Dance Class teaches life long skills
If you’re looking for a fantastic dance class, for levels from beginner to advanced, then check out PAA!
As a dance teacher I am constantly staying up to date and researching new findings on the proper way to move our bodies and develop strength and flexibility properly. Recently the news has featured articles on dance students over-stretching and pushing past their movement ability too quickly, resulting in serious injury. Television shows like So You Think You Can Dance and the internet have made it possible for kids to emulate extreme moves without the proper instruction and technique behind it.
The dance class students at PAA have begun the process of learning technical habits that will allow them to approach higher levels of dance in a safe way. For instance a plié is arguably one of the most important basic ballet techniques for a dancer to master. It begins and ends almost every intermediate to advanced dance move and greatly improves all jumps and turns. When approaching our first pliés it is essential to discuss what muscles the students should be thinking about, how to turn out properly without forcing their feet too wide, how to carry their upper body so that the correct muscles are engaged, etc. Listening and understanding are the first steps to great technique so I ask my students to tell me each time what they should be thinking about, or I turn the class around and have them teach me. This allows me to access listening and understanding skills. Then it’s all about practice.
Practice makes perfect, especially in dance class!
Some great articles from Dance Magazine can be found online, as well as on The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science website regarding these topics. I read both regularly, and I think it is very important that parents seek out a physical learning environment that remains educated and up to date.
At PAA we will always strive to educate and build the dancer so that they are prepared and healthy. Regardless of what they choose to do with their dance education, PAA students will learn joint and muscle awareness to improve their health and athleticism into adulthood.
Check out the lineup of PAA dance classes for our Fall Semester and Spring Semester. You can read about our dance class descriptions and levels on the dance class page.
