Taking the plunge and enrolling your child in dance lessons sometimes feels like a monumental decision. What if they hate it? What about the competitive culture? Why does it feel like a whole world I have jump into? However to us, it feels like the easiest choice in the world!
Ease in slowly, take some time to suss out the landscape, and trust the process! The thing is, dance lessons aren’t just about learning steps, technique, or routines. Yes, of course, your child is going to learn how to dance, but what they gain overall goes so much deeper. Honestly, the reason we started CSHD is because we saw the amazing values our own dance education gave us growing up, how it shaped us in a myriad of positive ways, and how it opened doors to incredible and sometimes completely unrelated opportunities. We wanted to extend these experiences to as many others as we could.
It might not be obvious, but it shows up where you least expect it! Like when you’re in a job interview and you connect over knowing the same dancer! You end up getting a surprise callback because the interviewer said “I know how hard you dancers work, so I figured you’d be a great fit”. Or you’re in your first ever grown up job, carrying heavy equipment and walking 5k a day, surprising everyone with your ability to continue on when their thighs are dying. Or when it’s September, and you’re facing your new class of 32 grade 5 kids, knowing that classroom management skills, motivation techniques and how to connect with diverse abilities translates from the studio to the wider world.
When you invest in dance classes, at CSHD or anywhere, you’re giving your child an opportunity to grow in ways that will affect their entire life. Might sound cheesy, but it is absolutely true. The skills you learn in the studio shape who you are as a person, lead you down some pretty amazing roads, and give you lifelong relationships. Let us break it down for you – some of our favourite non-dance non-technique related outcomes or paying for dance lessons.
So what exactly are you really paying for with dance lessons?
Resilience – The moments when giving up feels easier, but they push through anyway, that’s huge! Developing resiliency is crucial, leads to a healthier, happier life, and takes many many small setback opportunities to build. There’s no better place to nurture that growth than the dance studio.
The Power of Perseverance – The repeated lesson that challenges can be overcome and that they are capable of more than they thought. When they perfect a challenging step in class after weeks of trying, or nail the choreography on stage after months of prep, it reinforces the idea that perserverence creates greater success.
Lifelong Friendships & Supportive Community – Bonds that are built through shared hard work, laughter, and amazing experiences. Dance opportunities allow you to meet people from all across Canada, and the world! and we’re not lying when we say dance friends are the best friends.
A Safe Place to Be When Life is Challenging – A space where they can leave the outside world behind, feel secure, and be part of the community they know has their back. When you have a challenging day at school or home, the studio can be a solace.
Opportunities Beyond Dance – Skills that open doors to performing, traveling, competing, and walking through life with confidence. You can ask any of our adult dancers and they will tell you some of their best travel memories, best friends, and best experiences have come from Highland!
The Ability to Handle Feedback with Confidence – The skill to take constructive criticism, apply it, and know that their worth is never tied to perfection. There’s no doubt that as an adult, taking confstructive feedback happily and with grace is essential. Dance can give you that!
Commitment and Dedication – The discipline of showing up, working hard, and staying dedicated, even when it’s not easy. Highland dancers are often really high acheivers – is it because we spend so much time working hard and perfecting technique? We think so!
The Strength to Face Disappointment – The understanding that setbacks happen, but they do not define success—resilience does.
A Strong, Healthy Body – The knowledge of how to care for themselves, build endurance, and develop strength for life. The idea that strength is more important than smallness, and seeing ALL body types succeed.
Teamwork and Collaboration – The ability to work with others, lift those around them, and understand that success is greater when shared. This is especially true in choreography!
The Skill to Set and Achieve Goals – The confidence to dream big, put in the work, and see their efforts turn into accomplishments. There’s so much research about the power of setting goals, and when you get to practice those skills in the studio, it trickles out to other parts of life as well.
The Understanding That Success is Earned – The realization that champions aren’t born—they are made through hours of dedication, perseverance, and belief in themselves.
Dance continues to inspire, challenge, and empower you, long after dance lessons are over.
Investing in dance lessons is so much more than just learning steps and techniques—you’re opening the door to a lifetime of growth, passion, and possibility.