I’m a firm believer that dancing is inherently in our nature. Babies start moving to the beat before they can even walk properly, and as adults, there’s an overwhelming urge to do a little victory dance whenever we find out a piece of good news.
But putting aside the latest social media dance challenge trends for a hot second, how does growing up with traditional dance classes like ballet help you in everyday life? After all, not everyone wants or can become prima ballerinas.
My first experience with ballet was in middle school. I had only focused on music before then and was an introvert all my life, so had the worst case of stage fright. Dancing helped me overcome that. I took ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and modern dance; it helped me develop an appreciation for my own body and discover all the ways I could move that, as odd as it sounds, I wasn’t aware of before. Of all the forms of dance classes I took, the one that was most impactful was ballet. I loved the discipline and precision that ballet required, how it made me physically push myself to my limits, and how the elegance and grace of ballet couldn’t help but spill into my everyday life.
In Beijing, there are tons of hip hop dance studios, but it’s great to see that kids still pursue their love for traditional ballet. One of the most popular studios amongst ballerinas is Renee International Arts Center founded by Renee Chan, a dancer since the age of five. At 12, she entered the PLA Arts Academy where the teachers were harsh but passionate and dedicated to their students. This led to developing her lifelong passion for dance and the launch of her school in 2011.
While it’s not difficult to find a dance studio close to your home in Beijing, it seems that Renee International Arts Center’s students focus on a different path — a professional one. According to Chan, “In 2014, we adopted the Royal Academy of Dance’s (RAD) ballet exam syllabus in our school. The syllabus is built upon a century of research and refinement and as a RAD certified teacher, I know what kind of training a teacher must go through before he or she can be certified. In the same year, we started to hire internationally and built a core faculty team of certified teachers.” They choreograph shows for their students, host annual showcases where their students have performed everything from last year’s “La Fille Mal Gardee,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Narnia,” “Sleeping Beauty,” to “The Nutcracker.”
Kate Yin
“We also encourage our students to participate in international dance competitions. We have participated in the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), Asian Grand Prix (AGP), Global Dance Challenge (GDC), and the Hong Kong Challenge Cup.” Chan tells beijingkids. “Competitions instill in students to strive for excellence. They also learn modesty and respect, as no one is perfect, and they begin to appreciate the importance of hard work and self-discipline.”
But what if you don’t want to pursue ballet as a career in the future? There are many reasons for falling in love with ballet at a young age. For some, it’s beautiful tutus and for others, it’s the elegance and grace of professional ballerinas that captivated their young hearts. We chatted with three students from Beijing’s international schools who, coincidently, are all dance students at Renee International Arts Center.
Trinity Li, a student at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), has been dancing for eight years. “It helps with your posture and sometimes makes you better at using facial expression and body expression. Dancing also gives you better musical apprehension. It gives you better coordination than an average person and helps you learn movements faster in other dance types and also in sports such as taekwondo and kung fu,” says Li.
Kate Yin, a 16-year-old student at International School of Beijing (ISB), has been dancing since she was just five years old. With over 10 years of dance experience under her belt, this high school student loves everything about dance. “There are so many reasons why I love to dance. First of all, I met some of my closest friends through dance, and since we go to different schools, the only chance I could see them would be having dance classes with them,” Yin explains. “Secondly, since I’ve been dancing for so long, it has sort of just become a habit of mine. It feels weird not doing it. Going to dance classes could also serve as a temporary relief or escape from homework. And lastly, and most importantly, I feel like I’m a different person when I dance. I would consider myself an introvert, and I used to be really really shy. But when I dance, I don’t know why — I just feel so much more confident. It’s a really magical feeling.” And it seems the sense of friendship and sisterly bond isn’t a unique experience. According to Victoria Fang, a student at Dulwich College Beijing (DCB), “The dance community here (as cheesy as it sounds) has really become a second family because we spend so much time together each week. I’ve known the people I dance with longer than most, if not all, of my friends at school. Dancing with them makes dancing worthwhile.”
Victoria Fang
But what about other aspects of life? Aside from the obvious physical fitness aspect it also teaches kids discipline. “To keep up the pace of dance classes week in and week out, the children will develop self-discipline. To appreciate the hard work and trust that their teachers invest in them, the children learn respect. Being part of a group activity – such as learning a dance routine for a show or competition – promotes the importance of teamwork,” says Chan. Aside from discipline, it also teaches kids that it’s okay to fail. No one is great at everything their first time. “Children learn to accept their vulnerability; that it is okay not to be able to do everything the first time and that you should feel confident enough to ask for help, either from the teacher or a peer. They also learn to support and help one another, as they all must work together to be successful.” Chan explains. And she’s right. “People in the dance community can be really critical and straightforward when it comes to your performance and techniques; therefore, dance has certainly taught me to be thick-skinned,” Yin tells us. “The life skills dance instills are invaluable. It teaches discipline, respect, sportsmanship, control, organization, I could go on and on… it’s helped me shape so much of who I am, whether I realize it or not,” adds Fang.
Chan believes that many parents encourage their kids to take dance classes to improve their posture and confidence. Some hope to help their child improve their flexibility and coordination. But the main reason that kids start ballet is a genuine interest in this beautiful and classic form of art. For the few who live for the spotlight of center stage, “Passion and commitment go hand-in-hand and they are the key to pursue dance as a career. If you have a passion for dance and want to pursue it as a career, you should commit to it and never let that fire and passion die. Studying dance is hard work. I believe all our students know very well that they not only have to keep coming to class to learn from the teachers, but they also need to take their teachers’ corrections and guidance and keep practicing on their own. It is a passion that fuels the commitment to hard work, that makes it possible and sustainable.” says Chan.
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Photos: Kate Yin, Victoria Fang, and Unsplash
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 October issue
