144 HAWAII PARENT September/October 2025 When students engage in the performing arts, they are encouraged to explore their emotions, expand their imagination, and develop their own, unique voice. Each discipline — music, dance, and drama — stimulates the student’s brain, and exercises their voice, body, and imagination to boost their confidence and to discover joy in self-expression. The performing arts also help students to learn the crucial skill of understanding diverse points of view, which helps them to develop empathy and compassion for others. Experiences such as embodying characters, physically portraying emotions, and singing heartfelt lyrics illustrate how drama, dance, and music each uniquely accomplish this. Additionally, having these experiences associated with different cultures, communities, and traditions becomes an important component in developing performing arts students into global citizens. Emotional intelligence is one of the unsung benefits of the performing arts. It fosters students’ self-confidence, selfexpression, self-awareness, and awareness cultures around them; not to mention the improvements in their academic endeavors. Self-Confidence and Presentation Skills Whether they are singers, dancers, actors, or the proverbial triple threat, students in the performing arts learn to communicate effectively and connect with others intellectually and emotionally. Through classes, rehearsals, and performances, students acquire such skills as being poised, focused, and overcoming anxiety. This ultimately prepares them to present themselves with confidence, communicate with others effectively, and develop leadership qualities. A Medium for Self-Expression, Empathy, and Cultural Awareness Whimsical fun on stage as Mo‘olelo Studio brings a Dr. Seuss classic to life. “Through classes, rehearsals, and performances, students acquire such skills as being poised, focused, and overcoming anxiety.”
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