Dancing is so much more than just performing a series of steps, because many important body functions are trained at the same time. Read in this article what they are and how they are promoted through dance training:
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Balance
The sense of balance plays a central role in dancing. Especially by standing on half (or even the whole) point and also standing and turning on one leg, this is often used when dancing and thus of course also trained. Dance shoes also contribute to balancing the overall body while dancing, learn more about all the influences of shoes for dancing here. Anyone who has had to maintain a long balance in ballroom dance classes lessons has already experienced this on their own body. The sense of balance is also trained in other, modern dance styles, especially through the many weight shifts that happen in the body during dancing. This can be from one leg to the other, but also when working on the ground, a lot of work involves shifting weight, for example onto the arms and hands. The sense of balance is trained in a variety of ways in the different dance styles.
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Coordination
When dancing, only a single part of the body is rarely moved. Usually several parts of the body, if not the entire body, are involved in the dance moves. By moving the body parts at the same time and sometimes even in different directions and in different dynamics, dancing is the perfect way to train coordination. A good example of this are the classic Plié exercises in ballet. The legs are bent and stretched while the arms are moved into different positions at the same time (port de bras). But also in all other dance styles the coordination of the body is promoted by the interplay of simultaneous movements of different parts of the body.
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Posture
In my opinion, there are few sports (with the exception of yoga, Pilates, etc.) in which one works so intensely on posture as in dancing. The posture plays an important role here, of course, simply because of the desired aesthetics. But good posture can also be very helpful in everyday life. The upright posture of the back, which is trained when dancing, can be an advantage if it is also used in everyday life, as it can prevent back pain, for example. The correct placement of the pelvis is also of great importance here, as it can prevent the widespread “hollow back” and thus back problems in the lower back. In addition, good posture is of course also an advantage for a self-confident appearance in everyday life. dance schools chermside So, just use the dance training to work specifically on your posture!
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Muscle strength
Since the most diverse parts of the body are always used when dancing or even the entire body is moved, many different muscle groups are of course also used. Of course, there are some muscles, such as the calf, thigh or foot muscles, which are particularly stressed when dancing, but the upright posture alone also makes most of the muscles in the upper body, such as abdominal, back, and Shoulder and neck muscles, used and thus also trained. And through the additional use of the arms, dancing becomes the perfect “whole-body muscle training”.
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Flexibility
Anyone who knows me and my lessons knows that I always attach great importance to the stretching phases at the end of the lesson. Not only because the muscles used during dancing can be lengthened and saved from a possible sore muscles, but of course also in order to maintain flexibility and, if necessary, improve it. Since flexibility is both a prerequisite for being able to perform some dance movements smoothly and is encouraged by performing these movements, I think that dance training is one of the most suitable ways to maintain and improve the flexibility of the body.
Final Words
Of course, to improve flexibility, it is usually not enough to just stretch after dance training. Try repeating the stretching exercises you learned in class at home. Just 10 minutes a day is enough to make visible progress soon. Here you can find more tips from me about stretching in general. I already wish you every success!
So you see that by dancing you can also train various aspects, which can even be very useful for everyday life.
So, what are you waiting for? See you in the dance hall!
