways. It can totally go beyond the dance floor and penetrate other artistic aspects like art, music, and even writing.
It Helps to Learn Science & Math
Learning numerous routines and moves helps increase your child’s brain ability to absorb more information in less time and then recall that information when it’s needed.
Learning to be a skilled dancer is something that involves a lot of rehearsing, concentration, devotion, and discipline which are skills that can be utilized in other areas of your kid’s life. Additionally, it can assist young children to see things more creatively and help cultivate their artistic expression. Studies have shown that students who regularly attend dance classes usually show a better school performance than their peers who don’t.
The study which was published in Family talk Magazine has found that students who have practiced dancing for long tend to get higher SAT marks and show a better performance in science and math competitions.
It Gives Physical Strength and Endurance
Since dancing is a form of a highly engaging physical action, children who dance frequently are expected to see a remarkable difference in their general health. Frequent routines can enhance your kid’s flexibility, physical strength, and endurance.
Additionally, the continuous movements in a dancing can improve body posture and support the function of cardiovascular system. Children that suffer from obesity can also lose weight and improve their dietary habits with the help of dancing.
Dancing also helps to enhance physical strength and stamina from a very young age. This can serve as a basis for a healthy growth and better fitness levels.
It Teaches to Move Gracefully
Dancing also helps children achieve a broader array of movements while helping them enhance the ability to move in various spaces. Children are taught to understand the impact of their movement around themselves and around others. While learning to move in a specific manner, kids are able to see their bodies in action and what they can do. This, in particular, enhances child’s coordination skills, especially in the period when they are growing fast.
Having good body coordination is crucial. It improves child’s ability to learn other things in other aspects of life like riding a bike or multitasking.
It Teaches to Communicate & Collaborate with Others
Apart from being a highly physically engaging activity, dance classes can also assist children in the development of their social skills. Helping them to learn different ways of interacting with others, how to collaborate as a member of the team, cultivate a better feeling of trust, develop and maintain new friendships.
If your kid is shy and needs a little bit of push, registering to a dancing class can give him/her the courage to interact with other children of its age. Dancing also helps to learn to cope with any social anxiety in any circumstances. Moreover, it will also be beneficial in learning to control the fear of performing in front of others.
It Teaches the Importance of Respect
During classes, children learn to respect their dancing buddies and of course their instructor.
Instructors are really fostering this when students begin to dance with each other and perform. Dancers are always instructed to cheer their fellow students, support and never laugh if someone is doing something wrong.
The teacher has to create an environment that feels positive and encouraging and allows students to work on their confidence and self-esteem. The more children learn to appreciate the effort – the better everyone feels and the more they grow.
It Helps Kids Learn to Believe in Themselves
It will encourage your child to speak for itself and control the fear of being among others as well as fear of performing in front of an audience. Dancing helps children start believing in themselves and what they are capable of doing. Obviously, a child’s personality needs to be considered, but from time to time they may need some extra healthy push to have confidence and believe in their capabilities.
As children learn new moves and postures, they start to gain a better understanding of the way their bodies work. Since they become looser and more comfortable with the process, their confidence and self-esteem also get better. Dancing classes can help the child cultivate and develop its self-expression capabilities. This is especially useful for children with mental or physical disabilities or children that have an emotional trauma and need a form of a healthy outlet.
Bottom Line
Now you can probably see how underrated the importance of dance is.
Dancing can make someone feel more renewed in a physical sense, and help control any emotional problems like bad mood or even depression.
This applies to both children and adults. Group dancing in particular can help fight anxiety and stress levels. It creates more place for imagination and positive emotions.
If you are already thinking about enrolling your children in a dance class – that’s great!
Just don’t make them do it against their will.
The best way is to make them interested in this form of art without pushing too hard.
Plant a seed by telling them how exciting this will be. Buy some cool dance bags with their names embroidered on it. Show them an awesome dance video where children have fun dancing together.
They have to want it and enjoy thinking about dancing before they even get to their first class. If you can pull this off, then you have nothing to worry about, because this way you’ll give your child the most important thing – a chance to love something beautiful.