For a fascinating and artistic dance style, contemporary dance may be difficult to understand at first for parents of dance students. It doesn’t have the gratification of tap, or the crowd-pleasing appeal of jazz. And yet, these unique characteristics are what makes contemporary dance lessons so beneficial for children.
For the uninitiated, contemporary dance is a free-form style of dancing that allows for strong creative expression through free movement and improvisation. It draws from many dance genres and techniques such as Limon and Horton. Essentially, contemporary dance allows dancers to become their own choreographer by performing dance moves the moment the dancer thinks of them.
Parents that have become more familiar with tutus and cleats have no reason to suspect contemporary dance’s outlier status. Like its peers, contemporary dance can be just as beneficial towards children’s development.
Here are 5 ways contemporary dance lessons can benefit your child.
Ballet’s storied history and rich tradition make it an excellent style for beginner students. However, its rigid technique can prove to be limiting for older students. In these cases, dance students looking for a change can find the stylistic freedom they desire with contemporary dance..
Contemporary dance is fundamentally aligned to enable a dancer’s personal expression. To facilitate this focus, dancers need to depend upon their creative thinking as the motivator for connecting their movements with fluid transitions.
As a dance style based on spontaneity and self-expression, contemporary dance is excellent for helping dance students think outside the box and boost their creativity.
As grown ups, we may have forgotten how difficult it is to be young, and how stressing growing up can be. To give them the help they need, parents should consider contemporary dance lessons for their children.
Dancing releases endorphins that combat stress. By living in the moment of improvisation, children can forget their worries and focus upon themselves. Contemporary dance helps children feel relaxed, and promotes positivity,
By becoming healthier children, these dance students are inclined to become more balanced adults, signifying that contemporary dance lessons for children make for a smart future investment.
Contemporary dance can be very influential for young dancers because it can provide a sense of empowerment.
By honing their craft into an art, student dancers develop a personal voice that can express their thoughts and feelings in a way that transcends speech. In this way, dancers express their inner self through motion, pace, and transitions. Children can dance however they want, tapping into their gentility by being methodical and languid, or venting pent-up emotions by being aggressive and brutish.
By giving students the opportunity to dance freely, contemporary dance makes for an ideal dance style geared for shy and introverted children, and can open up new avenues for those with learning disabilities.
Exercise is especially important for children’s development. That’s why, compared to other dance styles, contemporary dance is particularly good for children as a way to improve their health.
Contemporary dance is excellent for aerobic training; it improves heart and lung health, and boosts endurance. This dance style focuses on developing abdominal muscles, and is great for losing weight.
Children entering their pre-teen years face strong social pressures that may make them feel awkward when around others. To help them overcome these negative feelings, parents should consider contemporary dance classes for their children.
Contemporary dance helps children build confidence and poise, allowing them to establish an emotional stability that can last them into adulthood. By getting them to work together with like-minded peers, contemporary dance is great for children in promoting socialization and helps them integrate better into groups.
By promoting self-awareness and encouraging creativity, contemporary dance makes for an excellent class for children. Student dancers aged 8 and up are sure to enjoy this challenging and free-form dance that offers so many benefits to everyone who takes it!
Interested? CDM Dance & Music offers contemporary dance lessons for children for ages 8 and up as well as ages 11 and up. Come browse through all our recreational dance classes using our schedule here!
