5 things your Child Will Appreciate about Ballet

As a parent, you enroll your child (sometimes as young as age 3) in a ballet class because she wants to wear the pretty outfit and nice ballet shoes. We have to admit that a little girl dressed up like a ballerina is one adorable picture! Beginning the quest to find that “one” activity that your child can fall in love with and call her own is every parent’s goal. You not only have to find the right activity but the right teacher or coach can be the difference between your child liking an activity or disliking it so much that they associate the activity with the teacher and don’t want to go back or want to try it again.  Besides the cute photos, there are 5 great reasons why your child will appreciate the ballet classes when they get older.

Ballet makes better Students

It takes a great deal of memorization to learn the positions and the dances in ballet. Students will learn the terms and the positions that are the basis of ballet. They will need to be able to concentrate and work well with other students in their class. Ballet students learn dances for recitals and will perform the skills they learned. They will develop confidence to dance in front of others. These skills of memorization, working well with others and performing will prepare them for the rigors of academic studies in school and they will be better students for it. Your child will appreciate the memorization skills as they get older and have to study for tests I high school and college.

Ballet develops better Listeners

Younger ballet students are encouraged to thoughtfully listen and execute directions in ballet class. The instructor shows and tells her young students how to execute a dance move or position in class. They see the results of their listening as they are rewarded with moving on in class to learn more or with treats for good listening at the end of ballet class. The skill of listening for directions and applying what you hear is a valued skill that will be beneficial in school, work and potential leadership positions throughout life. Your child will appreciate the skill of discerning listening and it will advance them both academically and professionally.

Ballet develop Discipline

Going to ballet class develops discipline in a young student. Both parents and children have to make a commitment to attend class, practice between class, wear the proper attire, be on time for class, and following directions. These are expectations that are placed on a ballet student and will teach a child discipline in the process.  A good ballet teacher will be able to enforce these expectations in a way that ensures the younger children learn discipline but not in such a negative fashion that repels them from the art.  A soft, firm and approachable demeanor from a teacher shapes a child’s respect for authority while offering them the discipline that ballet students need to excel both in the studio and outside of it.  Your child will appreciate the discipline they learned n class. It will have shaped their attitude and work ethic.

Ballet helps public speaking fears

Taking ballet also means the inevitable dance recital or performance. Being on stage with others and having to perform gives a young child confidence. A shy child might find it exhilarating to be on stage, to be “someone’ else in costume. This early exposure will help a child with their ability to speak more confidently in public. Your child  will appreciate the exposure to the stage and being in front of others as an experience as they get older. The fear that grips so many others while speaking in pubic will not be a fear for them.

Ballet is not just for girls

Although ballet is predominantly a dance class that lends itself more to girls, it is also a very good class for boys. There are more and more examples of young men who were attracted to ballet and benefited from all that attending a ballet class has to offer. Learning discipline, better academics, better listening skills, and confidence, are skills that will be appreciated by everyone who takes a ballet class and commits to it long term. For boys and young men, the strength and agility that ballet dancers develop can be applied to other field and court sports and can make boys and girls, men and women, better conditioned athletes.

Registering your son or daughter in a ballet class will have many benefits. They may not be old enough to appreciate many of them now, but as parents, one of our roles is to help shape out children for their future in the world. As they get older they will appreciate what Ballet class has done for them and they will appreciate you for enrolling them in class and keeping them there!