We absolutely love it when our students say they want to practice their showcase dance at home. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and then everyone in the class wants to practice at home too!
But as a parent, how should you go about encouraging this? Is there such a thing as a too much practice? We’ve got all your practicing-at-home answers right here: Should I make my child practice their showcase dance at home? The short answer here is no. We don’t believe practice should be forced, or it can become completely unenjoyable. But we do think it’s helpful for you to encourage it! You might say, “Why don’t you practice your dance for 10 minutes and then we’ll play freeze dance together ... are you in?” (Of course, then you have to follow through on your promise to freeze dance!)
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For our Junior Showcase Dancers:
There’s nothing else quite like a dance costume—it carries the excitement of the performance yet to come, and of course, there are all those sparkles! For many children, wearing a costume brings out the confidence and poise they’ve been working so hard on in class, and it is one of their most favourite parts about dancing on stage. Because dance costumes are made from specialty fabrics, they can’t be treated like regular clothes. From stretchy lycra-blended bodysuits to the embellishments of sequins and beading, costumes are made from finicky materials. For this reason, we do not recommend washing them, but a little extra TLC can go a long way! Performing in the showcase is a brand new experience for most of our young dancers. And while some will find it exciting, others might be a little nervous. In our experience, one of the keys to showcase success is encouraging your child to do their best and reassuring them that you are proud no matter what. So, what’s it going to be like when the big day rolls around? What’s reasonable for you to expect from your child? We’ve put together some of our best advice for a rewarding showcase experience with your little one! Remember that …. Dancing on stage in front of hundreds of people is a pretty big deal! Some dancers are shy and others ham it up. However they react, all of our young dancers are gaining a tremendous amount of confidence by performing in front of a crowd. Through this process, they are learning about self-expression, demonstrating their skills, and gaining a sense of accomplishment. Strong emotions might occur, and that’s totally OK! We’ve seen dancers who are so excited to perform they can hardly stand still, and others who suddenly become worried that they can’t see mom and dad way out there in the audience. In our experience, most of these big emotions dissipate after dress rehearsal. But we do have a few special tactics to calm and comfort our littlest performers when needed, so rest assured they are always in good hands! Live performances can be unpredictable—and often in positive ways. But you may wonder whether your little one will forget the dance routine or if they’ll have a case of stage fright. Though those things do happen sometimes, they don’t mean your child’s future in dance is over. (In fact, far from it!) We know we can’t predict exactly what will happen, but we can guarantee that we are as proactive and prepared as possible. Our curricula are designed to focus on gross motor skills and dance fundamentals. Our students are being taught age-appropriate movements that align with their physical development. Don’t expect your little one to perform with the same knowledge and skills of a dancer who is older or more experienced! Technical progress comes over time as each dancer moves through our class levels at just the right pace. Success come in many forms, and we do not promote perfection as one of them! Instead, we talk in class about the dancers trying their best and having fun while they perform. Success is both the child who comes off stage beaming with joy AND the one who shyly admits she enjoyed it; it is both the child who remembered every step AND the one who forgot a few but worked super hard. We want to celebrate every version of showcase success! We hope you enjoy watching your dancer onstage at the showcase and seeing how far they’ve come this year. All of us at Pegasus are super proud of our young dancers' progress! |
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November 2024
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