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5 Benefits of Hip Hop Dancing for Kids

Dancing, as a means for playful learning, helping kids perform better at school or a recreational activity has always garnered positive attention from parents, caregivers, and the teaching community. However, not every dance form is as impactful. While some are recommended merely to help kids expand their horizon of curiosity, others are often just a trend that has gone viral. Very few types of dancing have been able to grab global attention, clearly emerging as a favourite among kids of all ages and highly recommended by educators. Hip Hop is one such exceptional, incredibly effective, very versatile and easy to incorporate across any learner’s level.

A Bit about Hip Hop before Digging Deeper

Hip Hop dance started in the early 70s in New York—reportedly the birthplace of this now international sub-culture. Inspired by several socio-economic communities, this unique dance form is about representing your own personality with moves that leave room enough for introducing free style. The dance form is rather relaxed, highly adoptable and provides plenty of room to experiment. It has four elements: Graffiti (art), MCs (rappers), Disc Jockeys (music) and Beat Boys & Girls. The swift footwork, amazing freezes and cool spins attracted masses to this dance form. It tests the ability to innovate on-the-spot, athleticism, and attitude. Skilled dancers use these steps to battle their opponents by ‘one-upping’ their moves. There are many moves that emerged in the Hip Hop scene during its initial days are now considered a standard. This includes the Snake, Harlem shake and Robot/Mannequin that are cool to watch and execute.

Hip Hop is about Energy!

Most educators who have closely observed the impact of music and dance on kids would describe Hip Hop as being free yet beautiful – it is liberating without getting destructive. It can be easily set-up in the gym class or classrooms that have some floor space. Witty lyrics visible on the global music scene today, from being rebellious to getting philosophical about life, now form the core of Hip Hop music. For teenagers and young adults, Hip Hop is also about finding a connection with realism that is hidden in multi-layered Hip Hop lyrics. Today, Hip Hop invariably means strong beats and corresponding high-spirited dance. It is about energy, it is about finding your rhythm without getting too predictable, without the necessity to follow too many rules. Rhymes found in rap genre lyrics with appealing use of slangs are highly expressive and synonymous with many sub-categories that exist within Hip Hop today – yes, not just dancing, this can also be about a lifestyle choice – how you carry yourself and being free-spirited!

There are five ways in which kids benefit from hip hop dancing:

1. Boost in Confidence: More Self-Esteem for Kids

From shy public speakers to those with stammering issues, from kids afraid of getting on the stage to those who avoid social interactions of any type, Hip Hop might just be the perfect remedy. How? For starters, it is about letting yourself go. Unlike some traditional forms of dance, Hip Hop dancing is not bound by rules. It is about finding your own interpretation of moving your body to the beats. Within a few minutes, energy in a Hip Hop dance class gets infectious. The byproduct of this environment invariably is breaking the shackles of self-doubt. This is not about mastering intricate steps that would do a gymnast proud but about effortlessly moving your body, surrounded by happy faces, enthusiastic groups that have caught the Hip Hop bug!

2. Improved Physical Health:Unmatched Cardio Benefits

Lifestyle diseases like obesity are a big school-level concern. Health providers cannot emphasize enough the importance of eating healthy during the growing years and physical exercise. However, school curriculums too have their limitations. Families can be very busy. Here too, Hip Hop provides an answer. Hip Hop dancing does not need extensive gear or big training facilities. Schools can easily schedule a Hip Hop class. Parents can practice the same with kids in the backyard with little or no preparation. Looking for Hip Hop inspirations?

Just switch on any musical channel on your mobile or the TV and you will find plenty of ideas. Hip Hop dancing, by nature, slowly builds up the complexity levels. This means an easy-to-start type of exercise that slowly infuses more mobility, definite calorie burning moves, and gradual muscle strengthening. Advanced Hip Hop dancing is associated with great core strength and body balancing, apart from working-out the arms and legs. High energy movements support aerobic workout, boosting energy that keeps kids energized through the day – the easiest way to lose extra pounds for overweight kids. High intensity movements enhance oxygen flow, promoting cardiovascular health.

3. Improved Cognitive Skills, Less Anxious Kids

For kids with attention deficit, for those stressed due to at-home environments and others struggling to cope-up with the pressure of performing well at school, high-energy dancing can be the perfect solution. For caregivers who believe in medicating kids to ensure better concentration levels, Hip Hop dancing provides a natural cure without any possible side-effects. Not just keeping the kid’s psyche upbeat, Hip Hop dancing is also about boosting potential of slow learners. The curiosity to try out and practice new dance steps, memorizing dance routines, showing-up for practice or synchronizing their daily schedule to fit-in dancing classes, all of these work together towards being a comprehensive therapy for kids. It helps them get more disciplined and overcome their anxieties. Hip Hop dancing can actually improve your kid’s cognitive skills. Studies show that practicing Hip Hop can improve certain reasoning and social skills.

4. Provides Healthy Outlet to Freedom of Expression

Teenagers often vent in unacceptable and inappropriate ways. Investing in Hip Hop dancing can create the perfect channel to provide a safe outlet without breaking the safe boundaries of school or home. High-energy dancing helps to focus scattered energy levels towards a goal. This dance form unlike sports does not feel like a routine. Curriculum-based education can be challenging in terms of providing self-expression platforms. Hip Hop, on the other hand, is highly creative and expressive. Hip Hop music is great for kids, especially for the overly energetic ones. The dance form channels their energy towards higher productivity. It a scientifically proven fact that music helps in decreasing depression and anxiety.

5. Developing More Social Skills

Learning Hip Hop is never an individual thing. The dance form, the culture, the musical forms of Hip Hop, all of these are focused on raising the energy levels of a group, with participants feeding-off each other’s energy, getting a bit crazy! This invariably means developing social skills, the ability to move with a group, and networking across your age-group or immediate classroom domain. For educators, getting involved in dancing with kids at the school can be about breaking barriers that prevent learning, for parents it can be about overcoming the inability to connect with kids and for children, this is about finding your feet in a socially diverse group, no matter how good or bad a dancer you are!

Hip Hop is a fast-paced, highly energetic form of dance. Very contemporary and global, it comes without social, ethnic or financial restrains. Providing a smooth outlet for creativity and self-expression, it is highly recommended to kids of any age group!

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