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beyond dance

Dance ...
" is awesome." - Alan
" is the best subject at school." -Farai
"is the one of the coolest programs a kid could have!" - Charlotte
"makes learning fun." - Madison

Dance is so much more - it's a universal language, it's math, it's science, history, physical education and it is art! North Carolina Arts in Action provides students with an arts-enriched education. According to a 2005 Harris Poll commissioned by Americans for the Arts, "93 percent of Americans agree that the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for children."  It has been proven that this type of children's performing arts program enhances the academic achievement of students.

Benefits from Arts Education

  • Participation in music, the visual arts, and dance is linked to better performance in mathematics, science, and creative thinking.
  • The arts nurture social skills and increase motivation to learn.
  • Artistic exploration promotes the ability to pay attention for longer periods of time.

Arts Education in the Schools

  • Arts education benefits all students, and the benefits are greatest for students who are educationally or economically disadvantaged.
  • Partnerships among teachers, students, parents, and community groups are often strengthened by arts education.
  • The No Child Left Behind Act identifies the arts as a "core academic subject."

Source: Sandra S. Ruppert, Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Achievement, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and Arts Education Partnership, 2006.

Articles on Arts Education

The Arts: Critical Links to Student Success
By Richard J. Deasy and Lauren Stevenson
Critical Links explains how arts education and exposure to the arts help children do better in school.

National Dance Institute's In-School Education Programs Evaluation
Executive Summary
By Dr. Rob Horowitz, Associate Director of the Center for Arts Education Research at Teacher's College, Columbia University
Dr. Horowitz conducted an external evaluation of the National Dance Institute's (NDI) in-school program on partner schools, on student learning and classroom teachers, and elicited feedback from constituents on effective NDI teaching practice and program implementation. North Carolina Arts in Action is an affiliate program of NDI: New York.

Study Links Art Classes to Academic Achievement
By Lori Olszewski, San Francisco Chronicle
A Stanford University professor has found that youngsters who dance, act, sing and paint in after-school arts programs are more likely to win academic awards and achieve, yet most American students have no weekly arts education.