Practice makes perfect.
The age-old saying often goes in one ear and out the other. It
can be brought up in any number of situations, including art, math, golf,
dance, you name it!
But is it true?
Studies Have Shown it Takes 10,000 Hours to Master a Skill.
Breaking it down, that’s about 90 minutes a day for 20 years that
a student needs to study a skill to master it. There is an important
distinction to be made here – it needs to be 10,000 hours of deliberate
practice. That means that for someone to master dance, they must be using their
practice time diligently to zero in on problem areas and eliminate them.
Practice Makes Permanent.
Repeating a physical motion creates something called ‘muscle
memory.’ It can be very hard to unlearn a bad habit that has become muscle
memory because it was practiced incorrectly. Deliberate, intentional dance
practice can be hard to do alone. A
dancer can use the assistance of mirrors and video recordings of themselves,
but there is no substitute to the trained eye of a dance instructor.
A dance teacher is an invaluable tool for new and even veteran
dancers. Dance teachers have the training and skill needed to help a dancer
practice deliberately and intentionally to blossom into the dancer they have
the ability to become.
If you would like to see your child succeed in dance, giving them
the gift of lessons with an experienced and knowledgeable dance instructor is one of the best ways
you can help nurture their talent.