Dance is fun. It builds self-confidence and coordination. More appealing to me, dance is music made visible. I love watching my girls giggling, swirling and dancing in the house. "There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them".
I wish I got the chance to learn to do it when I was the right age. Well, I have figured out the other shortcuts over the years. So when Sophie said she wanted to dance(again), natually I started to look for a dance studio for her(again). She's still little, 5, the age that is not quite ready to handle the serious instructions. For this age, you'll most likely to find classes labled "Creative Movements" or "Pre-Ballet". By that, it means a little bit of basic dance steps, a little bit of free movements, and maybe a little bit of jazz and tap dances. Sounds very fun!
So I sent Sophie to this dance studio. Actually this was her third dance school already. The previous two didn't work out. It went fairly well. She was happy, which was very important. Then came the time to discuss about the end-of-year recital. I realized I made a mistake.
When Laura was little, she attened this professional ballet school once. For her recital, she danced in her regular dance outfit, like every other girls in her class. They danced with their hearts, and they danced beautifully. But nowadays, I see more and more "Las Vegas" style dance and recitals. Young kids were allowed to put on inappropriate costumes and heavy makeup, and danced with unsuitable music. The end-of-year recital, which is supposed to be the icing on the cake, became the main focal point of the class. Months before the recital, kids started to prepare(drill) for the recital dances. It appears (to me, as a parent) that putting on a grand show is more important than building up a solid foundation of dance basics. It just seems harder and harder to find a dance studio that focuses more on proficiency and artistry.
Dance is also performing arts, which inevitably will incoorperate acting, muisc, stage and costumes. Especially for little girls, they enjoy the costumes and the exciting performces enormously. But when it's not done appropriately, we're literally telling our little kids (young girls) that the most important thing is how you look (with fake hair and makeup), how you prance on stage, how you shake your butt in front of the audience, and all this obsession with vanity.
That being said, I want to go back and talk about "fun". Kids usually have fun during the class, that's very important to keep the studio running. But let's look at "fun" from another perspective. Young kids can have fun from all sorts of non-structured activities - jumping, running, doodling, splashing in the swimming pool - which is equally important. Then there's a longer term sense of joy and sense of achievement, which could only obtained through focused hard work and efforts. It gives kids a valuable experience of seeing how their commitment help them grow stronger.
Dance is fine arts. Dance is an enrichment experience. But that only happens when the dance school or the studio keeps that kind of philosophy and mission at its heart.





