5 Ways the AGC Builds Resilience and Emotional Intelligence
In a fast-paced digital world, filled with endless scrolling and short-form content, participating in the performing arts remains one of the most powerful tools for nurturing emotional growth in children. More than just entertainment, the performing arts teaches children how to recognise, understand, and express their emotions. It invites them to step into someone else’s world, explore different perspectives, and find meaning in the highs and lows of everyday life.
At the Australian Girls Choir (AGC), we help our choristers grow not just as performers, but as emotionally aware young people. Read on to learn why the performing arts as such a powerful platform for building emotional intelligence and resilience.
Experience this for yourself by attending a free class at our upcoming November Open Day! Register now.
1. Turning emotion into expression
Stories help children make sense of their inner world. By identifying with characters, naming emotions, and exploring different outcomes, children build the foundations of emotional intelligence. In weekly classes our AGC Tutors teach storytelling through physicality and expressive skills. Whether through voice, facial expression, or movement, choristers learn to communicate a wide range of emotions. This embodied experience helps solidify their emotional understanding and gives them tools for healthy expression. It also allows strong friendships to form, as choristers learn to feel comfortable sharing their feelings with their peers in a safe environment.
2. Building empathy through character
One of the most important emotional skills children can develop is empathy; the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. The performing arts is a natural teacher of this skill. When children explore stories with diverse characters, cultures, and life experiences, they are exposed to perspectives far beyond their own. Through our Concert seasons, choristers have the opportunity to portray different characters on stage through music. Performing as a character other than one’s self, whether in a drama exercise during class or on stage, deepens compassion, as children must consider not only what a character does, but why they do it. It’s a hands-on way to build compassion and social awareness.
3. Learning resilience through story adversity
The best stories often centre on a challenge. Characters face adversity, navigate uncertainty, and ultimately grow. These journeys offer powerful lessons for children. When young people engage with themes that involve conflict and resolution, they begin to understand that setbacks are normal, and that perseverance leads to growth. At the AGC we create a supportive environment where children feel comfortable to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, helping choristers to understand resilience and to practice it in their own lives.
4. Why the performing arts supercharge emotional learning
What makes performing arts so effective for emotional growth is that it’s multi-sensory in nature. Choristers use their voices, bodies, and imagination to inhabit stories, making the experience more immersive and memorable. We’re proud to be a choir that not only sings but also dances at the same time! Physicality helps reinforce the emotional themes and messages being explored in each of our songs. Research suggests that in performing arts environments where children have regular opportunities to develop these skills, through music, movement, and stage performance, they become more confident in expressing themselves. They learn not only how to tell a story, but how to connect with an audience emotionally, a skill that translates far beyond the stage.
5. Creating everyday opportunities at home
While performing arts classes provide structured opportunities for emotional growth, the practice can easily extend into everyday life. Bedtime stories, role-play, and even simple conversations about characters from books or movies can open up space for emotional exploration at home. Families can support emotional development by encouraging children to talk about what characters are feeling. Asking questions like “Why do you think she felt that way?” or “What do you think might happen next?” helps children connect with their own lives, making them more in tune with their emotions and more understanding of others.
Why AGC?
At the Australian Girls Choir our choristers explore a wide range of characters, emotions, and themes through singing, movement, and drama. With multiple opportunities to perform throughout the year, girls not only grow as performers but also as emotionally aware, empathetic, and confident young people.
Are you ready to unlock your daughter’s potential through the power of the performing arts? We invite you to experience the AGC curriculum firsthand at our upcoming November Open Day. Try a complimentary class, meet our experienced tutors, and explore how your daughter can develop her emotional intelligence at the AGC.
Registration is free but essential, visit our website for more information. We can’t wait to see you there!
