Inevitably lots of pupils leave and join at various times during our lives as dance school owners.
People have many reasons for leaving and although sometimes it can be sad or difficult for us we have to learn to live with it and just move on.
I become very attached to the young people i teach and i find the hardest "leavers" for me are the ones I have taught for many years. This may sound like a rather obvious observation but let me explain.
If a pupil leaves class at a certain age after you have taught them for many years, to progress their training at a professional level then I would feel like my job was complete. This sense of completion unfortunately tends to get overshadowed by the dreaded GCSE years. When many young people and their parents think that they should leave and focus on school.
So many studies have encouraged the idea that physical activity actually encourages academic learning but still the teens will leave. The idea of focusing on school work to me isn't a good enough reason to leave an activity that you enjoy for just a few hours a week. To stop seeing friends that are outside of regular school and who have the same hobbies and aspirations regarding dance can be very upsetting. The stress of general school life can be greatly relieved with good friends, music and the chance to let go through dance is irreplaceable. Learning choreography in class encourages memory practice. Working as part of a team encourages friendships and teamwork and is useful for every stage of life. But more importantly than any of the benefits of dance is the benefit of happiness that activity, especially dance gives. I see this every day of my teaching life when the children and young people I teach leave the class beaming, happy and content...
Please think twice before leaving because when the exams are over, dancing will remain. .
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