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insegnante
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| Posted: Oct 06 2010 at 9:16pm | IP Logged
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Why do so many parents find dancing school a worthwhile investment for little girls? I presume most have not shown a specific talent at the ages they start and that few parents think a career in dance specifically is likely. Just wondering what the benefits are -- I mean, why are the benefits so strong that parents who are I would imagine often concerned about overscheduling or budgets still choose to enroll their daughters?
Now that we have our own 2yo daughter, I can see one reason: the incredible cuteness factor! But still, the time and money for activities really adds up. So I'm just curious why others go ahead with it.
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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KC in TX
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Discipline, grace, exercise.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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KC in TX
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| Posted: Oct 06 2010 at 10:47pm | IP Logged
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Sorry for the short answer above. I wanted my girls to have grace in movement, exercise while learning something beautiful, and the learn some discipline. So far, so good. They learn dances which also works their mind. The addition of knowing music along with the dance helps as well.
The dance school makes a difference as well. Our school is complete classical ballet and the instructor makes sure to keep cattiness to a minimum. She's wonderful. Also, seeing the founder of the school who is in her 80s move so well, I know that dance will take them through life.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
Mama to LB ('98)
Michaela ('01)
Emma ('03)
Jordan ('05)
And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
The Cabbage Patch
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guitarnan
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I think some girls know instinctively that dance is important to them. My dd knew at age 3 that Irish dance was one of her passions...and so it has turned out, although she had to wait five years before she could take any Irish dance classes at all. (She tried other dance styles in the meantime and enjoyed them, but reminded me often that her real interest was in Irish dance!) We're just a bit past her four-year Irish dance anniversary, and we are amazed at how much she has accomplished in those four years.
Dance experience gives children (boys and girls) some important things: grace, flexibility (great for football), manners - very important in almost ALL types of dance, self-discipline, obedience, performance skills, and, if the dancer competes, the art of losing with grace and dignity.
Dance can be expensive, so I would not say that taking dance lessons is the only way to achieve the above outcomes.
I also think that finding a good dance school is an extremely important part of this learning process. Our dance school's director is willing to accommodate dancers who can't compete on Sundays (or other days) for religious reasons, choose Spring Show costumes that are modest, skip the heavy make-up for the Spring Show, encourage teamwork and actively discourage gossip....we're in a great place, truly. No dance school is perfect, of course, but parents can ask around and determine which schools match best with their objectives and values. (I know there are ballet schools that adopt modest studio attire and choose equally lovely recital costumes, and there are plenty of dance styles to choose from if ballet and tap aren't your thing - clogging, jazz, lyrical, Irish, Scottish, folk...it takes some research, but it's possible to find a good match for your family.)
One other thought - if everything looks great but the cost seems too high, ask about work/study opportunities. Perhaps you and your dancer could help out with cleaning, sewing, accounting, etc. to offset the cost of dance lessons. (Our studio tries hard to accommodate these requests...our director believes that talent deserves an opportunity, and she tries to work with families in this regard.)
Just an FYI - I knew at age 8 that the guitar was my instrument, but it took a couple of years for my parents to buy into my theory. When my dd saw "Riverdance" on video and then in person (remember, she was 3), she kept saying, "That! I have to do that!" and she never, ever let up on the idea of Irish dance. She started at age 8 - late for many styles, but not for Irish - and she has demonstrated an ability to set goals and achieve them, encourage other dancers, help out whenever asked...it's about dance, for sure, but also about team spirit and helping out and sharing and encouragement. She knows what it's like to stand up in front of a bunch of folks and do what she does. She can take criticism in stride. She can clap for her friends when she has not done as well as she'd hoped, herself. She can accept a trophy when her friends have had a bad day and spend time encouraging them. She can get stuck in a snow delay en route to a championship event, get to bed way too late and dance better than anyone (including herself) expected her to.
Does this translate to something useful, later in life? You bet. Graceful losing - a nearly-lost art. Teamwork. Encouragement. Humility. Hard work. More hard work. Fulfilling commitments (this week, that lesson was a difficult one...but my dd will be where she needs to be). Teaching others. Cheerleading after you haven't done well yourself. Working through adversity. Finishing schoolwork expeditiously so dance can be the sole focus during dance class time. Stepping up when another team member can't be available. Who wouldn't hire an employee with these abilities?
All of these things can be learned outside of dance, for sure. (Band. Drum Corps International. Scouting. Robotics Club. Religious Education. Team sports. The list goes on.) But - you can learn all this through dance, too. The Cute Factor is lovely and wonderful, in and of itself...but there's a lot more to it than that.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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LucyP
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We have just taken our first step at dancing. We did it because my daughter has been begging to do it for at least a year and a half. And we will keep doing it because her teacher came out and said "wow, has she ever had lessons before? Is she really 3? She is a natural dancer." As far as my budget allows, I let the children do what they are interested in and what is positive for them. I have never danced and it is not something that is important to me as such, but seeing her delight and excitement and grace as she finally got to do ballet was worth all the sacrifices it takes for her to dance. She now wants to be a dancing nun!
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Mimip
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I totally agree with KC and Nancy and I just wanted to sound in on the importance of the right dance school.
We are flooded with dance schools in our area but I wanted two very important things:
1. Only Classical Ballet training: Our ballet school does not offer tap or modern or jazz until they are "experienced ballerinas" age 11 or up. They have to be starting pointe and that does not happen until their feet are big enough to sustain their weight. It has taught my girls such grace and perseverance. (They REALLY want their pointe shoes  )
2. NO BALLET RECITALS!!!! I HATE THEM!!!!! Sorry I had to get that out.
But you know what Theresa, my girls love to dance and I love to see them progressing but neither of them started until they were 5 and they are both doing great. With our schedule, that's the best decision I made, not to start them until they were a bit older.
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Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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CrunchyMom
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I have boys, not girls, but they recently started German Folk Dancing lessons at the local German cultural society. Part of that for us, and what I could see as the reasoning behind another choice like Irish Step dancing, is the link to their cultural heritage. Plus, the men's part in German folk dancing (specifically the schuhplattler) is just really fun!
Also, I think dancing is something very human, but with the "popular" dances of society being, well, gross at worse and requiring zero skill at best, one is limited to a more formal setting if one is to learn at all. In my ideal world, I wouldn't need to take my children to a class to learn a proper form of dance, it would be a more natural part of our culture.
Frankly, and I mean no insult, but why learn soccer or any other sport? The value is often hard for people to quantify into words, but it is obviously valued HIGHLY by many people. Sure, it might be valued too highly by some as dance could be, too, but I can't see how playing soccer makes any more sense than taking dance, yk? I'm not trying to say anything about soccer, its just an example of something popular that comes to mind as comparable to the choice to do dance for many families.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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insegnante
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| Posted: Oct 07 2010 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the insights. Btw, just in case it wasn't clear, I'm not asking out of horror that others spend their money and time this way -- it's just that as the relatively new mother of a girl (she turned 2 in August) I'm honestly wondering what the benefits are for people who like many are short on time and money and don't expect their daughters to become professional ballerinas. Don't want to rule it out if I'm missing something.
I was in dancing school for about six months as a first grader. My mother didn't like something about how the school was run so I didn't even finish the year and have a recital. I was not good at it anyway, even though I did enjoy it.
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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Kathryn
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Hi Theresa,
I've always loved to "dance" but my mom was one that didn't have the time or money. I took my oldest DD to see the Nutcracker at almost age 5 and she begged for the next 9 months to take ballet (she was then in gymnastics). I thought ballet?! Although I liked to dance, I was never into ballet and certainly was concerned about the image portrayed and expected of ballerinas. However, I found a wonderful ballet studio (hence everyone elses suggestions to find the right studio) that was run by a woman through our church and whose motto is "Praise Him with dance...." which is from a Psalm in the Bible. She is completely about making each girl the best ballerina she can be and there is never any suggestive dances or costumes (which I've seen plenty of when seeing other dance studios perform around town).
My daughter has just started her 7th year and goes 4x a week now! Yes, it's a LOT and if she were in traditional school there is prob. no way we would commit to such a schedule. 1 of those days is actually to be a "helper" in her younger sister's class now (she's age 3) so I don't have to pay for the 3 year old and it's like my older DD's first "job". She has learned soooo much discipline, grace and I truly can see it being a "job" for her. May be not a lifetime but who knows...her ballet instructor is in her 50s, owns this studio and still dances with the girls. They do have the yearly recital but a lot of the reason my daughter goes so much now is that she does Pointe class as well as practicing for taking their dances to local nursing homes and other community events. Again, the dancing is always done to classical Christian music and is done as a ministry to the community.
I would never have dreamed that starting her at age 5 would lead to anything besides teaching grace and discpline and the beauty of classical music but really that is reason enough. As she continues to grow and her love for ballet grows as well, there is certainly the potential that she will do something in this field. Surprising since I have an accountant background and her dad's an engineer! We're certainly not artsy people at all but this seems to be her leaning.
WHEW...that was long-winded!!  Hope it helps!
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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4Real Forums : The Arts in the Everyday
Topic: why dancing school?
