The Life Benefits of Dance

You know why dancers like to be in class- they learn new technique, they have made lifelong friends, they love challenging themselves and they bond with their teachers. Some dancers choose to compete across the state and country to showcase all they have worked for, or move on to full-time careers as professional dancers. What they learn in the classroom, though, is not just dance related;Dancers learn lessons that help them succeed throughout their lives. 

Dancing has been scientifically proven to make you healthier and smarter. Dancing can help you lose weight, stay flexible, reduce stress, make friends and more. It is believed that dance helps prevent you from developing dementia as you get older and enhances your memory. Dance is also a great activity for those at risk for cardiovascular disease, a study noting that those who took up waltzing had improved their heart health significantly compared to those who biked or walked for exercise. 

Whether you have been enrolled in a dance class for one year or a decade, you know that the friendships you build at dance are unlike any other. As a dancer, your instructors are testing your abilities mentally and physically. There aren’t many people who understand all the different kinds of strengths you’re building in those dance classes. 

Your dance friends are there while you are learning how to receive constructive criticism and learning what it really means to work as a team. At the end of the season, your teammates are the only ones who really understand how hard you’ve worked all year to get to that Nationals stage. And they’re also the friends that are supporting you until the lights go out. This is the type of teambuilding that will help them once they graduate and enter the workforce. These are also the friends they will have for a lifetime. 

Every time a dancer attends class, they are learning self-confidence. It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of an audience, whether at the end of the year recital or a competition stage. It takes the same type of courage to go to class and perform in front of their peers. Instructors teach dancers to believe in themselves, and believe that they can achieve their dreams- a lesson that can be applied to every aspect of life. 

**Health facts summarized from EverydayHealth.com