Should You Take Music or Dance Lessons If You Want to Become a Child Actor?

Music Lessons for Child Actors? (S Lee/Flickr)

If you have a child who wants to become a child actor, chances are that the child is also interested in music and perhaps dance. It is common for child actors to be gifted in the arts, so many children who become child actors also sing, dance, and play instruments.

I know in my daughter’s case, she was singing before she could really even talk. She started creating small plays and musicals and loved performing for family and friends before she turned two.  I knew she was destined to be involved in the arts.

My daughter may not choose acting or music or dance for her career as an adult, but I am sure she will always find ways to be involved with the arts for the rest of her life in one way or another.

Neglecting Other Skills to Concentrate on Acting

For a while, my daughter primarily concentrated on acting. She took scene study (acting) classes twice each week and had numerous acting auditions. Before auditions she typically had to get coaching. She also took an improv and comedy class and performed as part of Giggle Gaggle each week.

There was not much time for other activities besides acting. And we did not have much extra money to pay for her to do other things.

So my daughter did not take any music or dance lessons or participate in sports for a couple of years. In fact, she did not even learn to ride a bike until she was 8.  I think she missed out on a lot of other things that she liked to do or should have been doing while we concentrated, perhaps a little too much, on her acting. (See “What Skills Are Helpful When You Become a Child Actor?” for additional discussion on this topic).

She really missed doing all these other things that she loved and enjoyed.  And if I had it to do over, I would have made sure she did not give up her music activities or dancing and sports. I think continuing with those things would have been good for her.

She has just started taking some music lessons recently, but at the age of 13 she is getting a pretty late start. In this day and time, when kids often learn sports and seriously study dance and music at a very early age, it can be a little hard to catch up with those who have been studying for years!

So, “Should You Take Music or Dance Lessons If You Want to Become a Child Actor?”

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What Skills Are Helpful When You Become a Child Actor?

Learn to Play Guitar When You Become a Child Actor, Image via Wikipedia

When you become a child actor, it is important to work on your acting skills.  Being a good actor is certainly important when you pursue an acting career.

But when you become a child actor, it is also a good idea to work on other skills. Learning to do a variety of things helps you to become a better-rounded individual, with many different life experiences to draw from in your acting.

Possessing a variety of skills can also help make you more employable in the entertainment industry. Casting directors are sometimes looking for individuals with particular skills for a role in a television show, movie, play or other performance. If you have the required skills, you may be called in for auditions you might not otherwise be invited to attend.

We know a young and very talented piano player. After someone heard him accompanying a singer at a competition, he was invited to audition for a television show.  He wasn’t even trying to get into tv or film.

But this young man is great on the piano, and guess what! When he went in for that audition, he booked the job. So now he is appearing on the tv show Glee.

So when you become a child actor, what skills (besides acting, which is very important) are useful to you for a showbiz career?

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