以舞蹈表達生命

As parents, we always want the best for our children. From food, to clothes, to education, to their overall well-being, we always strive to provide them with the best available. It is no different when it comes to considering the activities that our children are involved in outside of school. Extracurricular activities can play a significant role in developing a child’s self-confidence, talent, and interests. Besides providing an opportunity to meet like-minded kids who share similar interests, extracurricular activities can also encourage children to develop a passion for a specific activity. They could even someday help kids decide on their career paths in the future!

Activity providers across Hong Kong offer a huge variety of extracurricular activities for children to try out – music classes, academic enrichment courses, sports, performing arts, the list goes on. In performing arts alone, there are many avenues to explore. If your child is interested in learning how to dance, they could choose from different types of dance such as Jazz, Hip Hop, Salsa, Ballet, and K-Pop to name a few. Whether your child is drawn to the energy and fun of jazz dance, or the grace and sophistication of ballet, a dance class can really transform your child into a more positive, confident, and social individual.

 (Source: Edge n Pointe Dance Centre​)

Besides improving physical fitness, any kind of dance class can help children develop in a number of other areas as well:

1. Focus. To be able to excel or continue in a dance form over a period of time, kids will need to learn to focus well. Continued focus will enable them to incorporate this approach in other aspects of life, like in academics and later on in their professional lives.
2. Discipline. This is another virtue that children can develop whilst learning a particular form of dance. Children will need to follow a set of rules in order to learn or master the dance form. When they start following rules in a fun activity like dance, it becomes easier for them to follow instructions and become disciplined in other areas of life as well.
3. Creativity. Dance is a form of expression whereby emotions can be creatively expressed through physical movement. Emotions such as happiness, excitement, nervousness, sadness or anger can all be expressed through dance. Dance can be thought of as creative outlet for the vast amounts of energy that kids possess.
4. Self-esteem. Have you ever had a chance to meet a dancer off-stage just after their stage performance? If so, then you must have noticed the joy and sense of accomplishment on their bright faces! Whether or not your child wants to continue with dance instruction up to the stage performance level, they will surely feel a sense of achievement at the end of each of their dance classes. This helps to boost their self-esteem and makes them more confident.
5. Teamwork. This is another important skill that children can learn from dance. Dance can teach them to work together as a group or a team to achieve a specific goal. For example, the entire dance performance can be affected even if just one single participant in a group dance underperforms. All the participants contribute to the success or failure of the show. So instead of focusing only on one’s individual role in the team, it is imperative to encourage and help others in the team to succeed as well.

 (Source: Tiara Club​)

From time immemorial, dance has always been an expression of culture. In some ancient civilizations, for example in ancient Egypt, dance was performed as an important ritual in the temples. On the other hand, dance symbolically represented happiness and entertainment in ancient Greece. Irrespective of which part of the globe you are from, dance is one activity that binds together people of all origins. It is loved and revered all around the world; for example, even though ballet originated in Italy, it is appreciated and learned all over the world.

With so many different types of dance classes available in Hong Kong today, parents may wonder how to choose the best option for their child. A good place to start would be to visit whizpa.com to get an idea of what types of dance classes are available near you. Then you could take your child out to see which ones are the most interesting and appealing.

Here are just a few of the many options available when you search for dance classes on Whizpa.

Edge 'n Pointe Dance Centre offers a wide range of dance classes including Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Zumba for various age groups. Operating in Tung Chung, the Edge n Pointe Dance Centre promises quality training in all its forms of dance.

 (Source: Edge n Pointe Dance Centre​)

At Red Shoe Dance Company, children can explore a variety of dance classes including classical ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical and acro dance. Besides providing a sound foundation in the various forms of dance, they also hold RAD Ballet Examinations and ADAPT (Associated Dance Arts For Professional Teachers) Jazz Examinations. ADAPT is a certified dance teaching syllabus recognized in North America; Red Shoe Dance Company is the first dance school in Hong Kong to employ this syllabus.

Cosmic Dance, one of the most distinctive dance groups in Hong Kong, involves members from various countries, cultures, and backgrounds who share a common passion – Bharatnatyam, one of the Indian classical dances. The founder of this dance group, Oxana Banshikova (who is from Kazakhstan), stages Indian dance performances and conducts workshops to create awareness of the Indian classical dances. 

Twinkle Dance Company offers ballet and jazz dance classes catering to students from the age of 18 months up to adults. Parents can even play an active role in introducing their children to dance through the “Ballet with Mommy” classes for kids under the age of 3. In addition, Twinkle Dance Company hosts complimentary dance classes for special needs children every month.

Interested in letting your children explore different dance classes? Check out the taster classes available on the Whizpa e-shop. Here are a few to get you started:

• Lynne Ballet
• Babysteps
• Da Di Mandarin
• Tiara Club

New classes are added all the time!

As your little ones try out different dance classes, don’t forget to leave a review on whizpa.com. Your feedback will be invaluable to other parents following in your footsteps!