It’s never easy to make the decision of what dance studio you will choose to enroll your child in. There are many things to consider, including when there few class options available for students who want more than just bar exercises with their friends every night at 6pm; if progress isn’t being made within timelines as promised on enrollement papers–or even worse: no classes whatsoever!
In an ideal world, dancers are able to grow and develop at one dance studio for many years and then there are times where leaving will benefit your dancer, their development, and will keep their interest and enthusiasm towards dance.
To help you make this difficult decision here are five valid reasons why some studios just don’t make the cut.
1. Limited Class Options
Dance is a child’s first experience with music and movement. it offers an opportunity to learn about complex concepts like coordination, timing, rhythm, space requirements in addition
to flexibility through group dancing classes that develop emotional regulating skills such as self expression or confidence building . When parents choose the right studio they can feel confident knowing their little one will be learning from experienced teachers who have been there before. The amazing thing about dance is the variety of styles available and having your child at a school with only a few choices for classes can be very limiting and lessen your child’s enthusiasm about dance. Exposure is key in dance and the ability to train in different styles is important for a well-rounded dance experience. Small dance studios have a warm, welcoming environment that is difficult to leave. They may be the perfect spot while your child is very young and deciding if they want continue dancing as a young adult; however you’ll need another option for schools with more options when we grow up!
2. Bad Teachers
Dance teachers are some of the most hardworking, and passionate people on this planet. And in general, each and every one of them wants to do what is best for their students.
But unfortunately, you will always find a few who for various reasons have either: developed bad habits and skills that manipulate, scare or humiliate their students into compliance to get results; who use unsafe techniques because that is how they were taught; are passionate but unskilled dancers themselves; or who teach dance because after years and years of giving themselves to the craft they feel they do not know how to do anyting else, even when teaching gives them no joy.
Unfortunately, having a bad dance teacher can completely ruin a dancer’s experience.
3. Lack of Organization
Dance studios that function properly have a combination of excellent teachers and equally amazing support staff. Without the dance studio staff helping with registration, fittings, tuition payments, crowd control, and regular communication with parents, the entire studio is in chaos. The support staff can keep a studio running smoothly or completely take the train off of the rails. Parents need accurate, consistent information to keep their dancers organized.
4. Injury Prevention
Dance is good for many children for a variety of reasons. Any form of dance, from ballet to jazz, is an excellent form of exercise and is good for posture and balance. Dance is also great for teaching your child discipline and provides a social outlet for children.
However, along with the health benefits of dance comes the risk of dance injuries. Dancing can cause injury to the hips, knees, ankles, and feet. When your childs teacher understands these risks and how to prevent them, they can reduce your child’s risk of developing injuries and can know what to expect if your child does sustain an injury.
Common Types of Injuries
Some of the most common dance injuries are related to repetitive motion from training and performing. Repetitive stress on joints and bones can trigger strains, sprains, and stress fractures. While less common than repetitive injuries, acute injuries can also occur.
Ankle sprains can occur when a dancer inverts the ankle during a dance move. This causes pain and swelling along the ankle and may cause a feeling of instability in the ankle. If your child suffered a previous sprain, it may increase the risk of a subsequent strain to the ankle.
Knee injuries are common due to the nature and positioning of specific dance moves, such as bending and jumping. These moves place stress on the knees and can result in overuse injuries. Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a common occurrence in dancers, causing a dull and achy anterior knee pain.
Young dancers may experience a hip injury called snapping hip syndrome. This condition does not always cause pain but does cause an audible clicking or snapping sound. The sound is caused by a tendon or muscle moving across the hip bone and may cause your child to feel as if the hip is slipping out of place.
Repetitive twisting and bending of the back can lead to disk problems and back sprains. This pain may be localized to the low back or extend down the leg. It can also cause numbness and tingling sensations in the leg and foot.
WIthout proper training a dance teacher can really be the cause of the injury. They either have a lack of knowledge about anatomy or haven’t continued to learn about the evolution of dance training techniques. Its always important to check your Dance studio’s teacher credentials before deciding where to place your child.
5. Not Making Any Progress
There are many dance schools that do not have a curriculum that ages with the dancer. They offer courses for each age group but often a dancer will not be challenged or see any progress in their skills. It is important that dance schools not only provide a variety of dance classes for dancers to enroll in, but have a trajectory that can be measured as they get older. Dance is similar to reading and math. When students are smaller, they are reading simple sight words and learning basic math skills and by the intermediate grades, they are reading novels and dividing 5-digit numbers. The same type of progress and growth needs to be available at every dance studio.
Dance studios also need to have variations for advanced students that need an additional challenge. These challenges can be additional sessions with a teacher, taking dance exams, opportunities to compete, advanced level classes or even dance teacher training.
ADA Dance co. Goes above and beyond.
ADA is known for bringing out the best in students by stimulating their
minds, and challenging the limits of their ability, so that they may achieve their dreams. Our objective is provide the highest quality dance instruction in a caring, fun and friendly environment.
All of our recreational staff members are certified and trained in their field of dance and we do not use any students to teach our students. While all dancers dance for different reasons, dancers who participate in our dance classes will leave with valuable life skills. Students will benefit from social interactivity, discipline, confidence, posture, physical fitness and creativity. Our faculty features motivating, and highly trained instructors who will ensure that every dancer is challenged and has the opportunity to reach their personal potential.
Have a look at their background here
Our teachers are award winning ! infact they have been named Orangeville’s best for the past 10 years ! Our instructors have a strong background in injury prevention and conditioning and will take the care your child deserves.
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