With fall registration opening, one of the most common questions we receive is, “How many dance classes should I enrol my dancer in?”. Kid’s schedules are more full than they have ever been, and it’s a natural first question! Should you do one day of dance, one day of soccer, music lessons, and coding? Is it better to be well-rounded or to become more skilled in fewer activities? How do you decide what activities to introduce your kid to and how frequently to do them? Dance is an activity and art form that takes time, dedication, and patience to master. The more time your child spends in class, the faster they will progress.
The more you learn about how people learn, the more you realize that skill is not born but is a product of the environment. Daniel Coyle, an expert researcher in learning and skill development, said in his book The Talent Code, “Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact, we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.” To sum up an incredibly insightful book (which you should definitely read), skill is gained by consistently pushing the limits of your ability, failing, and trying again. And again. The more you do this, the more skill you build.
If you are only taking one dance class, once a week, there is a limit on how fast your dancer will gain skill. Taking two dance classes per week will increase skill-building opportunities immensely! The repetition has a compounding effect and you’ll see improvement grow at a faster rate than you thought possible.
Beyond becoming a much more skilled dancer, there are other benefits to choosing dance as your main extracurricular activity and taking multiple dance classes each week. Dance teaches you lifelong lessons in teamwork, hard work, responsibility, and accountability. Unlike many other sports or activities, there are no substitutes in dance. You can’t call the bench and you don’t get a sub. Your performing team counts on you being engaged, present, and ready to perform.
The long, seemingly endless, hours of rehearsal, teach social skills better than nearly any other sport or art form. Ask any of the dance teachers here and they will confirm that their dance friends are friends they have for life. The process of learning new choreography and technique, and doing so as a shared experience, makes you into a person who is equally confident in being a member of a team and a leader.
Cost Benefits
The cost of taking multiple Recreational dance classes per week is your most effective way to save money at ADC! The rate per class drops for adding a second class and continues to decrease for each additional class. If you are looking to maximize your dance experience, sign-up this week for more than one class!
