Knowledge
Why should schools give more importance to dance education?
Today, raising dance education’s status in the national curriculum’s pecking order has a bleak chance. However, it is time that educationists and dance lovers look at dance a bit more seriously. Dance can provide unmatched positive impact on a child personality and confidence.
Schools today boast of an extraordinary range of offerings for children. From exotic sounding martial arts to introduction to offbeat careers in school itself, schools are trying to outdo themselves by providing new and unique learning experiences to children. However, how many schools have you come across that provide dance training besides the usual Bollywood masala? How many schools offer dancing as a serious elective?
All this in a country known for its rich cultural traditions and values. Dance, music and singing have been an integral part of Indian culture and is usually a part of every occasion, be it a festival, marriage, birth or even death.
But, in spite of its significance and historical relevance in India, a majority of people still do not accord the rightful respect to dance. There are only a handful of people who value the art form as a form of education.
If we look at the history of Indian classical or folk dances, there are temple dances, martial dances, seasonal dances, ritual dances and many more.
When asked to name the top 5 dancers of India at a school, the kids excitedly named Hrithik Roshan, Kartina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, and many yelled and cheered for Ranveer Singh. It was indeed a sad moment as nobody knew of Pandit Birju Maharaj, Dr Sonal Mansingh, Mallika Sarabhai or even Shiamak Davar or Terence Lewis.
This is because schools encourage Bollywood and its music and dance. For annual shows, even when folk dances are presented by students, they are set to Bollywood tunes. Kindly note, Bollywood is not bad however, children need to be motivated to learn a purer form of dance.
Renowned Latin and Ballroom dancer Sandeep Soparkar says, “I believe dance has enormous potential that enables students to develop many fundamental life skills, such as problem-solving, creativity, critical and expressive communication skills. It also has physical benefits such as supporting the development of a child’s body balance, improving coordination, motor skills, etc., and can play a positive role in promoting fitness and healthy lifestyles”.
Besides, it helps develop soft skills in students like collaboration, imagination, tolerance, working in groups and communication. Because dance provides all these benefits, it can also go a long way in helping to promote social inclusion. Dance can also become a tool of inclusion in classrooms for students for whom hindi or english are not a first language.
In the US, dance education programme was introduced as long back as 1932 by the legendary dance educator Martha hill; and since then, dance has become a major part of learning for children. There are actually schools that teach world dances, a way to learn about the world cultures and at the same time develop a multifaceted personality, and personal as well as interpersonal skills.
In today’s India, raising dance education’s status in the national curriculum’s pecking order has a bleak chance. It is time that educationists and dance lovers look at dance a bit more seriously. What is needed is a different set of eyes to look at dance beyond a physical art form and truly understand its advantages and its life-long benefits and knowledge. Given a chance you will see the unmatched positive impact the study of physical dance and contribution of dance in the education of a child.