Dance is a multi-faceted subject that develops a multitude of transferable and subject-specific skills essential to the holistic development of the child. Perceptions of dance as elite, irrelevant and gendered continue to act as barriers to participation and broader acceptance of dance education (Miller, 2021; Keane, 2025). Meaningful engagement in the study of dance requires confronting and dismantling pre-existing ideas of what is dance and who can dance to recognise that dance yields great benefits to all who participate in its study.
By studying dance, students are thrust into inter-disciplinary conversations that question underlying assumptions and encourage critical thinking (Dils, 2004). By engaging with the histories and cultural contexts of different dance forms and questioning their underlying assumptions regarding who can dance and what is dance, students understand how to draw from historical research to critically examine the perspectives of themselves and others, and respectfully exchange and communicate in inter-cultural contexts. These skills reflect the Victorian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priorities of: Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability and Personal and Social Capability.
Dance also has innumerable benefits for a student’s physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing. Narikbayeva in 2025 found that dance has immense positive impacts on improving participant mood and energy levels, communication skills, team collaboration, memory and concentration. These interdisciplinary skills reflect multiple general capabilities, foundational skills and cross-curriculum priorities as cited in the Victorian Curriculum (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024).
Dance provides an invaluable avenue for non-verbal self-expression and emotional regulation, a building block of literacy (Koch et al. 2019; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024). Specifically, the act of performance (listed as ‘Presenting’ in the Victorian Curriculum strands for Dance) develops the skill of regulation and adaptation of emotional expression to environment and context (Koch et al., 2019; Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2026). Lee and Seo (2018) also found that the emotional artistry necessitated in dance performances assists in building emotional awareness and empathy, improving interpersonal relationship building.
Begal et al. (2022) corroborates Narikbayeva’s 2025 research findings, discovering that through learning dance, students improve proprioceptive awareness, balance, flexibility and coordination, enhancing athletic ability and general physical safety. Begal et al. (2022) also noted improvements in social and cognitive functioning of students in the form of improved memory, concentration and executive functioning through learning dance. These improvements transfer to positive impacts in subjects such as Health and Physical Education and can indirectly improve subjects such as Science and English through the development of fine motor skills and improved executive functioning.
Morris (2023) found that the attendance of dance classes among youth reduced anxiety levels, increased self-confidence and willingness to seek new opportunities. These improvements in sense of self may be in part due to increased resilience fostered through the processes of goal-setting, practice, and self-directed training common within dance education (Lee & Seo, 2018). Chuning et al. (2021), Martín-Pérez et al. (2022) and Song et al. (2021) all name resilience as a powerful protective factor against depression and anxiety.
While studying dance in school can be a stepping stone to a professional performance career, studying dance does not only lead to a future as a professional dancer or choreographer. Dance equips students with transferable skills, interdisciplinary understanding and personal capabilities that extend into all aspects of life. Through engaging critically with movement, culture, history and performance, students develop creativity, resilience, empathy, collaboration, communication skills and self-awareness. Dance provides meaningful opportunities for self-expression, cultural understanding and holistic wellbeing. The skills, mindset and personal growth fostered through dance education remain valuable regardless of future career aspirations, making dance an essential and deeply relevant area of study for all students.
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