If you’ve clicked on this post it’s most likely because you’re raising a young dancer… WELCOME.
It’s an interesting journey (especially if you have no history with dance) but in the end, it’s an amazing addition to a person’s life whether they become a professional dancer or not.
First things first, it’s important to understand what dance means to your child. The journey of becoming a dancer is a spiritual one, and the lessons and influence of their dance class will play a major role in their life, positive or negative. Here’s why I’m confident in that…
When a person walks into their first dance class, they’re usually not that great. Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap and others are all HARD techniques to master… so your first class is usually laughable in retrospect. But there’s something that happens in an hour and a half of awkward movement and barely understanding what the teacher is talking about. You’d think they’d come out embarrassed but they come out in LOVE… ready to work even harder to be less awkward next time.
At any stage in your life I hope that you experience something that makes you want to study in order to grow. That process of discipline, conquering insecurity, and seeing your hard work create RESULTS is a spiritual one. It’s a meditative process to become better at dance. Some people find it with the gym, sports, or academics… but if you’re here, your kid found it with dance and that’s pretty special.
Here are my 5 Tips for Raising a Dancer…
- Embrace the people that are better than you and constantly try to match their greatness. Don’t shade them or their family. Be thankful there’s someone that’s good at things that you’re not and try to get better.
- Don’t allow dance teachers to verbally or emotionally abuse your dancer. Teachers that teach ANYTHING should be able to communicate clearly to both students and their parents. Raising & influencing a young person is a TEAM effort, and intimidation or smoke and mirrors is a NO GO.
- Encourage everything that leads to a good quality of life, not JUST a successful dance career. There are hundreds of miserable successful people (I’ve coached a few of them).
- Help your dancer understand more about fueling their instrument. As an athlete they require a certain type of fuel and sustenance. Help them make smart and healthy decisions.
- The dance world as an industry has a lot of similarities to other sports world. What makes Steph Curry so great is the same thing that will make a young dancer great one day and it’s purely hard work. Teach your kid how to work hard like an elite athlete and they’ll be SET.
I hope these help you on your journey!
@tdacoach