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Children dancing

Programs for Children: Get Your Child Dancing

By Jam Hops, 07/31/22, 10:00PM CDT

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Children have fun dancing

“You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.” – Gene Kelly

Not only is dancing fun, it is a form of art. It brings people together, inspires mindfulness, and is an outlet for expressing your emotions. This beautiful sport requires drive, creativity, agility, strength, and balance. For these reasons and so many more, dance is a great activity to get your child involved in!

One of the best ways to get your child involved in dance from a young age is by enrolling them in a recreational program. There are so many options when it comes to finding the right dance program, so how do you decide which one is the best fit for your child? There are a few different criteria you should consider when making the big decision.

Longevity:

Would your child like to be involved in dance long-term? Some recreational programs have a small number of classes and limited opportunities for your child to grow. Finding a program that has a wide range of advancement opportunities, or even a competitive dance team, can make a huge difference in your child’s dance journey. Getting into these programs from a young age will help your child develop the skills necessary for advancing through the different class levels and could even prepare your child for a competitive team. Being with the same program long-term can also create a family-like bond that lasts a lifetime.

Environment:

Does the program’s teaching style, standards, and level of dedication provide an environment that positively impacts your child’s growth? Some dance programs focus on being the best, some focus on building a strong team connection, some focus on creating a family-friendly experience, some focus on being as cost-effective as possible, and others focus on developing child’s character. Assessing your child’s goals and making sure they align with the dance company’s mission will allow your child to not only learn dance, but grow with their program in the way they want.

The standards of the dance program are also very important to consider. Do they have policies that ensure no bullying? Do they choose costumes that are age-appropriate? Are the instructors invested in your child’s development? Depending on what you’re looking for in a program, the answers to questions like these could make or break your decision when choosing a dance company.

Variety:

Will the program provide enough dance styles as your child advances in the sport? Typically, recreational dance programs will have classes that combine one or two dance styles for their beginner levels. As your child advances and depending on their interests, they will begin taking classes that teach individual styles of dance, like Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Ballet, or Lyrical. While doing your research, it is worthwhile to look into the variety of those upper-level dance classes. The more styles of dance, the more opportunities your child will have to broaden their skills at a higher level.

Cost:

Does the cost of the program align with your budget? Like stated earlier, some dance programs will take on a low-cost strategy and will charge less for their classes. On the other end, some dance programs will charge a high price for their classes and promote that they provide higher quality. There are certainly cases where the phrase “you get what you pay for” applies, but there are also times that you can end up paying a high price for classes at a program that does not seem to be helping your child grow. Though this can be the case, using the above criteria as you do your research, while balancing your budget can help you find the right fit for your child.

 

The research to find a perfect program for your child can be daunting and feels like a lot of pressure, but know it will be worth it in the long-run. If you find the right one, it not only gives them a great opportunity to build life-long friendships, but also helps them learn valuable characteristics, like teamwork, creativity, and commitment.

To further assist you in your search, we have provided an example of what you would find while researching Jam Hops Dance Company:

Jam Hops Dance Company and Longevity:

Jam Hops has classes for boys and girls ages 18 months – 18 years. Using an age-based system, your child will move through our classes as they grow older. Depending on desire and skill level, children can join one of our competitive dance companies at the age of 4 years old. Once they reach the age of 6, they can also begin taking style-specific recreational classes like Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tap, and Ballet. Our recreational dance classes increase in skill level as the age of the class increases, while still providing a good environment for kids of all skill levels to learn.

The competitive dance team at Jam Hops also provides room for continued growth, with dance companies ranging from Vision (beginner) to Extreme (experienced). There are also specialized companies that provide children the opportunity to pursue expertise in individual dance styles.

Jam Hops Dance Company and Environment:

Our experienced, passionate, and dedicated instructors can’t get enough dance. They are great at creating a fun and nurturing environment that will allow your child to love dance just as much as they do. We use that strong passion for dance to achieve excellence and have many company awards to prove it, including the Inspired by Passion and Exceptional Entertainment awards.

In addition to driving passion, our instructors use our Kidz of Karacter Program to develop great character in every child! We also have a zero-tolerance bullying policy and love to create costumes that are trendy, yet still age-appropriate.

Jam Hops Dance Company and Variety:

Like stated earlier, Jam Hops has both a recreational and competitive dance program. Within those programs, we have many styles of dance including: Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary and Musical Theater, along with Alpha Athletes Dance.

Jam Hops Dance Company and Cost:

Tuition for recreational dance at Jam Hops depends on the length of the class your child is attending weekly. For a 30-minute class, tuition is $47 per month. For a 45-minute class, tuition is $57 per month. As for our competitive dance program, tuition will depend on the amount of class time they have each week, along with the other competitive fees of your child’s specific company.

If Jam Hops Dance Company’s fun, passionate and nurturing environment sounds like a good fit for your child, call us at 763.413.0647 today to schedule a free trial! Our 2022-2023 Recital Season begins this September and we can’t wait to ignite your child’s passion for dance.