Who are you off the stage??

As we head into recital season, there will be a million opinions floating around about dances, costumes, and choreography. If it has something to do with dance, someone in that auditorium will have an opinion on it. Most of the grandparents will gush about how adorable their grandbabies are up on the stage in their cute little lion costumes. Some grandpa will inevitably wonder how you paid for an entire year of dance and your kid is on stage picking their nose. The #dancemom4life crew will be shaking their heads about the turn their daughter fell out of while running back and forth a million times for costume changes. Some dad will make a remark about girls needing to wear more clothes on stage.

But here at the ADCPO we are more concerned about what our girls do off of that stage than on it. Yes, we like performing. We like winning. We like being the best. But at the end of the day maybe 1 of the kids in our program will end up doing something professionally that has to do with dance. The rest will go on to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, business owners, etc. And no matter what they grow up to be, these girls will need to be armed with a solid set of values.

So many of the values they will need are reinforced in the dance studio. They learn what it means to be a team. They learn what it means to be a mentor. They learn about winning and losing and working hard. They learn what it means to persevere through adversity. But our girls are also expected to be stellar off the stage and outside of the studio.

Each girl in our program is expected to help raise funds that are donated back to our organization. Funds that are used to provide college scholarships for young people in our community. Our members are also expected to volunteer with our team. While many of our girls volunteer all over the place, we have a few team outings each year. The girls visit local assisted living facilities and perform for residents. They dance at fundraisers. They learn as a part of this organization that no matter how little you are, you can use your gifts to help others.

And as a result of the values that our teachers, moms, and leaders work to instill in these precious kiddos, you will see our kids out and about as leaders in our community. We have captains of school teams, presidents of clubs, student council members. We have kids being recognized on a state and national level for their volunteer work.

So as you sit in the audience of your local dance recital, remember that no matter what happens on that stage, the kiddos you see are being taught valuable lessons that carry far beyond a costume, a booty shake, and a stage.