Will Dance Always be our Family Sport?

Our family sport is dance.

I never meant it to be. In fact I didn’t know anything about it or what we were getting into. I’d been a soccer player and dreamed of coaching my kids for years. But then reality set in and I went with the flow.

It all started when our then five year old daughter started a dance program at the rec centre and was hooked. Soon she was enrolled at a well respected studio and then that morphed into her dancing competitively.

Our eldest son enjoys the rec hip hop class, and it’s a good fit for him.

I, who previously danced like *that* guy at the club, am even enjoying the ladies hip hop class.

So it’s a natural question that seems to come up frequently about our littlest one. “Will he dance too?” There seems to be a lot of opinions on whether he should or not, though I find most of the moms at the studio lean towards the yes vote. And the dancers are all hoping to one day have a strong male competitor to partner with.

Certainly for me, it would be easier. We are already at the studio five days a week, so we wouldn’t be going out of our way.

I do sometimes hear comments though about how he should play hockey. And it bothers me that there should be a perception that to be “manly” he needs to play a “manly” sport. Um have you seen the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team? We kick a$$! But seriously, if his heart is in dance then why should he not pursue it? It would be the same for swimming or soccer or hockey. I want active, happy kids. Not coerced, miserable ones. We will certainly expose him to dance, but ultimately it will be his choice as to whether or not he becomes a dancer. Or a gymnast. Or a hockey player.

For now though, I need to have patience, as the little guy is just shy of a year old. Lots and lots of time for him to find his niche. And lots of opportunity for us try out new things that we’ve never experienced before.