One of my passions is dancing. Although I don’t take dance classes anymore, I still really enjoy dancing. I am even planning to take some dance summer camps this summer to continue pursuing my passion of dance. Dancing is very special because it is one of the few things out there that can be both a sport (because dance makes people more fit) and an art. It also has many benefits, such as releasing stress, and helping gain confidence in front of others.
Dancing is a form of exercise, so don’t say that dancing isn’t a sport. In fact, dancing makes you in shape, lean, stronger, agile, balanced, coordinated, and flexible, so it is a great workout. You see, these are qualities that athletes need to be successful. In that way, injuries, back pain, and balance problems can be more likely to be avoided. Dance has great health benefits, and there are even dance teams (like there are sports teams). Dancing is quite competitive after all (awards are given to the winners), which is a quality in other sports as well. According to the author of the article “Glossary of Human Anatomy Terms,” a dancer’s core involves a balance of stability and strength between the abdominal muscles, the back muscles, the pelvic floor muscles, and the diaphragm. As a result, dancers have good posture, better muscle tone, relief from back pain, and an increase in stamina. In addition to making you stronger, dance is also a form of aerobic exercise, so it is vigorous enough to elevate heart and breathing rates. As a result, the cardiovascular system is improved. You also burn a lot of calories when you dance. For instance, according to a picture on Pinterest about Dance vs Calories in 1 hour, jazz dance burns 500 calories in one hour and both tap dance and ballet burn 450 calories in an hour. According to an article called “How Does Dance Affect the Body” by Tammy Dray (who specializes in topics such as health and wellness, has credits in various publications, certified personal trainer, and nutrition consultant), dancing on a regular basis can help lose weight as much as other forms of exercise would. This prevents obesity from happening.
Dancing is also a form of art, visual arts to be specific. I like many things from the arts. Dance is an art movement of the body, consisting of many different sequences of steps and is played with music. Dancers move rhythmically to the music. According to the eBook Dance and the Lived Body: A Descriptive Aesthetics by Sondra Horton Fraleigh, “the movements in dances have aesthetic and symbolic value”(Horton 49). Because it uses choreography, dances tell stories that don’t involve using the mouth, which is just like any type of art. Art is self-expression, so dancing allows me to express myself. Through the choreography and facial expressions of a dancer, the dancer can completely change his/herself into another character. This, I feel, is quite similar to theater, which is also an art. (Like dance, theater is a visual art.) Not only is dance an art, it also has a lot in common with other types of arts.
Dance releases strong emotions, such as anger and stress. Ofelia de la Valette, a woman with a passion of dancing, said that “Dancing is like taking a mini vacation from the stress of the everyday - you have to be in the moment.” Depression is diminished when dancing because it makes people let go of everyday problems and just be themselves, thus making people more relaxed and not worry about anything. According to a 2008 study in the American Journal of Health Education, dance was found to increase life satisfaction. In that way, people can have happier lives when dancing. Dancing makes you feel free, as it is expressing your true feelings and inner self, so it is a hobby for enjoyment. This is great for the body and mind because it helps refreshes brain function. You have to be focused on your dance moves to make sure that they are accurate. As a result, dancers are more attentive and focused. When there is less stress, there is more happiness. People prefer seeing happy faces rather than angry (or any other frown and/or bored) faces, and dance is a great exercise that can be enjoyed by people. Dance relaxes people mentally and physically, which is why tenseness goes away. People can just be themselves and be calm.
Dance can also help gain confidence, making dancers more happy and satisfied.
For example, I remember dancing in the middle of the whole eighth graders (they formed a circle, and there are people in the middle who show off their dance moves) who were at the dance called The Black Light Dance on Friday, February 19, 2016 in the middle school I went to known as JLS Middle School (this had been during the eighth grade extra half hour of the dance). I did many different dance moves. People applauded and “ey’d” when I had been dancing. Some people even complimented me, saying that I was a good dancer. Dancing made me feel free, and helped me express my dance self. Now, people know a bit more about my dancing. I had really happy feelings when the dance ended. That dance resulted me in gaining more confidence in front of others. It’s clear that dance helps gain confidence. Once you are confident, you can do many dance moves with a smile on your face without looking at your feet the whole time. The more confident you are, the more applause and praises you will receive when doing your dance moves. This also increases the satisfaction of the dancer. Clearly, dancers are more happy and satisfied.
I hope to once again take dance classes some day (hopefully when I am a sophomore in my high school because I’m pretty sure that that will be the time that I can choose to take dance instead of an actual P.E. class and/or take dance classes in a dance studio). Dancing is an exercise, a sport, a form of art, a stress reliever, and a confidence gainer. It’s no doubt that Meghan Trainor’s song “Better When I’m Dancing” (a song from The Peanuts Movie) is true to me and many other people out there because “we can do this together,” as people can dance together. Dancing really pays off, and anyone can dance. Dancing brings people together, and you can make a lot of friends by signing up for dance classes. Dance captivates people everywhere because you can dance almost everywhere and at any time.
