7 Benefits of Dance for Children

Children need at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day while they're growing, according to the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI). Dance is one good way to cover it, and it does a great deal for how a child develops.

It's also enjoyable, which makes getting a child moving considerably easier than it might otherwise be. So what does dance actually do for them? There are at least seven benefits worth knowing about.

7 Benefits of Dance for a Child

1. Physical Development

Children who do something physical like dance tend to develop better physically. Dance is cardiovascular, so it's good for heart health and general fitness. Muscles and joints get worked too, since the movements are built to develop strength and flexibility.

The same goes for motor skills. Matching movement to rhythm trains coordination and balance continuously, which matters a lot while a child is growing.

2. Steadier Emotions

Dance isn't only physical, it's a way for a child to express themselves. When they're bored or under strain, dance becomes the thing they reach for rather than a screen.

That leaves them noticeably steadier. Dance is enjoyable in itself, so it lifts their mood as a matter of course.

3. Confidence

Dance builds confidence. Movements that look impossible at first get learnt gradually, and managing something difficult is among the most reliable ways to build a child's confidence.

It goes further if you turn up to the classes and encourage them. That confidence then carries into everything else.

4. Getting On With Others

Dance is usually a group activity, so it builds cooperation almost automatically. A child has to be willing to mix with others their own age, because that's how a group ends up moving in time with each other and the music. The teacher matters here too, in building the cooperation and interaction that gets a group working towards the same thing.

5. Discipline

Dance and discipline are inseparable. Getting a movement right comes out of discipline, in the movement itself, the rhythm and the tempo, and flexibility takes consistent practice.

A child who practises with discipline gets a different result from one who doesn't. Both you and the teacher have a part in making that happen.

6. Sharper Thinking

Dance is thought to sharpen a child's thinking, which shows up in their schoolwork. Balancing movement and rhythm gives the brain real work, and a brain that gets worked performs better academically. Creativity develops alongside it, particularly in styles that demand invention in the movement, modern dance and K-pop among them.

7. Concentration and Focus

If your child struggles to concentrate, dance is worth trying. Focus doesn't only come from sitting still, and dancing demands full concentration on the movement and the music at once. Better concentration then feeds directly back into their schoolwork.

So there's a lot in it. The next question is which style suits a child best.

Dance Styles That Suit Children

1. Ballet

Ballet is a good first option when choosing something for a child to learn. It centres on flexibility, with discipline as the thing that makes it work.

2. Modern Dance

Modern dance, K-pop especially, has grown enormously popular, and studios teaching it have appeared everywhere because the demand runs from small children to adults. What matters in it is combining creative choreography with real energy, performed precisely and in time. In a group everyone has to hit the movement together, and there are plenty of competitions, which gives a child a reason to perform.

3. Hip Hop

Hip hop is a dance form as much as a kind of music. It's close to K-pop but more energetic, and the choreography leaves room for expression, so it suits an active child who enjoys performing.

4. Traditional Dance

Indonesia's own traditions offer plenty for a child to learn. Tari Saman and Tari Kecak are among the traditional forms commonly taught in studios and popular with children.

What decides it is your child's own preference and character. That's worth talking through with them properly rather than choosing for them.

Given everything dance offers, backing a child who wants to learn is worth doing. Enrolling them in classes is the usual way.

Finding Dance Classes

There are dance and movement classes across a range of styles listed on Happy Kamper. Filter by where you live, since that tends to decide what's practical.

In Jakarta, Musico Music School in Kelapa Gading has run K-pop and modern dance classes for children from 3 to 9. Dancelink Ballet School in Cilandak has run ballet classes from 3 to 18.

There are plenty more across other cities, Tangerang, Surabaya and Bandung among them. Check current ages and availability with each directly.

Compare Before You Book

Each listing shows its price, location and reviews from other parents. That's usually enough to narrow it down before you commit to anything.