Dance is about so much more than learning choreography. As dancers grow, they continue developing strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, body awareness, and confidence - and tumbling can be a fun and valuable way to support many of those same skills.
From learning the foundations of a cartwheel or handstand to progressing toward walkovers, aerials, and more advanced skills, tumbling challenges dancers to understand and control their bodies in new ways. The strength, flexibility, and coordination developed through tumbling can complement what dancers are already working on in the studio and give them even more tools to bring to their dance training.
At Denise Buote Dance Studio, our tumbling classes are designed to meet students at their current skill level and help them progress safely and confidently. Whether a dancer is trying tumbling for the first time or working toward a more advanced skill, the focus is on proper technique, gradual progress, and celebrating growth along the way.
And perhaps most importantly, tumbling can be fun! There’s something exciting about working toward a new skill, practicing it week after week, and finally having that moment when it clicks.
So, what can adding tumbling to your dancer’s training offer? Here are a few of the benefits.
Tumbling requires dancers to use their entire body in ways they may not experience during a traditional dance class. Skills like handstands, bridges, cartwheels, and walkovers engage the core, upper body, and lower body while teaching students how to support and control their own body weight.
Developing that strength and stability can also complement a dancer’s technique, helping them create more controlled movements and a stronger foundation as they continue progressing in dance.
Flexibility plays an important role in both dance and tumbling. Through stretching, conditioning, bridges, walkovers, and other skill progressions, students can work toward improving flexibility throughout the body while learning how to use that flexibility with control.
For dancers, greater flexibility can support range of motion and help them continue developing many of the movements and skills they practice in their regular dance classes.
Even a skill like a cartwheel requires a student to coordinate several movements at once while understanding where their body is in space. Tumbling gives students another opportunity to develop balance, coordination, and overall body awareness.
These skills can carry over into dance by helping students become more aware of their alignment, movement, and body positioning as they learn new choreography and technique.
One of the most rewarding parts of tumbling is seeing progress happen over time. A student might begin by learning how to safely hold a handstand, then work toward a cartwheel, round-off, walkover, or another skill appropriate for their level.
Each milestone gives students an opportunity to recognize their own progress and see what can happen when they continue practicing and working toward a goal.
That feeling of finally accomplishing something they have been working toward can be a great confidence builder — both in tumbling class and beyond.
As dancers progress, tumbling can introduce them to additional movements and skills that may complement their dance training and choreography.
Depending on their age and experience level, students may progress from foundational skills such as rolls, bridges, handstands, and cartwheels to round-offs, front and back walkovers, tumbling combinations, aerial progressions, and back handspring preparation.
Just like dance, tumbling is a progression. Students build upon foundational skills over time as they develop the strength, flexibility, technique, and confidence needed to move forward.
If your dancer is curious about tumbling, our upcoming drop-in classes are a great opportunity to experience a class before deciding if they would like to continue.
AGES 8+ | Saturday, September 26 | 2:45–3:45 PM
AGES 5-7 | Saturday, October 3 | 2:45–3:45 PM
Skills may include:
No previous tumbling experience is necessary.
Click here to register for an upcoming drop-in class today!
Whether your dancer is trying their very first cartwheel or ready to work toward more advanced skills, there is always something new to learn. Our goal is to provide a supportive environment where students can challenge themselves, celebrate their progress, and have fun along the way.
Ready to give tumbling a try? Register for one of our upcoming drop-in classes through your Jackrabbit Parent Portal.
