There is something really special about teaching dance during Women’s History Month.
Especially when most of the faces staring back at you are young girls.
With International Women’s Day happening on March 8th, I’ve been thinking about what I truly want the girls in my dance classes to know. Not just about technique. Not just about choreography.
But about themselves.
As a former professional dancer, public school dance teacher, studio instructor, and now a mom, my perspective has evolved. Dance is still about discipline and artistry. But it’s also about identity. Confidence. Leadership.
This month especially, I’m reminded that the little girls standing at the barre today are part of something much bigger than they realize.
Here are five things I hope every young girl in my dance class understands.
1. Your Body Is Strong — Not Just Pretty
Dance is beautiful. Yes.
But it is also powerful.
So often young girls hear words like “graceful,” “elegant,” or “delicate.” And while those qualities have value, I want my students to understand that strength lives inside their movement.
Your legs are strong.
Your core is strong.
Your mind is strong.
When I watch a child push through frustration to land a turn or hold a balance longer than she did the week before, I see resilience forming.
That kind of strength carries far beyond the studio.
It carries into classrooms.
Into leadership.
Into life.
2. Women Built the Foundation You’re Standing On
Modern dance as we know it was shaped by women. Ballet companies were influenced by women. Entire techniques were developed by women.
When we celebrate Women’s History Month, we aren’t just celebrating names in a textbook. We’re celebrating the groundwork that allows our young dancers to dream.
Representation matters. That’s something I’ve written about before when reflecting on culture, visibility, and performance in pieces like Bad Bunny, the Super Bowl, and America’s Complicated Relationship with Culture:
👉 https://myorderedsteps.co/bad-bunny-the-super-bowl-and-americas-complicated-relationship-with-culture/
Young girls need to see women creating, leading, choreographing, directing, and performing at the highest levels.
Because when they see it, they believe it’s possible for them too.
3. Discipline Is Empowerment
Dance teaches discipline in a way few other activities do.
You don’t land the double pirouette on the first try.
You don’t book the role without preparation.
You don’t grow without repetition.
That lesson is powerful.
In my post on becoming a dance educator, I talked about how much responsibility comes with shaping young dancers:
👉 https://myorderedsteps.co/how-to-become-a-dance-teacher/
Discipline in dance is not punishment. It’s empowerment.
It teaches girls that improvement is earned.
That consistency matters.
That hard work compounds.
And when young women learn that early, it changes how they move through the world.
4. Your Voice Matters — Even in a Structured Art Form
Dance can look structured from the outside. Lines. Counts. Corrections.
But at its core, dance is expression.
I encourage my students to ask questions. To try choreography. To interpret music in their own way. To bring their personality into the movement.
Even in ballet — which can feel rigid — there is room for artistry.
I’ve written before about the many paths dancers can take, whether on stage or beyond, in Career Choices for Dancers on Stage:
👉 https://myorderedsteps.co/career-choices-for-dancers-on-stage/
The point is this: dance does not silence you.
It can amplify you.
And that is something every young girl deserves to know.
5. You Are Allowed to Grow and Change
This lesson feels especially personal to me.
I’ve been a public school teacher.
A studio instructor.
A professional performer.
A coordinator.
A mom.
Each season required something different.
I want my students to understand that their identity is bigger than one recital, one competition, or even one career.
You can dance seriously for years and pivot.
You can perform and later teach.
You can love ballet now and discover modern later.
Women’s History Month reminds us that growth is not weakness. It is evolution.
And evolution is powerful.
International Women’s Day and the Seeds We Plant
International Women’s Day on March 8th celebrates women’s achievements across industries and generations.
But in my classroom, it’s also about planting seeds.
Confidence.
Strength.
Discipline.
Voice.
Possibility.
The little girl practicing tendus today might become:
A company director.
A choreographer.
A scientist.
A teacher.
A mother.
A leader in something we can’t even imagine yet.
If dance gives her even a small foundation of belief in herself, then that matters.
This Women’s History Month, I’m not just teaching choreography.
I’m teaching girls to trust their strength.
And that may be the most important lesson of all.
Happy Dancing,
Taylor B
