Why dance is important and how it can be life-changing

Whether you find dancing through your childhood or in later years, dance can transform your life. Whether it’s a class once a week, having a kitchen disco at home, or turning a love of dance into a career, dance is important in so many ways.

Over recent years scientists and dance researchers have written papers and undertaken studies on the various benefits of dance, including:

• aiding brain health, in particular studies showing how dance can lower the risk of dementia.
• reducing cortisol (the stress hormone)
• social touch
• increasing self esteem
• reconnecting with our body

If you ask dancers why dance is important to them, they’ll all have a different story to tell.

With social dancing like Ceroc or modern jive, the community and friendships that are built will be up there. Other more technical dance styles like West Coast Swing or Argentine Tango might be more about feeling and seeing improvement. Across most dance styles I’m sure increasing confidence also ranks high up the list.

Not everyone has life changing experiences when they start to dance. But as an adult, dance can certainly bring positive energy and experiences to change outlook, health and enjoyment of life.  It can bring a more holistic overview of life.

Here’s some of the ways life can change when you dance.

Health and wellbeing

It’s proven that dance is good for the brain and keeping young at heart, as well as helping keep you fit and flexible. Even low impact exercise is good for bones as you get older.

Add in the smiles and enjoyment factor of dance and you can be set for having a better wellbeing in life moving forwards.

Dance is also great for switching off from day to day life. After all, you need to concentrate to dance if you’re remembering steps. And if you’re social dancing you’re more likely to be connecting with your partner and immersing yourself in the music.

Reduces stress as it’s a way to relax and tune out.

Physical improvements

Alongside the mental advantages that dance can support, there are the physical benefits. Dance encourages you to increase your body awareness.  Noticing how it moves, how you can react to different partners and music, and how it develops over time.

While you may not lose weight or tone up from only a couple of lessons a week where you mostly socialise. But you’ll be able to see some improvements in movement, flexibility and toning, especially if you’re tying it in with other health changes in your life. Just watch the steps, heart rate and calories on a fitness tracker if these are important to you.

If you’re learning specific moves or choreography, your brain is also getting a workout with your memory working hard.

Friendships and relationships

Social dancing like ceroc and modern jive are perfect for socalising and meeting new people who have a similar passion in dance. After all, you switch partners in class, you have something to speak about to new people, and you’ll have an interesting hobby to talk about at parties and work. 

So many people find great friendship groups from going away on weekenders together, or just simply going to the pub after a class night.

Dance is about community. And that community welcomes people with like minded interests. You find your tribe at dance. People may find the dance community their safe haven, where in their everyday life dance might not fit for others around you.

Some even end up finding a husband, wife or partner from their dancing hobby.

Expanding interests and hobbies

Dance provides new ways to grow outside of study or work, expanding your interests. You may start off being all about the music, but then dance brings another aspect to that interest.

You may start with one dance style then grow into learning others.

This is where Ceroc is a great start point for someone new to dancing. Dance weekenders are the perfect opportunity to give new dance styles a go. Many modern jivers progress to blues, west coast swing, argentine tango, zouk and more.

If attending overseas events, you can meet, connect and learn from a global community.

Confidence building and self awareness

Dance opens up opportunities to get out of the house instead of just staying at home. Social dancing means you can go alone.

The world isn’t always set up for singles, but as you rotate and dance with different people, attending classes or freestyles means you can turn up on your own with no issues. (unlike my experience at ballroom & latin classes where I spent most of the time dancing alone).

It helps you gain a new sense of worth and self confidence once you realise that dance is fun, and that you can achieve something from learning.  Overcoming the challenge of new steps can help people standing up to anxiety, to work through it alongside others in class.

It can help overcome shyness, forcing people to be social. Helps push you outside of your comfort zone socially, helping gain more ease in a variety of social situations and provide change to practice meeting and interacting with strangers.

Creative experiences

Dance can enables you to express your creativity, musicality and playfulness without being judged. 

It can also encourage you to listen more to music, to hear more. This can also help with listening outside dance too.

Dance can encourage a growth mindset as you want to learn and become a better dancer.

Broader life experience

Dance can be a metaphor for life.  What happens and what you learn from being on the dancefloor in class or in socials, can teach you and help you reflect on things outside of dance.

Social and partner dancing teaches you about partnerships and working together.  Followers need to be prepared to give up control rather that trying to lead or anticipate. Leaders also need to understand their dance partner, and how each follower has different needs and can bring something different to a dance.

A new career

If you really get immersed in your dancing, you could end up teaching, DJ-ing, supporting different venues or even running one or more. Dance could end up being your career.

Of course, there are some things to remember. The obsession with dance can get too much (although there are so many benefits there aren’t too many issues with enjoying it too much). It can suck money out of you…if you want to attend multiple events that require a lot of transport and accommodation costs. 

Savings or dance…I know which many dancers would prefer.

For me, dance has provided like-minded friends, more eclectic music enjoyment than I already had, and chance to take myself outside of the everyday.

I’ve also got over my shyness and embarrassment at needing to be perfect. As a child, I never really danced freely as I was too self conscious.  Now I’m happy to show what I can do and don’t care what others think. It doesn’t matter if I go wrong if you can laugh about it.

Whichever dancers you ask, each one will have a different answer about what dance has given them.

Ultimately though, for those who dance and stick at it, dance is important to them and that’s unlikely to change.

What makes dance important for you?