What to Expect at Your Child's First Dance Class

Every year we meet families standing in the studio doorway, wondering how this is going to go. Some children walk straight into the room and find a spot on the floor. Some hold on tight and watch from the hallway for three weeks. Both of those children usually end up loving dance. The first class is not a test, and it is not a preview of how the year will go.

Here is what actually happens in that first hour, and a few small things you can do that make a real difference.

What the first class actually looks like

Classes at Dance Makers are built around routine, because routine is what makes young dancers feel safe. Your dancer will learn the shape of the class before they learn much technique, and that is on purpose.

• A warm welcome and a circle on the floor, where everyone says their name.
• A short warm up set to music, usually with a story or an animal attached to it.
• Across-the-floor movement: marching, galloping, tiptoe walks, big jumps.
• A little bit of real technique, in small doses, with lots of repetition.
• A calm ending, a goodbye song, and a sticker or a stamp on the way out.

If your dancer spends most of that first class watching instead of moving, nothing has gone wrong. Watching is how a lot of children learn a new room. Our teachers will invite them in gently, and then let them come at their own pace.

What to wear and bring

• Something comfortable your dancer can move in: a leotard and tights, or a t-shirt and leggings.
• Hair pulled back and out of the face.
• Ballet shoes if you have them. Bare feet or socks are fine for a first class.
• A labeled water bottle.
• Nothing else. Toys, snacks, and jewelry tend to become the main event.

If you are not sure what shoes a class needs, ask us before you buy anything. We would rather point you to the right pair than have you buy twice.

The drop-off moment

This is the part parents worry about most. A few things that consistently help:

• Arrive five minutes early so your dancer can see the room before class starts, not after it has already begun.
• Keep goodbyes short and confident. A long, worried goodbye tells a child there is something to be worried about.
• Tell them exactly where you will be and when you will be back: "I will be right on that bench, and I will see you after the goodbye song."
• Let the teacher take the handoff. It is a routine they have done hundreds of times.

A child who cries at the door in September is very often the child leading the line by October.

After class, ask a better question

"Did you have fun?" usually gets you a shrug. Try asking what song they danced to, what the teacher's name is, or to show you one thing they learned. You will get a lot more, and you will find out what they actually connected with.

Resist the urge to correct anything at home in that first month. Your dancer is learning to listen in a group, follow a sequence, and take direction from a new adult. Those are the real skills happening right now, and they carry a long way past the studio.

Give it more than one week

If the first class is rocky, come back for the second one. Familiarity does most of the work. By the third or fourth week, the room is not new anymore, the teacher is not a stranger, and the routine is something your dancer can predict. That is usually when you see it click.

And if you have questions before you start, just ask. We would much rather answer them ahead of time than have a family worry through a whole first week.