Sunshine Generation Children's Performing Group

You've probably already met the Sunshine Generation kids. Popping up in regular performances at local festivals, parades, nursing homes, craft fairs and other events, they're easy to spot in their bright yellow, orange and red costumes. They seem to be having a good time, but is it something that will benefit your child? Here are a few things to consider, based on my personal experience with the program.

Low Pressure, Confidence Boosting
One of the first things you'll notice at a Sunshine Generation performance is the unanimous smiles - everywhere you look, there's a happy kid. At rehearsals, things look much the same. With no auditions and plenty of personal attention, Sunshine Generation is a highly supportive environment where children thrive. During my time in Sunshine Generation we had a wide range of skill levels - to my right was a boy who had been dancing for years, and to my left was a girl whose only performance experience was playing with the family karaoke machine. We all had fun, and we all improved.

Teamwork
No other childhood experience taught me the art of teamwork so well as my time at Sunshine Generation. Because there was no sense of competition between students, we grew to be a kind of family. With another performance always just ahead, we worked together to help each other learn new songs and routines so that the whole group would be a success. One memory in particular stands out. I'd been given a brief solo in one of our Christmas songs. I was nervous, and when the time came for me to step forward with the microphone, my mind suddenly went blank. The lyrics I'd practiced endlessly in the car on the way to and from school had disappeared. As I looked out at the sea of faces and wondered what I was going to do, I felt someone next to me. I looked down to see one of the kindergarten girls. She reached for my hand and shouted the next line of the song with absolutely no tune whatsoever. I picked it up from there to sing the last line, and we both returned to our places. Afterward, I thanked her. She shrugged and said in that matter-of-fact way that only five year olds can, "We sing together."

Professionalism
Looking back, I marvel at my instructor's child management skills. While many of my afterschool activities involved adults trying desperately to corral a seething group of over-energetic kids, at Sunshine Generation rehearsals and performances we were always tuned in to our teacher. When she explained the finer details of backstage manners at performances, and why it was important in order to make a good impression so the venue would invite us back, we listened. When, at a state fair performance, children from another local dance troupe ran wild in the wings and the audience, we whispered quietly together until it was time for our entrance. We felt like professionals, and we knew how to behave as such because our Sunshine teacher had regularly discussed those skills with us in class.

Many parents think that children's dance and performance groups are all the same. As a child I was a member of several such groups, and I can tell you that that is not the case. All of them taught me to dance or sing, but Sunshine Generation was the only one that taught me skills I could use offstage for the rest of my life. If you think your child could benefit from any of the above, I recommend this program.