When a child expresses
interest in dance, then enrolling her in a ballet class is no less a noble idea. For children between the ages of four and fourteen, appropriate ballet instruction can be very beneficial.
Like all dance forms, ballet is very instrumental in promoting physical strength and agility as it has also the capability of boosting concentration, understanding of music and rhythm as well as generate a love of movement.
Although ballet is physically intense, Rebecca Lake of Livestrong.com cities of Colorado School of Dance website says ballet has what it takes to improve muscular strength, flexibility and range of motion.
As children start ballet dance early in life, experts say there is every assurance of improved body awareness and physical self control.
A combination of jumping and leaping becomes an added advantage as increased heart rate can improve endurance, stamina and overall cardiovascular health.
It has become common of late to have schools, especially the private primary and secondary schools, showcase pupils and students who display some levels of mastering in ballet dance as part of ceremonial activities.
This is not without the understanding that ballet can help to improve children’s mental and emotional health.
Apart from the afore-mentioned, as more and more children and teenagers pick and indicate interest in ballet, regular classical ballet training instills in them a sense of pride and accomplishment which boosts self exteem. Brighton Ballet Theatre website asserts it also opines that as children improve and master more challenging movement, combination, they feel more self-assured which can spill over into other areas of their life.
Now I understand why the choice of this dance is a worthy hobby. Dance training no doubt, can also be a great way to relax and use excess energy, productively after school, even as it also boosts coordination and balance while correcting poor alignment.
Somehow, the social content of this all-significant body movement cannot be down played under the guise of ignorance. Experience has shown that regular practice of the ballet dance can help children to make new acquaintance, overcome shyness and awkwardness in a social situation, while reducing the fears associated with being in a group performing before a distinquished audience. This is corroborated in the claims of the National Dance Education organisation as cited by Rebecca Lake that “ballet and other dance forms help foster teamwork, communication, trust and cooperation.
For adults whose desire favours longer and leaner muscles, Rebecca wirtes that a ballet class might have more appeal than the local gym.She advises that irrespective of the initial difficulties, with time, ballet can help to improve one’s fitness profile, which extended impact could be felt on the soccer field, running track, hockey rink and tacqet ball.
Ballet exercises boost strength throughout your body, from the small intrinsic muscles of the feet to the larger muscles of the back, glutes and calves. Classical ballet technique involves rising unto the balls of the feet or toes, turning out the leg at the hip socket and sustaining high leg extentions to the front, side and back.
According to Rebecca, constant repetition of these exercises builds considerable strength in specific areas, most notably in the hip, lower leg, ankle and foot.
However, of all the strength stories of ballet dance, training alone isn’t sufficient to protect participants from injury,
The need to attend private classes and engage in other muscle building activities to beef up upper torso, core and upper leg strength is imperative.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi