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In a recent article, writer Ana Flores discusses the benefits of taking your children to ballet classes. My daughter has been taking ballet classes since she was 2 and we've noticed the benefits too.
Ballet is a great activity to enhance confidence for toddlers. Young kids gain the confidence to let go of mummy or daddy's hand and to dance with their friends. At Bambino Ballet, we have a very nurturing style of teaching and address and encourage the little ones personally, so that they really get the feeling of being taught and included. This BBC article also has various ways of helping your toddler to gain confidence. These include encouragement, new activities and friendships, all of which you'll find at Bambino Ballet.
Pre-school children can find it difficult to concentrate for long periods, but with the combination of music and body movement, as well as encouragement from their dance teacher and peers, can help enhance this. In fact studies have shown that physical activity can enhance mental concentration and even academic performance. And Stanford University have this great piece on how dancing improves 'cognitive acuity' at ALL ages.
Toddlers are just learning to move their bodies and improve coordination. Practicing specific body movements in dance or ballet helps them to speed up this process. The NHS recommends 3 hours of light and energetic activity per day for pre-school under-5s, including dance. Dancing at Bambino Ballet provides a great boost of energetic activity for young children.
At Bambino Ballet we use recorded classical music as well as nursery rhymes and other children's music. The music energises the learning activities and enhances imagination and memory. Children may become interested in professional ballet and we'd encourage you to take children to ballet performances as soon as they are able to concentrate for long enough. Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Coppelia are particular favourites.
Taking your child to a special activity and watching them try it out can be a bonding experience for both parents and children. It also gets children doing the same thing together with their peers, which for many of them will be the first time they have this experience.