Adult dancers have a special place in my heart. Maybe it is because if I were to go take classes somewhere myself, I too am an "adult dancer," but there's something about teaching these classes that warms heart. The adult dance program at my studio is budding and every year we seem to get more and more enrollees. I'd like to think a lot of that has to do with the passion that I possess for teaching adult dance classes. Every week, I look forward to my adult group and I always leave their classes feeling good. Here's why!
You're Never "Too Old" to Dance
I'm reminded weekly that no one is ever too old to dance. Dance is meant to make you feel good and it's a medium of expression. Why should we put an age on that? You can never be too old to be creative and you are certainly never too old to do something for YOURSELF that makes YOU feel good.
Release Your Inhibitions
I often find that adults who are coming back to dance after many years or adults who are picking up dance for the very first time tend to begin their training holding back a bit, but what I LOVE is that it doesn't take them long to open up and release those inhibitions. Perhaps it's because a lot of dance is like riding bike - if you knew it at one time, the muscle memory and the "feeling" comes back and before you know it, those arabesques and chasse rocks aren't so unfamiliar. Adults new to dance are there because they want to be and when you are doing something because you want to do it rather than being forced to do it, you tend to participate with an eager heart and mind. This makes all the difference!
Technique is Important, But "Feeling" Is Where It's At
I teach technical dance as early as 2.5 and it continues into my adult classes. Yes, 2.5-year-olds and 100 year old will both learn to turn out their battements and that glissade starts and ends in a plie. I always take the time to explain why we are doing what we are doing. After all, proper technique has it's own place and that's what helps us dance safely and keeps us dancing for many years to come; HOWEVER, there is nothing wrong with turning on some Motown bops and just grooving without worrying about turn out and hip rotation. There's nothing wrong with performing "One" from "A Chorus Line" and envisioning ourselves on the Broadway stage. Here is where I live as an adult dancer myself, dancing for the sake of dancing!
Adults Can Make New Friends Too
It's no secret that dance connects people, so when you have the same group of dedicated adult dancers showing up week after week, there's no doubt that we will all soon become friends. We are connected by the beauty that is dance and just like a book circle or a gardening club, we are connected by a common love. I look forward weekly to hearing about what my adult dancers did over the weekend, how their families are, what new restaurant they tried in town. Dance creates a sense of community.
As Your Teacher, I Love to Watch You Shine
To the adult dancers out there:
There are moments when I look up in the mirror and catch you with a spark in your eye. Maybe you are just really feeling the song that's on or maybe you have finally mastered that pirouette. Regardless of what causes the spark, I live for that spark!! I'm a proud teacher when the kids are excelling and a proud teacher when you are, too! And recital? Don't even get me started! To see the adult dancers up on stage performing an entire routine, my heart swells. To even get up there on that stage is a feat, but to see you shining like the stars you are means everything.