Five Essential Tips for New Dance Families
If you’ve just enrolled your child in their first dance class, your family is sure to experience an exciting time. Dance is good for so many things like boosting self-confidence, teaching respect, learning about discipline and helping to develop lifelong friendships.
But we know~ it can be overwhelming when you step inside the studio for the first time. Do not worry! We have developed five essential tips to help you and your dancer stay on the right beat!
Label everything! Yes, everything! Get a marker and write your dancer’s name inside their shoes, bags , leotards and tights. One look at the lost and found at virtually any studio will tell you why this is essential.
Stock up on hairbands, hairnets and bobby pins! The hairnets will save you time and frustration when trying to achieve the perfect bun, and the bobby pins will end up everywhere except in close range when you need them the most!
Make friends with the other dance parents. Seriously, other dance parents can become life savers, especially when your child needs a ride to or from dance, when it’s time to perform and definitely should your child join a performance company.
Trust the teacher. We all know our children are exceptional, special little people. So do the teachers. They want your child to have fun, be safe and learn a thing or two—if not about dance, then about life. As parents, we need to respect their expertise, even if it means they don’t advance to the next level as quickly as you feel they should . They’ve seen too many times the injuries and other difficulties that can occur when dancers advance at a pace that isn’t right for them.
Remember it’s your child’s activity. It’s tempting as parents to project our own hopes and dreams onto our children, but we also know the importance of letting them experience their own journey. So you want a ballet dancer, but it turns out your child has a gift for tap. Let your child tap. That’s the best way to instill a love for the arts and to ensure your child reaps all of the benefits from what dance can offer.
Any questions along the way? Find that dance mom who’s been around for a while. The parents of children who’ve been dancing longer are happy to take newbies under their wings. And you may just end up with more BFFs yourself.