Keeping in Touch With Your Artistic Side

Walk into any ballet studio around the country, and you will rows of little girls in tutus practicing pointing their toes and spotting the wall as they spin on one foot. You might encounter a boy or two, but for the most part this is a girls' territory. Regardless of what most people choose, ballet can give your son wonderful advantages that will stay with him through life. Here is why your boy should participate in ballet classes. 

A Better Understanding of Gender

Children develop their ideas about gender and where boys and girls fit into the world well before puberty. Kidshealth.org  reports that children begin to understand gender differences around the ages of 2 or 3 and begin to form ideas about gender roles from there. This can come from seeing parents or other adults perform tasks or interact in particular ways depending on gender. Because children's minds naturally want to sort and organize, they also begin in early childhood to sort tasks, feelings and preferences into categories of being for boys or for girls. Suddenly pink is no longer an option for a boy's favorite color, and a girl is feeling embarrassed because she wants to play football. 

Ballet can play a significant role in giving a boy healthy messages about gender and what it means to be male or female. Boys who take ballet see girls who are motivated to be strong as well as beautiful. They are also placed in a situation where they are encouraged to strive for beauty themselves. A ballet class requires boys to work in cooperation with girls to create something both athletic and beautiful. 

An Opportunity to Enjoy Art

Activities traditionally seen as being for boys give very little opportunity for boys to engage in artistic pursuits. Boys who take ballet are able to enjoy being part of the artistic world and are learning how to express themselves creatively. They are free to explore how they can show their feelings or tell a story through the movement of their bodies. They are also very likely to develop an ability to use art as a way of dealing with difficult experiences or making a statement about the world. 

Ballet dancers are also exposed to a great deal of classical music, and they learn about composers and choreographers who have influenced our music and our culture for centuries. A knowledge of classical music is hard to come by in traditional pursuits offered to boys. 

Learn Confidence in Performing

The performance arts are traditionally offered to girls even though some of the best performers in history have been men. When boys take ballet, they are given permission to pursue a love of performance. Those who are uncomfortable performing in front of an audience are given a safe place to overcome that fear and learn the benefits of performing. Being confident and comfortable in front of an audience is a skill that gives children an advantage in educational and occupational settings. 

Learn to Be Himself

When a boy takes ballet, he may get all kinds of reactions from the outside world. Some of them are likely to be very negative, while others will be simply curious. No matter the response, he will quickly realize that a boy in a ballet class is considered unusual. These reactions, even the negative ones, can strongly reinforce the idea that it's okay to go against the grain. Ballet teaches your son that you can't make everyone in the world happy with your decisions and that there is no good reason to try. People can criticize your son for his choices, but ultimately he has the right to do what makes him happy. 

Ballet classes can be extremely beneficial to both girls and boys. Ballet builds strength and endurance and encourages a healthy lifestyle. Ballet is especially beneficial to boys because it offers advantages that boys simply won't find in traditionally male activities. Enroll a boy in ballet, and watch the world open up before him.