Have Fun and Keep Fit
Millions of us regularly tune in to watch celebrities strut their stuff. We love to see them recreating famous dance routines or learning to dance with the pros.
Strictly Come Dancing regularly tops X-Factor in the rating wars. Let’s Dance for Comic Relief, presented by Wales’ Alex and Steve Jones, is ever popular, as is Dancing On Ice.
Watching the glitz and glamour you might think dancing is only for the pros and stars. You might imagine it’s too difficult or only for fit youngsters. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whatever your age or fitness level you could enjoy some form of dancing.
Not all social dancing requires you to take lessons before taking to the dance floor. As Ystumtuen folk dancer and caller Norma Giddings explains “”For a “reel” fun night out try a barn dance, also called a ceilidh or twmpath. No experience is needed. There’s a caller to get you onto the floor, preferably dancing, but enjoying yourself is more important.
As a caller for several years, I’ve seen people come along reluctantly, having bought a ticket to support their local school or charity. By the end of the evening they don’t want to sit down.
Whilst the caller will explain the dances well enough for you to enjoy the evening, be warned, you might catch the bug: I did. But I found the antidote. Enrol at your local barn dance club and get a regular weekly fix.”
Some dances start with a short lesson. You’ll learn enough to have fun even if you’ve never danced before. You might try Salsa, jive, rock and roll or swing dancing in this way.
Janice Horton, a dance teacher from the Aberystwyth area, points out that regular dancers “welcome [new dancers] with open arms, they encourage you” and “are very welcoming when you go somewhere new”. Steve Ascott from Pontrhydfendigaid, who started dancing just a year ago, agrees. “There’s no need to feel self-conscious… We now go to various dances all around West Wales and everyone we’ve met has been really friendly and helpful from the word go.”
For those not confident enough to dance in public lessons are the place to start. Janice Horton explains that at a beginner’s class “you’ll not be so conspicuous, you can get lost in the crowd”. If you’re too shy for a class “you might find it easier to have one to one lessons”.
Steve says “When you’re learning to dance you’re thinking about what you’re doing. You’re too busy to watch others and they’re not watching you… I was surprised how quickly my ability and confidence grew. It’s a great feeling when you’ve learnt the few moves you need to get on the dance floor.”
If you’re not as fit or young as you once were dancing only needs to be a mild workout. Ballroom dancing, slow jive, rhumba, square dancing, line dancing or swing can all be gentle exercise. For those wanting a more vigorous workout jive, jitterbug, samba, polka, quickstep or Viennese waltz could have you working muscles and burning calories.
Studies show that regular dancing can improve your energy levels, stamina, muscle tone, flexibility, cholesterol profile and coordination, while lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. By strengthening the bones dancing can also help protect against osteoporosis.
Professor Joe Verghese and his colleagues published research in The New England Journal of Medicine showing that dancing also helps to protect against dementia. Professor Verghese described their findings “We studied 469 adults age 75 and older participating in the Bronx Aging Study who self-reported their participation in various leisure activities. Cognitive but not physical activities overall were associated with reduced risk of dementia. However, among the 11 physical activities examined dancing was associated with reduced risk of dementia.”
Frequent dancing reduced the risk of dementia by 76%, the greatest risk reduction for any activity studied, including for cognitive activities such as reading books, writing, doing puzzles, playing cards and board games, and playing musical instruments.
Professor Verghese explains that “Dancing is a complex activity that involves mental and physical effort as well as social interactions, all of which have been associated with reducing risk of dementia.” Many dancers are continually learning. Freestyle dancing, such jive and Latin, involves combinations of moves put together on the spur of the moment – ensuring that dancers stay on their toes in more ways than one.
Research supports what all dancers know – dancing makes you happy. It raises endorphin levels, the “feel good” chemicals which give you a sense of well-being. As writer Vicki Baum once commented “There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them”.
All over Wales people are getting their dance shoes on. It helps keep them happy, healthy, young minded and socially active. Why not make 2013 the year you join them? As Janice Horton says “It’s brilliant, it opens doors, you meet new friends. You meet some fantastic people.”