Ask the Experts: What Benefits Do Students Gain From Performing Arts?

Q: What benefits to other areas of study can students gain from performing arts? 

A: “The big ones are creativity, problem-solving, discipline — all of those are pretty straightforward,” says Lucas Clark, fine and performing arts program coordinator at Gilmour Academy. “But you also look at a lot of the students who participate in the performing arts tend to have better presentation skills. So even if they don’t continue on in the performing arts, they’re much better public speakers. I know a friend who I went to college with and did performing arts who is now a lawyer. They have a lot more confidence, they’re able to speak more clearly with better diction, and they’re just a lot more expressive and animated and interesting to listen to."