When students enroll in a ballet class, they are, of course, learning great technique, building creativity, gaining flexibility, and developing physical strength to help them perform. But there are some surprising skills that ballet teaches dancers that carry on well beyond the stage.
Along with the excitement and wonder dance classes can bring, it also involves rigorous training that teaches children how to deal with challenges and successes throughout their lives.
While the benefits are almost immeasurable, here are 7 of our favorite life lessons our students learn through ballet:
1. Collaboration
While it is true that ballet features principal dancers, no ballet company or class can thrive without all dancers working together. The kind of face-to-face connection and trust that needs to exist between ballet partners and ensembles is unique to dance. When every individual is bringing their best and supporting their fellow dancer, everyone wins.
This carries into experiences outside of the classroom where children are willing and ready to help others succeed and do their part to support the whole team.
2. Perseverance
No dancer has ever reached new heights without falling a few times. Ballet can be difficult, and making
mistakes is all part of the learning process. As ballet students, children learn that their defeats never define them. By pushing through the hard parts, goals are achieved and mean more.
Ballet dancers don’t give up easily, and that dedication creates people who will pick themselves up time and time again to reach their dreams.
3. Discipline
Much of a ballet class is spent repeating steps and exercises at the barre, meticulously working on improving technique and precision. In order to properly work on these exercises and avoid injury, dancers need to stay hydrated, stretch, and stay on top of their overall health. For any dancer, especially children, maintaining this level of physicality requires discipline in and out of the classroom.
Discipline develops character and is necessary to achieve goals, and ballet helps grow that skill every single day.
4. Confidence
The byproduct of the discipline and perseverance needed in ballet is self-confidence! Ballet proves to students that they can get through hard situations and become better through them. When dancers feel empowered by their own progress and ability to conquer things that are difficult, they form a belief that they can take on any challenge that comes their way.
5. Listening Skills
As any dancer will tell you, an important part of any ballet class is listening to your instructor intently and quickly - things can move quickly! By taking in information at a fast pace and applying it to their physicality, students learn how to really tune in to what is being said to them. While some people have trouble paying full attention to what someone is saying, dancers train that ability with every class.
6. Preparation
Showing up with a blank slate doesn’t happen very often in dance. Remembering what was taught in previous classes and rehearsing so you come prepared and ready to learn new material in the next class is an important part of progressing in ballet. Not to mention, showing up to class without the right shoes, attire, and other dance bag essentials means you won’t be able to participate fully.
When children begin entering professional environments, they’ll be ready to take on projects and tasks that require preparation - they’ll have been practicing that skill in every ballet class.
7. Respect
One of the most important life skills ballet teaches young dancers is respect. We’re sure most people would agree that the world could use more thoughtfulness, and when children are in a dance class they learn to respect and be mindful of their fellow dancers, their teacher, and the environment they are learning in. When other students learn and commit to their practice together, it’s easy to see how respect is built through mutual dedication.
At Center Stage, we are proud of the work we do and how it benefits our students in and out of the classroom. We have always taken pride in who the children that take our classes are as a whole, and the lessons dance teaches are a large part of that.
To register your child for a dance class, visit https://www.centerstageohio.com/register