Your Child's First Dance Class!
It’s the day of your child’s first dance class!! Perhaps your child likes to dance around at home and has been asking about dance classes ever since they could talk. Or maybe you’ve been looking for an enjoyable activity to attend each week so your child can learn some basic dance skills and build their confidence. We can’t wait to introduce you and your child to the joys of dancing!
You and your child may feel a little nervous and hopefully very excited coming to our Studio and meeting their teachers and classmates for the first time. We understand it can be tricky to try something new and we want to make you feel as welcome and comfortable as possible.
It is always our aim to have children participating in class independently. This can be a bit of a challenge for some children and parents to begin with and we promise to support your child through the early stages of coming to class!
How can we ensure the first dance class goes smoothly?
It’s super helpful if you arrive to class at least 5 minutes early. This gives your teacher a chance to meet you in the foyer and introduce themselves to your child before class. Your child will feel so much more comfortable coming into class once they have had a chance to meet the teacher. It’s a bit tricky to introduce ourselves to you once class has already started!
Arriving early is also a great opportunity to meet and interact with the other families in the waiting room. If your child can see and interact with their classmates before class, this can help them to feel even more confident coming into the dance studio when class starts.
Another great tip is to build anticipation the weeks or days before class so that your child has an idea of what to expect and to help them feel excited about trying class.
What if my child is feeling anxious or shy about entering the studio or joining in?
You might know that your child gets a little shy when it comes to meeting new people or trying new things. Or perhaps they have been talking about dancing non-stop and when they arrive to their first class, all of a sudden, unexpected shyness sets in. We have seen both of these scenarios happen many times before and everything in between! With a bit of support and persistence, your child can be participating in class very happily soon.
Your teacher is very familiar with anxious and apprehensive children and our approach is quite similar with each student we encounter who needs a bit of extra support to participate in class.
Here are some things to help ensure your child has a positive experience if they are feeling shy:
Firstly, we are likely to invite you, the parent or carer, into the room with your child. Please do your best to encourage your child to participate, sometimes this involves joining in with class yourself or sitting at the side and encouraging them when needed.
Don’t forget that children learn and develop by observing others. It’s a great sign if you child is watching the teacher and their classmates, even if they aren’t joining in just yet. It might just take them a couple of lessons to feel comfortable to move their body.
Don’t forget there are a lot of new faces, a new space they’ve never been to and as enjoyable and wonderful as class is, we are asking a lot of our little dancers. Celebrate all the little successes!
Most importantly, come back next week! There is always progress in the second week and some children just need a bit more time and encouragement than others.
Watching classes:
If your child is feeling confident to enter class by themselves, you will be able to watch them throughout the whole dance class through our glass doors. We love that our families can see into our studio and can watch how clever their children are and all the wonderful things we are learning in class.
What should my child wear to class?
Wearing appropriate class attire can make a big difference in your child’s first dance class experience. We don’t have a ‘uniform’ but we do have a ‘dress code’ to ensure your child is safe and can get the most out of our classes -
Any Dance wear or Active wear that is comfortable to move in is absolutely fine. Ballet or jazz shoes or grip socks/cotton socks as footwear.
Please ensure your child’s hair is tied back away from their face.
Please don’t wear play jewellery or very long dresses that can cause tripping or restrictive clothing they can’t move in.
We are looking forward to meeting you at your child’s first dance class! If you’d like to enquire about classes please get in touch with us. We can’t wait to meet you and start your child on a dance journey that we hope will last a lifetime.