Dancing has many health benefitsThere are many health benefits associated with dancing. These include:
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says that dancing can:
Dancing is a unique form of exercise as it provides the heart-healthy benefits of an aerobic exercise while also allowing you to engage in a social activity.
How many calories will you burn while dancing? That depends on the type of dancing. Here's a range of some of the most popular styles, based on a 68kg person, per hour.
Ballroom/Latin dancing: 300+ calories/hourJazz: 350+Salsa dancing: 250+
Dancing is mostly about fun! It is an opportunity for you to let off some steam, to enjoy time with friends or to try something different. Dance is also a wonderful form of expression, combining the body, mind and spirit. Dance classes are a great place to meet people. You can meet like-minded people as you will have something in common already: the love of dance. Furthermore, partner dances especially can have you connecting with people and making lifelong friends.
Dance builds confidence because it requires coordinated movement of the body that engages the mind and challenges the person's ability to express themselves in a manner that draws judgment from others.
Dancing can also build your self-confidence as it teaches you to enhance your talents, provides you with a support team (your teacher and dance mates), develops social interaction and allows you to learn from your mistakes. You will not only have the confidence to hit the dance floor, but you will also have increased confidence in other areas of your life.
For a person who has never danced before or even for someone who has learned a few steps, there's always room to advance. If you are starting dancing as a beginner, you will first need to get some coordination in your body and learn a few basic steps. If you want to keep on going and advancing with your dancing, or learning techniques and styling, or even if you are thinking of dancing competitively, medal exams can be a great pathway to get started.
As a beginner, you can start with a Bronze medal in your preferred style(s) and advance to Silver (Intermediate), Gold (Advanced 1), Gold Bar (Advanced 2) and Gold Star (Advanced 3). You can continue the medal process even after Gold Star to reach the professional Medal level, but most of the students choose to take on the art of Dancesport competitively after the Gold Star medal. All the medals are given by the Australian Dancing Society (ADS) and are recognised world-wide.
