What Is the Best Dance Style for My Child?
What Is the Best Dance Style for My Child?
Ballet? Jazz? Tap? Hip hop? Acro? Musical theatre?
For parents new to dance, choosing a class can feel surprisingly complicated.
The good news is that there usually isn’t one “best” dance style for every child.
In fact, younger children may not need to choose a style at all.
The best place to start is with your child’s age, interests, personality and the way they naturally like to move.
Younger Children Don’t Need to Specialize
When children are young, experiencing a variety of movement can be more valuable than immediately choosing one specific dance style.
Classes that combine different disciplines allow children to develop coordination, musicality, rhythm, flexibility and basic technique while discovering what they enjoy.
One week they may love making sounds with their tap shoes. Another week they may be excited about ballet. Then they discover jazz or acro.
That’s part of the learning process.
Young children don’t need to decide what kind of dancer they are.
They need opportunities to move, explore and build strong foundations.
Ballet
Ballet develops posture, coordination, balance, musicality, control and technique.
Children who enjoy structure, graceful movement and learning details may particularly enjoy ballet.
The strength and body awareness developed through ballet can also support many other styles of dance as children progress.
Jazz
Jazz is energetic, expressive and often a great fit for children who love to move.
Classes can include jumps, turns, kicks, travelling steps and choreography set to upbeat music.
If your child is constantly performing in the living room or loves learning routines, jazz may quickly become a favourite.
Tap
Tap allows children to be both dancers and musicians.
They learn to create rhythms and sounds with their feet while developing coordination, timing and musical awareness.
Tap can be especially appealing to children who love rhythm, patterns and, of course, making a little noise.
Hip Hop
Hip hop is a popular choice for children who enjoy strong rhythms, energetic movement and current styles of music.
Classes can help develop coordination, musicality, confidence and individual style.
For young dancers, it is also important that both the movement and music used in class are age-appropriate.
Acro
If your child spends more time upside down than right side up, acro may immediately catch their attention.
Acro combines dance with skills such as balances, rolls, cartwheels, flexibility and tumbling.
Quality acro training should progress carefully, helping children develop the strength and technique they need before moving on to more advanced skills.
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre is a wonderful option for children who love performing, acting and storytelling as much as they love dancing.
Classes combine dance with character, expression and performance skills.
For the child who is constantly putting on shows at home, singing along to musicals or creating characters, musical theatre can provide another way to build confidence while learning to perform.
At Dance Extreme, dancers can begin exploring Musical Theatre from age seven.
What About Lyrical and Contemporary?
As dancers get older, even more styles become available.
Lyrical combines dance technique with musical expression and storytelling.
Contemporary allows dancers to explore movement, creativity and expression in another way.
These styles are often wonderful choices once dancers have developed some foundational skills and are ready to explore movement with greater maturity.
What If My Child Doesn’t Know What They Like Yet?
That’s completely normal.
This is actually one of the reasons combination classes can be so beneficial.
At Dance Extreme, our younger programs intentionally introduce children to more than one type of dance rather than requiring them to specialize immediately.
As dancers move into the Mini levels, more individual style choices begin to become available.
For dancers approximately ages six to eight who still enjoy variety, combination classes remain an option too.
That allows children to continue exploring without feeling they need to choose one favourite style right away.
What If My Child Chooses the “Wrong” Style?
They haven’t.
Trying something and discovering it isn’t their favourite is still valuable.
Children are learning what they enjoy.
One dancer may begin loving ballet and later discover tap.
Another may be certain jazz is their favourite until they try musical theatre.
Some children never choose just one.
Dance should give children room to explore.
How We Help Families Choose at Dance Extreme
Families often come to us knowing their child wants to dance but having no idea which class to choose.
That’s completely okay.
For our youngest dancers, the decision is largely based on age because the classes are intentionally designed to expose children to different types of movement and dance.
As they get older, more choices become available.
Some dancers begin to develop a favourite style. Others continue enjoying combination classes because they like doing a little of everything.
And none of those choices require a child to pursue competitive dance.
Many Dance Extreme students take recreational classes because they simply love dancing. Others eventually choose additional performance or competitive opportunities.
There is room for all of those paths.
So Which Dance Style Should Your Child Choose?
Start with your child’s age.
Then think about what kind of movement seems to excite them.
And if they’re still young or simply aren’t sure?
They don’t need to choose yet.
Give them the opportunity to explore.
The goal of a first dance class isn’t to correctly predict what kind of dancer your child will become.
It’s to help them discover how much fun dancing can be.
Not Sure Which Dance Class to Choose?
Tell us your child’s age, interests and a little about their personality, and the Dance Extreme team can help you find a great place to begin.
Sometimes the best first dance style is more than one.
