From the time I was little I wanted to be a dancer.

Unfortunately, living in a town of 300 people about 50km from the nearest dance school, this wasn’t going to happen (unless you count a few days of disco dancing classes held in the  local Memorial Hall, which then formed the basis of all the moves I broke out at the Blue Light Discos at Tarcutta RSL Club for the next few years).

My sister and I spent our after-school hours as teenagers leaping crazily about the spare room, making up choreography to Go West’s We Close Our Eyes and getting funky to Boney M’s Rasputin (apologies to anyone under the age of 35 who won’t have a clue what I’m talking about). But still I had a sense of missing out.

So, what better way to live out your dreams than vicariously through your children, hey? Great plan.

When Olivia was four I excitedly enrolled her in her first ballet class, buying her the little pink leotard and tights and floaty wrap skirt, and of course, the little ballet slippers. She was adorable, and I excitedly took her off to class. She hated it. Cried every class for four classes until I realised that this wasn’t just a ‘teething pains’ thing…she actually really, really didn’t like it. I don’t know whether it was the moves or the very strict discipline of the class or the music…but it wasn’t her thing.

So I gave up on the dream of my daughter being a dancer with more than a touch of sadness. Ironically, it wasn’t long after this that I decided that perhaps the best way to make my childhood dreams a reality was to actually do it myself (who’d have thunk it?) – starting with Zumba and then progressing to other Latin styles (partnered Salsa, Salsa Shines and Reggaeton/Dancehall).

And a funny thing happened. Once Olivia saw how much I enjoyed it, she wanted to do it too. I wasn’t sure – Latin wasn’t really a style I’d thought of for kids. But Kokoloco had a juniors class so I took her along to see how she went, being clear to her that she needed to do all the first lesson, but if she didn’t like it, she didn’t need to keep doing it every week.

There were some nerves at first, particularly because she was the youngest, but the other kids – aged between 8 and 12 – made her feel at home, and before too long she had excitedly run over, saying “I want to come back next week!”

That was nearly a year ago, and in that time she has learnt Zumbatomic (zumba for kids), Axé (Brazilian funk) and Samba. I’m so proud of her. She’s got amazing coordination and a great choreographic memory, and she really loves performing – something that came as a real surprise to me as she can be on the shy side.

And it’s confidence and an increased self-esteem that, for me, are the greatest benefits from her dance…at six years old, she’s a ‘veteran’ performer and I’m glad that she’s comfortable in this space before she ‘learns’ to be self-conscious. It’s a chance to gently push her outside her comfort zone and move her towards new experiences, which is so important as she grows and gains independence.

Plus it’s fantastic for her body and her mind. All the classes offer a great cardio workout, which keep the kids fit and healthy (and drinking heaps of water!) and also come with the benefit of those awesome endorphins, which guarantee a good mood – at least for the rest of the evening…

I also love that she’s interacting with different people, learning to work as a team, and making new friends outside school and her ‘usual’ circle of friends. This term will take that to a new level, as she starts learning partnered salsa for Kokoloco’s brand new Junior Salsa Team – Los Kokolitos –  the first team of it’s kind in Canberra, and one of the few in Australia! She’ll be changing partners frequently, so this will teach her valuable lessons about working with a variety of people and personalities.

Finally, as a mum, what’s particularly important to me is that the Latin dance culture is one that’s particularly encouraging of different female body shapes. You might not think of the tiny, sparkly samba costumes as being ones that suit all shapes and sizes, but let me tell you, there are women from size 6 to at least size 16 getting into it…and owning it. Latin dance is all about the ‘booty’ – the bigger, the better – and I love that my daughter will be growing up in an environment which prizes curves instead of pressuring its participants to fit a certain ‘ideal’.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about whether it makes her happy…and you can see by the smile on her face that she’s loving every minute of it…

UPDATE: my youngest, Sophia, has been doing salsa for a couple of terms and samba for eight weeks, and – while at five she’s not the most coordinated dancer – she loves it so much. I’ll be the happiest mama around if I’m still ferrying them to lessons in 10 years time!

Want to know more?

If you’re keen to know more, talk to Becky by calling 02 6282 9666, 0421 798 490 or emailing info@kokoloco.com.au.