When we talk about raising healthy dancers at SDC, we don’t just mean physically healthy; we mean mentally healthy too!  It’s important to us that our students have the opportunity to grow their social and emotional health as well as their technique and skills.

For us, being mentally healthy in dance starts with teaching our dancers that it’s OK to have an array of emotions, and that dance is a wonderful way to express those feelings.  Positive body talk is another necessity, as our students learn at an early age to appreciate what their bodies are capable of. And another tool we introduce? Teamwork! Working together with their classmates shows our dancers the value in building relationships with others, including how to communicate effectively.

One of our goals at SDC,  is to make mental health in dance part of our normal conversations; we want our dance families to know that we care about developing the whole child, inside and out.  Dance has the power to positively influence our students in many ways and to help them become stronger, more confident young adults in the future!

– Ms. Julie