Does you little one love to dance? Both little girls and boys both love to move around to the music, whether it is their favorite cartoon or a toy!
Many little ones love to dress up in tutus and fancy dresses or tap their feet along to the beat.
So you may have considered enrolling your child into dance classes. The following post will highlight the options you have as well as benefits for your little star.
What Type of Toddler Dance Classes Are There?
If you weren’t already aware there are many different styles of dance to choose from including ballet, tap dance, hip hop, contemporary, jazz and creative movement to name a few.
What your little one is interested in will be the harder part to decide. Perhaps trying out each style is ideal before committing to one in particular.
Ballet Dance
Ballet classes focus on the techniques need to become a ballerina such as balance, strength and of course grace. In a ballet class you can expect your young one to work on the correct postures as well as alignment.
Tap Dance
Using sounds and movement tap dance is a really fun way for your little one to express themselves. These classes generally consist of a combination of ballet and tap.
Jazz
Generally more suited to kids aged 4 and over this class is a mixture of contemporary and lyrical. Dance moves include leaps and turns as well as more expressive movements. If your child is into ballet then jazz might be the next class to try!
Creative Movement
This is a more relaxed, fun dance class environment that focuses on listening, motor and expression as a dance form.
These classes are a great first class to try, if they enjoy one particular aspect over another then you can begin to move them into classes of that style.
Hip-Hop
This style of dance is purely about expression, in a creative way! Beginning with basic moves you can move onto break dance style as they grow older.
Is my Toddler Ready for Dance Classes?
This is something only you can decide, generally knowing your childs personality and where their interests lay is the biggest hint.
See if the studios near you let your child come and watch, that way you can gauge if they are really interested or not. It is a great test. Generally around the age of 2 a Childs attention span is limited so putting them through a structured class may not be the best idea.
What is the Right Dance Studio?
Once you have decided on the style then you can get down to finding the best studio. There are a few things you want to check such as the teachers and their qualifications, their nature. Then there are other things like the cleanliness and the layout. Y
Frequency of Classes
How much training do you want your little one to have? Do you have time in both yours and their schedule to account for dance classes. Many people find that once a week is sufficient although of course if your child is interested they can do more.
Costs
All activities come with a price so check in with the cost per class, perhaps there are discounted options for buying in bulk. Do they have performances that are an extra cost? How about costumes, shoes and any extra equipment. these are all things you will need to consider before signing up.
