5 Benefits of Taking Class Together!
Some of the BEST memories are made on a dance floor together! As we celebrate Bring Your Person to Class (BYPTC) at the studio this week, it got us reflecting on how special it is to share dance with loved ones- something our Mini & Me classes get to do every week! In this article, we aim to explore the ways dancing together, whether its in BYPTC week or a weekly Mini & Me class, benefit both the adult and the child.
Below, we share 5 benefits both you and your mini me will gain from taking class together:
- Bonding + Quality Time – Carving out special dance time together helps facilitate and support the adult + child connection. When you commit to following through on taking class together, you enforce the promise you made to share in something intentionally special for you two, increasing trust, strengthening your bond, and promoting consistency, which is essential to motor and mental development.
- Developing Mental and Motor Skills– Speaking of motor and mental development- dance class is an optimal approach to achieving and supporting healthy bodies. Studies show that both adults and children benefit from dance classes, and some benefits include increased brain function, memory retention, and strengthening muscles, among many others. Scroll through to see our post entitled, “5 Ways Children Benefit from Dance Classes“ for more!
- Socializing– Dancing together is a wonderful way to connect to the community and make new friends. Through sharing the experience of class together, your dancer will explore creating friendships for the first time, while you are able to connect with other adults on all things childcare, dance, and more! For many, the connections and friendships built in class can be lasting, positive relationships that extend beyond dance and widen the net of support for families, caregivers, and students.
- Expression– Dancing holds the power to unlock and release emotions in a healthy, mindful, and creative way. For both adults and children, who each deal with their own daily stressors and challenges, the act of coming together on the dance floor can empower both parties to explore their expression in a conducive way. The effects of this expression can have an overall positive impact on one’s own sense of happiness as well as the relationships and friendships within one’s own circle.
- Develop Independence– You’ve heard the expression: “Monkey see, monkey do”? The same is true for dancing together! While initially you may wonder how dancing with someone could result in increased independence, we’ve found that with the assistance of their adult in class, dancers are excited to watch, learn, and model moves and class expectations exhibited by their adult. Ultimately, this will encourage them to make similar choices in class on their own. Over time and with consistency, dancers will see a boost in their confidence and autonomy on the dance floor, allowing adults to be able to sit back more and let loose in their own way.
Whether you come for BYPTC week or to one of our weekly Mini & Me classes, we’re thrilled to provide the opportunity for families to connect through dance here at Reach For The Barres! Hope to see you AND your dancer in the studio soon!
