As children progress through dance, there are many different developmental stages. Some of those stages relate to the individual child and their age and maturity. Some of those stages relate to what they have already learned, and what is required to take them to the next level. At age 3-5, they are learning the basics of dance, but a lot of their energy and attention is being focused on learning HOW to learn. Just as in preschool classes, they are learning the structure of a classroom setting, how to interact with their peers, and how to follow directions from a teacher. At this stage we learn this through organized play that revolves around learning dance steps, and through a lot of repetition as they learn all of the building blocks of dance that we can possibly teach them at their age. Class is set at 45 minutes - which I feel is just the right amount to teach them something but not too long for them to get bored!
Then we move on to the 5-7 year old classes. At this age we are reviewing the structure they learned at ages 3-5, and building on that as we ask them to do more complicated movement. We are able to teach them more of the basics as they have a better sense of their body and a higher level of coordination. Class is an hour, as they are able to handle a longer class, and we are able to fit in more technique, more repetition, and add on more movement and memorization.
Then children go through a unique transition at age 7. At this point, because of their higher level of maturity of mind and body, they are able to learn all of the basics of dance - even if they have just started dance - that are possible to teach them in a very short amount of time. I can teach kids this age all of the basics in a matter of a month, at which point they can either stay at the same level the rest of the year or move on. In order to progress BEYOND the basics, they have to meet more than once per week. This is for two reasons:
1-They are learning much more complicated things, and it has been found that an entire week in between classes is too long for them to remember what they learned, so that the majority of the next class spent in reviewing what they learned the week before, and only a small portion can be dedicated to moving on. Their focus is harder to bring in, and they are much more likely to get frustrated. By meeting twice per week, their brains have had time to process what they learned but have not yet forgotten (did you know your brain solves problems while you sleep?), and they actually come into their next class BETTER than where they were at when they finished their last class! Then they are able to re-enforce it and quickly move on. With this process they actually progress more than TWICE as fast as when they only meet once per week. Parents are getting much more value for their money when kids take class twice per week at this stage.
2-After the basics are learned, in order to move on there are new muscles that must be developed. Exercise once per week can only maintain but not build new muscles. That muscle support is so important in the ability to learn technique and control the body, but even more importantly prevent injury as the body is performing more and more complicated movement.
Now, having said all that, I have a great respect for families and the time constraints and stresses they all have in our day and age. My classes are very dense with instruction. Children learn and progress quite rapidly in my classes, more so than almost any teacher or studio I have seen. If they are dancing three hours per week with me, they will be learning and progressing at the same rate as if they were taking 5-7 hours per week at any other studio. At an advanced level I can accomplish in seven hours per week what other studios do in 12-15. This means that your child can follow their dreams and become the best dancer they can be, as well as have time for family time, schoolwork, and other activities if they desire.
I know how to pull out of students more than they ever though possible, and they have fun while doing it! My retention rate is high because we have fun, but I am also very strict and ask a lot of them in a way that builds their confidence as we both watch them soar to new heights. I love teaching, and look forward to the children I get to work with this year. So try it out - I think you will be pleasantly surprised with what you will get out of this time/money commitment!
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