Social Media Dance
What an amazing era we’re in, when people of all ages regularly laugh together as they try out the newest trending dance combo on social media. Social media has become an incredible tool for connection and inspiration in the dance world. It’s everywhere. Tons of research is going into its effects—both its pros and cons—but since we see it in our hallways daily, it’s important for us to know how it affects dancers specifically.
At Prestige Dance Academy, we love using our social media to connect with both our local community and the worldwide dance community. It makes it easier to remind parents of upcoming events and closures, and it helps get the word out about our studio to Calgary and its surrounding areas. The videos and photos are inspiring to dancers as they see what their peers are up to, and it’s fun for the community to get a sneak peek into our classrooms.
On the worldwide scale, social media exposes dancers and teachers to different music, conferences, competitions, and dance styles. Prestige’s involvement on social media helps us bring in guest teachers and invitations to some truly elite opportunities that we may not have thought to search for before, which brings our dancers an even more well-rounded dance education. This can connect our graduates with dance-related employment opportunities and even find dancers new friends when they are moving away to go to university.
Beyond this, the inspiration that dancers of all ages can find on social media is endless. Often younger dancers don’t realize that their age is not a limit in dance until they see dancers their age achieving incredible feats. In the past, these are revelations that may have only come through attending competitions or conventions, but now they are available in our own living rooms.
Other dancers get energized by specific styles or skills they haven’t tried yet. There are teachers online with “how-to” videos and great tips on health, safety, and style that can sometimes rephrase something in just the right way for a dancer to finally get that skill to “click.” Repetitions and variations of what they are hearing in class can accelerate a dancer’s understanding, and the resulting skill levels across the world have been phenomenal.
All of this is overwhelmingly positive news for the dance world, but like all things, social media dance doesn’t come without its pitfalls.
The first, most obvious pitfall is that social media connects you to both positive and negative people. When we encounter those positive connections, it makes dancers feel brave enough to share their passion for dance, and empowers them to keep working toward their goals. When they encounter the negative people, better known as “trolls,” however, it can have the opposite effect.
While dance is a very athletic endeavour, it is also an art form, which automatically brings a certain level of vulnerability. Not everyone enjoys certain dance styles, and style preferences vary from one person to the next, meaning that there is almost always one troll ready with negativity for anything that is shared. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable by sharing our dances, it can be disheartening to see careless comments, and it’s important that we don’t allow these things to take away our passion and drive. By being mindful of the privacy settings on your media and arming dancers with the knowledge of inevitable negativity before posting, we can help keep our dancers safer, but the risk does not fully disappear.
The second pitfall that not everyone thinks about is that social media can make unhealthy practices seem normal. At Prestige, we are dedicated to supplementing our dancers’ lifelong mental and physical health, but this is not true of all dance content creators. Unfortunately, some content creators are only focused on what makes them look good, and not on the honesty of what brought them to their skill level, distorting dancers’ views of how quickly they should progress and the risks involved during training.
It is important for the dance community to be mindful of who they follow for dance tips. Is the content creator inclusive or exclusive? Are they formally trained and practicing in ways that support athletic longevity, or are they self-taught and just showing what worked for them? Are they promoting positive or negative associations toward fuelling your bodies? Do they promote safe progressions and encourage proper supervision when learning new skills? If you’re unsure, it’s always a good idea to check in with your teachers before attempting a new skill or following a new regime.
Overall, we love the way social media has been incorporated into the dance world, as long as we are mindful of the way we use it. So, if you’re not already, follow Prestige Dance Academy and Prestige ITC on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Do you have favourite social media dance pages? We would love to see them. Email us or tag us on social media so we can follow along too.