The performing arts are more than just a chance to sparkle. Whatever you choose – acting, dancing, singing, musical instruments – it will be the start of a journey packed with physical, mental, and emotional benefits. The performing arts can teach you about the importance of human connection, give you versatile life skills, challenge you, provide an emotional outlet, improve health, and offer enormously fun, creative ways to enrich your life. Discover how your everyday experience can be enhanced by a turn in the spotlight.
1. Ballet
Ballet isn’t all tutus and tiaras – it’s the perfect way to centre your mind, body and spirit. You don’t need to be a ballerina to love the barre. Popular fitness classes, like yoga, pilates, and barre, all incorporate elements of ballet. Learning to dance as an adult isn’t just about becoming a good dancer, it’s about giving strength and tone to all parts of your body. A regular ballet workout is just as effective as resistance training with small weights – it takes a lot of muscle to hold those arm and leg positions!
The body benefits don’t stop there – a couple of hours a week jete-ing and plie-ing across the floor will build cardiovascular stamina, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and cognition. Posture and core strength will also improve, giving you stability and allowing you to reconnect with your body in an age of digital domination.
The hours spent perfecting your ballet routines, concentrating on nothing but steps and positions, can also be meditative. You will be able to present yourself with a sense of calm, confidence and grace.
2. Theatre and Acting
Acting is one of the most cathartic forms of creative expression. In order to successfully connect with a character and express a range of emotions, we often have to tap into our own feelings and experiences, working through them and releasing them in a safe environment where vulnerability is embraced. Acting teaches us to lose our ego, practice empathy, and get out of our own heads.
One of the best things about acting is sharing the experience. The exhilaration of a scene performed well, of transcending a moment with others and achieving something profound, is incredibly special.
It’s not all serious either – acting can be playful and fun, allowing you to tap into your imagination and see yourself in scenarios you’d never come across in real life! Through playing other characters, you will learn what makes you special and unique, and approach the world with renewed confidence.
3. Instrumental
Music can stimulate and grow our brain more than any other activity. Music has such a therapeutic effect on the mind and body, there is even a branch of research named after it: neuromusicology. Learning a piece of music, or participating in a performance, requires a lot of hard work, patience, and determination. The feeling of accomplishment that follows is a huge mood and energy booster.
Learning a musical instrument is of particularly strong benefit to co-ordination, problem-solving and multi-sensory skills. Imagine the focus and mental skills needed to play the piano, balancing both the melody and harmony, and processing the sheet music in front of you. That’s an enormous brain boost!
Another bonus of learning to play an instrument is the ready-made opportunity to perform – you could soon be the life of the party with your newfound musical finesse!
4. Singing
There’s a reason we sing in the shower, and why belting out a tune in the car is so enjoyable. Singing is euphoric, releasing muscle tension, endorphins and oxytocin, which are all stress and anxiety relievers. Further, you don’t have to be the best singer in the world to enjoy the benefits – studies show that it is the act of singing, rather than the sound, that has therapeutic benefits.
Singing is so satisfying because your voice is the instrument – when you sing, you send musical vibrations through your body and alter your physical and emotional landscape. This is amplified when you sing in a group or choir – something that starts within you can be shared and then come back as something greater: a harmony. Much like team sports, singing in a group promotes a sense of togetherness and shared experience, and is perfect for widening social circles.
Singing can also be a workout! Proper technique means working on posture, mastering correct breathing techniques, and strengthening your diaphragm, lungs, and abdomen. The pattern of breathing through singing phrases also closely resembles meditative breathing, allowing you to get lost in the moment and find a sense of calm.
Performing arts are such a wonderful source of creative self-expression, and the life skills learnt from them will help you take on the world like a true superstar. Our range of singing, acting, music, and ballet classes are the perfect way to discover all the ways you can shine, in a supportive, collaborative and fun environment.