Hello friends,
How are you today?
We’re heading towards the year two thousand and twenty, oh well! You already know that and here I am reminding you. Having a New Year’s party? Going somewhere else this year? Or just going to be at home celebrating New Year’s Eve with family and friends? Alright, I understand that the whole New Year’s Eve thing is overrated, maybe you’re going to treat it as another day and not doing anything special. Can I give you a bit of advice? Why don’t you take out your phone, or switch the TV on, maybe get your sound system out, play some of your favourite songs, and most all why not jam with them; just dance, dance, dance.
You must be saying Patel, are you crazy today? What are you on?
I’m on the Dance drug for years you know, and I’m sharing with you the science behind dancing so that you know why I recommend that you start now so that you are ready to incorporate this into your new lifestyle from two thousand and twenty New Year’s Eve, alright why wait till then when you can start now…
Ready, get set, go…
Oh wait, I think you forgot to get yourself a drink… You are going to need it today because I am going to make you sweat when you find out what dancing does for you.
Go, get yourself a drink, while I wait on the dance floor. ?
…
Back?
Back yet?
Back? Come on… my favourite song is playing.
Back yet?
Yay, you’re back…
Okay, let’s begin.
Did you know that dancing treats, prevents, and maintains the body with regards to some health circumstances? Not only does it help you physically, but it also helps mentally. Apart from the physical and mental benefits of dancing, dancing enhances social communication and is also considered as art; through expressions, movements and collaboration.
Personally, dance has been part of my life since I was a little girl and as much as I wanted to take it up professionally I had limited beliefs around it until I was offered to become a dancer on a cruise boat, but I declined and gave it to a lady who really wanted the post. Life is funny, most people think in order to become a professional dancer you need to begin very young and not many believe that an opportunity can hit you later on in your life. When I was offered that post I was twenty-four years old. It just goes to prove that in anything you choose in life, self-belief is a key aspect to success. Alright, back to the dance topic…
According to Wikipedia “Dance medicine and science as a field of study developed in the 1970s and 80s out of the field of sports medicine. In the early 1980s, the American Dance Festival (ADF) started including dance medicine courses in their course work for dancers. When ADF moved to Duke University, physicians from Duke University Hospital became interested in dancers. Then, in 1990, the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) was formed by an international group of dance medicine practitioners, dance educators, dance scientists, and dancers. Membership of IADMS began with 48 members in 1991 and has grown to over 900 members in 35 countries as of 2016.”
No matter how old you are dancing improves your brain health. It improves muscle health, balance, keeps your body in shape, and ensures health longevity. Dance requires mental, physical, emotional, social skills and since dancing requires multitasking it’s effective for cognitive health. Did you know that dancing can reverse signs of ageing in the brain according to studies? Take a look at what doctors have to say here.
These are the reasons why dancing beats traditional fitness training:
- Recognise the beat
- Holding your partner the right way
- Remembering the steps
- Synchronising movements on your own and with your partner
When taking up a 10-month ballroom class dance improves memory, focus and attention.
Now here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the benefits of dancing.
“Dancing can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. It has a wide range of physical, and mental benefits including: improved condition of your heart and lungs, increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness, increased aerobic fitness, improved muscle tone and strength, weight management, stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis, better coordination, agility and flexibility, improved balance and spatial awareness, increased physical confidence, improved mental functioning, improved general and psychological well-being, greater self-confidence and self-esteem, and better social skills. Most forms of dance may be considered an aerobic exercise and as such reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, help weight control, stress reduction, and bring about other benefits commonly associated with physical fitness. In addition, studies have demonstrated a considerable correlation between dancing and psychological well-being. A large amount of governmental, health, and educational information is available extolling the benefits of dance for health.”
Want to know some more mad science around dancing?
Dancing helps alleviate Parkinson’s patients with regards to stiffness, tremors, impaired balance and coordination while socially it helps improve the mood (yes fights depression), it motivates, manages stress and creates better posture and balance. I will reference this article for you if you want to go into detail.
Now check this out. I’ve been doing Zumba since the year 2017. I have been dancing for the most part of my life, so I really want to share with you what’s unique about Zumba that no other dance form has. Zumba is a type of dance that really brings out sass. There has been one thing that has been observed with Zumba and that is that with Zumba students have a constant smile on their face when dancing. Zumba was created by Beto Perez in the year two thousand and one and became the largest fitness brand in the world, more so it’s really cool to have had the privilege to learn how he got Zumba into our lives that even music artists have a contract with him.
Okay, now I can go on and on about dancing and Zumba, but I don’t want to keep you here for eleven days until New Year’s Eve, I better let you practise from now so that you can dance your way into the New Year’s with panache.
I have left a few more links below in case you want to find out more about the science of dance.
Why do we like to dance and move to the beat?
Yours sincerely,
T. Dench Patel
Thank you for the comments and support. Thank you for offering to donate if there was a donate button on here. I prefer not to take donations. You can support by either purchasing one of my books (Paperback or Kindle), The South African: True Colours, The South African: Roamer or my children’s book Light. These books can be found on Amazon mainly and other sites in your country.
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Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to reevaluate them.
I love this article! Thanks for writing it and for sharing it with me Tulsi!
You’re welcome. I am pleased you have enjoyed it.