Ballet can be a tough sell for young dancers. It isn’t as fast paced and “fun” as jazz, or as flashy and impressive as tap, but what most young dancers don’t realize is that those amazing jazz and tap routines wouldn’t be nearly as amazing without the essential training that is Ballet. Any one of our teachers would be happy to tell you why (it may surprise you to know that Miss Arial will tie Ballet training to excelling in Hip Hop!) but here are the top 3 reasons that dance teachers agree on:

1. Ballet is your dance “core” – Your Ballet training will be incredibly important for proper alignment and technique which will translate to all other disciplines of dance. You also development the core muscles; those are the ones that stretch around from your abs to your back. These muscles help you with perfecting everything from turns and leaps to being able to one day go on pointe.
2. Flexibility – This is key, not just in dance but in life and Ballet can help you work on both. Working on your flexibility will help with injury prevention (important no matter what your favorite type of dance is) and learning to be patient and focused on even the smallest improvements will help you to persevere both inside and outside the studio.
3. Discipline is a skill – If you have attempted Ballet you know that one does not just enter a studio and leap. No matter how badly you want things to move quickly, you are challenged to have restraint, patience, and and focus. You are instructed that your goal is quality in your movement and performance without emphasis on how quickly it comes. You may be fast to pick up a movement, but was it done correctly and with precision? This is one skill that can be applied to homework or in a future career.

Ballet is graceful, which many young dancers may think is code for slow, but underneath Ballet is the block on which all of your dance training is built.