We live in a world that is obsessed with the best. “What’s the best restaurant in town? Where’s the best shopping? What’s the best airline to fly?”
So, I think it’s only natural that when parents are looking for a dance studio they want the best for their child.
For some things, it’s easy to figure out why they are the best. For restaurants it’s because the food at one tastes better than the other. For clothing stores it’s because this one has a greater selection and is more in tune with today’s fashions.
But how do you determine the best dance studio?
Is it education? I mean if you have a degree in dance does that automatically make your studio the best above all the rest? I’m thinking probably not. Does having a business degree from Harvard guarantee that you’ll be a success in business? Of course it doesn’t. Steve Jobs dropped out of college because he found it boring. He went on to found Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world.
To me, dance isn’t something you learn from cracking a book in a classroom or learning dance theory. It’s something that comes from inside of you. It’s a way of expressing your thoughts and emotions into motions. If you don’t have the ability to translate those thoughts and motions fluidly, then no amount of studying is going to change that. So I don’t think education is really helpful when ranking a dance studio.
What about styles of dance?
You’re not “really” a dance studio unless you teach ballet and tap. That’s kind of like saying P!nk isn’t a singer because she doesn’t sing opera.
Wikipedia defines dance as “A type of art that generally involves movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, performed in many different cultures and used as a form of expression, social interaction and exercise.”
I must have missed the part where it talked about dance being restricted solely to tap or ballet.
Dance is all about expressing what is inside of the dancer, you can’t just stuff it into a one size fits all mold.
Look around you. We drive different cars, like different foods, enjoy different music. We are blessed with diversity. That’s what makes the world an interesting place to live in. So I don’t think you can say that a style of dance makes one dance studio better than another.
You’ve seen it on the websites…”Winner of the ( fill in the blank here ) award five years in a row!!” Surely that has to be how you know this dance studio is the best right? Well, if that’s your only criteria then you’d be right.
Sure it’s great to win awards. We all love to be recognized for our achievements. But what does it mean? The CR Spirits were nominated and won KCRG’s A-List category for best dance studio so we must be the best right? Again, I don’t think that’s the deciding factor for determining the best. Everything is subjective.
I loved this film but you hated it. You like this song but I’d rather visit the dentist than listen to that. That’s why I’m shocked that we still have movie critics. Just because they love a film doesn’t mean that I’m going to love it.
The same thing goes for awards and competitions. On this day with these judges, these were the results. On a different day with different judges maybe the results would be different. Maybe not.
So if it’s not about education or style or even awards then how do you determine the best dance studio in town? I think one of my most important criteria is the one that your child enjoys the most.
Is learning things like discipline, coordination and social skills important? Well sure they are. But isn’t it even more important that your daughter is having fun while learning all those things? If she’s not then why are you spending your money and wasting her time?
If I was new in town and I wanted to find a studio for my daughters to take dance lessons, the first question I’d have after I visited a studio with them would be “Did you have fun?”
So what do you think? Is fun an important factor for you and your daughter? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think makes the best dance studio. Leave a comment below.
