Article by: Danny May | Photo by: Captured Moments Photography
Our kindergartner came home the other day singing his classroom rules. Apparently, his music teacher puts a melody to everything. Hmmm… I started wondering what other rules I could write a tune to. Come to think of it, it works pretty well for Daniel Tiger too. He’s got catchy songs for sharing things and trying new foods, both of which I’m trying like crazy to get my three year old to do right now.
Music and memory…. there must be something to this. But what about dance and acting? (Even if it is just make believe super powers?)
Well, the good news is that experts are finding out more and more that there is an educational advantage for young people who are involved in dance, music, and theater. But that’s nothing new at all actually.
Part of it has to do with the “Mozart effect;” the finding that there is a proven benefit to exposing children to classical music. Not only does it have a calming effect, but it also helps their brain develop at a more rapid rate. Owensboro Symphony Orchestra Director Nick Palmer says it’s the reason Baby Einstein and programs like KinderMusic are so successful because they stimulate brain development by associating movements and music with memory.
But there are other benefits from the arts as well. “It’s actually been proven through Kentucky state testing that experiences in arts and humanities play a huge role in development in math and science and other academic curriculum,” says Travis Estes, Marketing Director at the RiverPark Center. “We’ve heard that same thing from the local schools that participate in our arts programs here at the RPC.”
So it seems that art, dance, music, and theater somehow make young people better learners in other areas too, which causes a win-win situation for places like the RiverPark Center. The students love the shows and arts programs the RiverPark Center provides, the educators enjoy them too, and the RiverPark Center builds their audiences as a result of those positive experiences.
“It’s interesting. We’ve seen that in lots of cases the students who are participating in our arts programs actually experience their first stage performance before their parents do,” Estes says. “And most times those students will invite their parents and grandparents to come back and see other shows.”
That definitely helps explain why the RiverPark Center has made their arts programs such a priority from day one. Since their inaugural season in 1992, the RPC has held their “Arts Teach Kids” program, which Estes explained is a “curriculum based program for grades K-12 that brings in touring productions throughout the school year. We coordinate with educators so that classes can come, watch a performance, and then discuss it in the classroom later on.” Now in its twenty-first season, Arts Teach Kids has become so popular that schools from a 200 mile radius travel to see performances at RiverPark (See side bar for other arts programs at RPC).
Aside from the educational aspect, there’s also the character building aspect of being involved in the arts. The Theater Workshop of Owensboro finds that the arts are a terrific way for kids to develop skills such as teamwork, cooperation, and respecting one another. Things they learn on stage like self-expression and stage presence can translate very well into many other areas in their lives, especially later on when they enter their professions. Experiences in the arts help them gain confidence and collaboration. In that sense, the arts are very similar in what a young person might gain through experiences on a sports team or business class project. But TWO Director Stephen Coppick says there is one strikingly different benefit from the arts.
“The main thing that the arts teach young people is creativity; the ability to look at a blank stage or a blank page and then create something on it that wasn’t there before,” says Coppick. “To me, that is the biggest advantage for a young person being involved in the arts.” That imaginative spirit and the confidence that comes from it will certainly serve someone really well later on in life in whatever career they choose. Creating something from nothing, seizing an opportunity, and fostering change all sound like qualities of a successful person.
Maybe if we spent more money on live theater tickets instead of movie theater tickets we’d all be better off. But I digress. Right now I’ve got to go work on some rhymes about taking our dishes to the sink and putting the milk back in the fridge. Maybe if there’s a song and dance involved my little ones will one day remember to put the carton back.