Swing dancing is not only an outstanding opportunity to get your body moving, your
heart pumping and your mind engaged, it’s also a lot of fun. As a partner dance, it
allows you to connect with others in ways that freestyle dancing never could. Best of
all, it’s an activity you can begin at any age and enjoy for the rest of your life.
Plus, when you swing dance you can…
1. Expand your social life. Whether you are new to the area, or entering a new phase
in your life, dancing is an excellent way to meet people and form a new circle of
friends. Unlike dancing at a bar or even at a singles’ dance, you will find that the focus
at a swing dance is on dancing and having fun rather than on “picking up” others.
2. Improve your health. Dance is a weight-bearing exercise and will help build and
maintain your bones. When practiced routinely, swing dancing combines a
cardiovascular workout with toning, muscle control and endurance training. It also
improves your balance and flexibility. According to www.caloriesperhour.com, a
middle-aged woman would burn 294 calories doing the jitterbug for one hour (as
compared to 184 calories doing the foxtrot, a ballroom dance). Click here to calculate
based on your age.
3. Enhance your relationship. It’s no secret that couples who play together are more
likely to stay together. So why use up your precious date night sitting passively side
by side at a movie theatre when you can swing dance with your honey?
4. Stimulate your brain. Remembering dance steps is a great brain stimulator. In a
recent study on ageing conducted by the Albert Einstein Center in the Bronx, dancing
was the only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in the
incidence of dementia including Alzhiemers Disease. (New England Journal of
Medicine, 2003) Click here to read more about the anti-ageing effects of dancing.
5. Reduce stress. When you are dancing, you have to be in “the moment”, it’s
impossible to dance while thinking about your “To Do” list or personal issues.
6. Increase your energy. A night of swing dancing releases an internal shower of
uplifting endorphins. Plus, dancing energizes you by getting you out of the house, into
the community and interacting with people.