There are many benefits of studying different dance styles. Obviously the most important one on the training list is Classical dance and whether your students want to be classical dancers or not we know that the training is invaluable for any student of dance in order to really understand the basics of positioning the body in the correct way to be able to execute the steps. Many students, especially beginners, are very set against taking ballet and would much rather take jazz or hip hop or even tap. I have never turned anyone away who had an interest in dance by insisting at the beginning that they had to take ballet. I always impress it upon both the student and the parent that it is extremely important for any dancer to include ballet in order to really see progression. If they are reluctant I do not insist instead I find something that they are interested in and I do tell them that the child will eventually find out for themselves how important ballet is for them.
On the other side of the spectrum there are classical dance purists who believe that someone training for a classical career should do nothing other than ballet or also believe that students not aiming to have a career in dance should stay away from other dance forms. In my experience, the more well rounded a dancer becomes the better performance skills and confidence that dancer will have. For those dancers planning on going on to a professional classical career they need, in my opinion, a knowledge of jazz and modern if nothing else because so many ballet companies are now using a variety of contemporary pieces and many of the dancers that do not have the freedom of movement that jazz and modern teaches them have trouble assimilating themselves into those ballets.
So I think it is really a question of adding up the pluses and the minuses. The majority of our students are never going to become professional performers but if they do decide to pursue a dance career I feel that it is really important to give them as many tools as possible to help them succeed. Realistically there are not a great many Ballet Companies to provide work for all the classically trained dancers and even if they do get into a Ballet Company if they are able to do other forms of dance they could go into Broadway Shows, Movies Videos and other types of dance shows. Many top Ballet stars branch out such as, Barishnikov , Desmond Richardson and Ethan Stiefal just to name a few and have appeared in Movies , in Modern Companies or Broadway Shows.
The most important thing I feel that I can do as a teacher is make our dancers aware of all that there is to love in dance and all the ways that they can, in turn, give joy to others through their dancing. So my question is, why limit their experience? Why not broaden their horizons as much as possible, give them as many dance styles as they can absorb, so through each style they are able to take something away from it and put it towards their own knowledge? Some teachers may disagree, however. Time and time again I have seen dancers who have never experienced any other form of dance but Classical and who find it extremely difficult to express themselves while others who have had jazz or some other style are more able to feel the movement through their bodies and their faces. And at the end of the day the dancers that do not become professionals will have such a good understanding of all types of dance that they will provide us with being wonderful audiences for years to come.
One of the types of dance that give the dancers a terrific sense of freedom is afro jazz as not only is the movement very earthy and into the ground but it also gives the dancers a pretty good aerobic workout which is not usually the case in dance. Simone De Paolo is one of the teachers on our website who teaches afro jazz with great success. Of course, everyone nowadays wants Hip Hop. I have seen some really good and some really bad Hip Hop but again it is a way for young dancers to relate to dance and from there they can add on Ballet, Lyrical, jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and more. I also think that teaching young dancers the character work from other countries is very valid. In the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus there is some excellent character work which is, after all, part of every Ballet that has a story. The students love doing it and have fun with it and again it is another way to broaden their experience.
So if you are currently teaching one style of dance I would give some serious consideration to adding more styles and if you do not feel qualified to teach them hire someone to do so. I think you will find a new energy amongst your dancers as they will be excited with the new challenges.
