When introduced to children, dance as a form of physical activity can be both a creative outlet and a physical activity. Most kids learn dance as a co-curricular activity after school hours. Some schools do have dance lessons which can be taken up by those interested, while others use them to encourage movement that provides a creative outlet. Still others may provide these lessons just before an event in school. However, it is not regularly prioritized in most schools.
In a recent webinar held by Happiest Health, experts discussed how dance can be used to make fitness more enjoyable for children.
Benefits of dance for children
“Teaching dance to young children can hone their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual fitness,” explained Arunima Gupta, dance instructor and Founder of The Floor, a dance school in Kochi, Kerala.
Dance and other cultural fitness activities can keep the child’s mind animated. Tapping into the child’s creativity through dance can open up the child’s mind, which can even have a beneficial impact on academics, believes Delhi-based Tripura Kashyap, a connoisseur of dance and movement therapy. She adds that academics and dance can be complementary to each other. “Dance can build a well-rounded personality by enhancing children’s intellectual and social skills,” said Kashyap. Agreeing with her, Gupta vindicates that well-rounded character development is evident in children who attend dance classes for years on end.
Elaborating on the multi-fold benefits of dance, Kashyap says, “It can enhance leadership skills, memory, concentration, presence of mind, body-mind coordination, sequencing, physical reflexes, mental alertness and self-regulation.” She labels dance as a movement energizer that reduces passivity.
Besides, learning dance as movement therapy can bring about verbal clarity after a few non-verbal sessions. “At the end of each dance and movement activity, children can reflect on and discuss their experience of the movement. All of this helps them gain confidence,” Kashyap explained.
Making dance a fun fitness activity for kids
Kashyap explains that the onus for making dance an enjoyable fitness activity for children is on the facilitator and the methods adopted. She recommends tapping into the imagination of the child to achieve this. “Activities like movement puzzles, rhythm work, use of props or even the process of memorizing a dance routine can make dance enjoyable for most children,” described Kashyap.
Dance for children: Unique training approaches
Teaching dance to children is not the same as teaching adults, Kashyap pointed out. “The facilitator must be trained to teach dance as a fun, interactive, unstructured, and non-linear art form to children,” she emphasized.
According to Gupta, any dance form has a technicality. She adds that children of the age group five years and above can understand dance’s technicalities with their improving comprehensive skills.
From physical fitness to intellectual well-being
Most parents believe that dancing helps kids stay fit and active as they grow up. “They want the child to be exhausted at the end of the day,” Gupta said. She adds that over the years, parents notice the differences in their child’s growth — she terms this ‘a typical metamorphosis’. “With dancing, one leads to another — physical strength leads to mental growth, emotional, and spiritual growth in children,” she explained.
The teacher-student bond over dance
Gupta, who has been teaching dance as a fun fitness activity to young children, shared her belief that it is a challenge to match kids’ humongous energy reserves and their varied interests. She added that teaching kids requires a different approach.
“The facilitator must respond to the child’s energy. However, it is challenging to balance being playful with kids and remaining strict about dance lessons,” Gupta explained. She added that over time, a child may get emotionally attached to the teacher. They might also start confiding in the teacher, which requires delicate handling.
Dance as a therapy
Both Kashyap and Gupta believe that teaching dance to young minds can be therapeutic for the teacher, too. “Children and their love always turn a bad day around,” laughed Gupta.
Kashyap believes that dance can work as an anti-depressant for the teacher and student. “Kids who practice a dance form have always shown to have better coping mechanisms than others,” added Gupta.
Experts point out that dance is an enjoyable physical activity for children and its benefits are infinite. Moreover, learning dance at a young age works as a digital detox for at least a couple of hours a day. They both believe that teaching dance to kids can be made process-oriented rather than performance-oriented.
Takeaways
Dance for kids is not just a physical fitness activity; it can be a fun learning process, too. Teaching dance to children in a non-linear, unstructured way by tapping into their creative minds can be highly beneficial for developing an all-round personality of a child. Dance teachers advise making it process-oriented and not performance-oriented.
