Introduction
Dance is one of the most popular ways to keep fit. In the UK, adolescent sports participation is declining outside of school scenarios, but dance continues to be one of the most popular extra-curriculars (Walker, Nordin-Bates & Redding, 2012). It provides both physical and psychological benefits, and therefore should be encouraged. Despite this, many talented dancers drop out of programs despite their successes, and there is a need to uncover the reasons why to ensure that participation can continue to increase (O’ Neill et al., 2011). With participation in sports declining, dance looks to be one of the only ways in which the UK can encourage young people into physical activity, therefore understanding the reasons why young people drop out is key.
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The problem is that young people have generally increasing demands on their lifestyle – attending university, exams, peer pressure – but understanding the reasons why is key to helping them fit dance into their lifestyle. It is also interesting to consider how we can work around these issues to increase the number of young people in physical exercise using dance as a key part of their encouragement. It should also be noted that many young people may not be aware of the benefits that come from attendance of these dance programs and this may contribute to their motivation to drop out (O’ Neill et al., 2011). In essence, this study aims to investigate why young people do and do not participate in dance and how their personal situations affect their participation.
Background
As noted above, physical participation in the UK is on a continuous decline and is one of the biggest factors in the increasing rates of obesity in the country (Walker et al., 2012). In this sense, it is important to find ways in which to engage young people, and dance appears to be one way in which this can happen. At the moment, dance is one of the only physical activities that actually has increasing participation (Walker et al., 2012), which means that understanding the reasons why people do and do not participate in dance has wider ramifications for society. Some research has suggested that talented dancers often drop out of their programs around the ages of 16-18 (Burkhardt & Brennan, 2012). The reasons given for this are often related to the increasing demands on time that occur at this age, including exams and university attendance (Walker et al., 2012). There are also other key factors, like difficulty making friends, lost passion, financial factors and injury which also play a part on the attendance rate in dance classes (Walker et al., 2012). Dance teachers currently try to help talented dancers remain in dance-talent programs by encouraging them to apply for scholarships to dance programs at universities and elsewhere, and by ensuring that the classes are kept interesting and varied (Aujla et al., 2013).
Methodology
For the purposes of this action research, a survey design is employed. This was distributed amongst a group of dance teachers and instructors as well as those that attend their classes. These individuals responded to questions examining their motivation to join dance classes and the perceived benefits that they have received from attendance. The instructors answered questions about participation in their classes and the reasons that they have been given for dropping out by their students. This information was then collected and examined to see if there were any significant reasons given by attendees. The methodology here is qualitative, and therefore gives room for freedom in response to attempt to find significant reasons that have not been found in previous research on the topic. It is hoped that the responses to these surveys will give an insight into how dance participation can be increased in the future as a way of improving the physical health of the UK.
- Aujla, Imogen Jane, Sanna Nordin-Bates, and Emma Redding. “A Qualitative Investigation of Commitment to Dance: Findings from the UK Centres for Advanced Training.” Research in Dance Education ahead-of-print (2013): 1–23. Print.
- Burkhardt, Jan, and Cathy Brennan. “The Effects of Recreational Dance Interventions on the Health and Well-Being of Children and Young People: A Systematic Review.” Arts & Health 4.2 (2012): 148–161. Print.
- O’Neill, Jennifer R. et al. “The Contribution of Dance to Daily Physical Activity among Adolescent Girls.” Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 8 (2011): 87. Print.
- Walker, Imogen J., Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, and Emma Redding. “A Mixed Methods Investigation of Dropout among Talented Young Dancers: Findings from the UK Centres for Advanced Training.” Journal of Dance Medicine & Science 16.2 (2012): 65–73. Print.
