When you’re on a budget, there are countless temptations to spend money on things you can’t afford, so you feel robbed when you unexpectedly blow your paycheck on food. It only adds insult to injury when you’re trying to eat healthy and realize that you’ve spent too much by “being good.”

Most dancers strive to eat well, but following some health trends—like buying non-GMO, free-range, organic everything—can be next to impossible on a typical dancer’s salary. Luckily, with a shopping and food-prep game plan, it is possible to eat a nutritious diet without sacrificing your bank account.

Shop In the Right Places

“There’s a halo-effect around certain stores that sell organic foods, but they’re not the only healthy options,” says registered dietitian and nutritionist Sarah Krieger, a media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She recommends seeking out chain stores—like ALDI, Save-A-Lot and Trader Joe’s—that offer a store-brand alternative to name-brand foods, especially on staples like cereal, yogurt, canned beans and frozen produce.

Heidi Skolnik, a certified dietitian/nutritionist who works with dancers at Juilliard and the School of American Ballet, points out that in big cities, there is a benefit to shopping in Chinatown versus trendier neighborhoods. “And the minute you walk in the door, grab that store circular,” says Skolnik. “Don’t buy what you don’t need, but try to adjust your menu based on good deals.”

Tip: Grow Your Own!

Even a New York City windowsill is big enough for a pot of herbs, like basil or rosemary, which can offer a replenishable source of fresh flavor and nutrients.

Spend Wisely

Protein and dairy can be your biggest food expenses, but dancers in the 18-to-25 age range are at their bone-mass–building peak, so they shouldn’t skimp on them. “Canned salmon, tuna, chicken and shrimp are cheaper than fresh, but snag frozen fish when it’s on sale,” says Krieger. Sales on meat and dairy tend to cycle every four to six weeks, so you can stock up on your favorite cheese, for example, every month or so. “Unless you’re allergic, peanuts are your cheapest option for protein-rich nuts and seeds,” she says. “If you splurge on high-end pine nuts or pistachios, use them in small portions sprinkled over a salad.” She adds that almond milk and other milk alternatives cost more and actually don’t offer as much nutrition for your dollar as cow or soy milk. But only buy what you’ll use—especially if you live alone or travel often. “Hard-boil a dozen eggs for salads or egg salad sandwiches, and they’ll keep for seven days if stored properly,” says Krieger. “And don’t throw out those yolks, which have healthy fats and B vitamins.”

With your activity level, don’t buy pricey fat-free products, when, in fact, you need to pair many vitamins and minerals with fats for the good stuff to be absorbed. “Use an oil-based dressing and add an avocado and cheese to your salad to get the full benefit of its vitamins A, K and D,” suggests Skolnik. She also has a message for the carb-phobic: “Don’t forget that you’re an athlete, and you need the long-term fuel of carbohydrates.” Many kinds of canned beans, which keep for years, are now available with less sodium, and it’s easy to find whole-grain pasta in a generic brand.

But beware of trendy superfoods, like chia seeds, says Krieger. “Demand is high, and crops don’t yield enough to keep costs low. You’re better off taking advantage of something like bananas, which are always the same price and have great health benefits.” It’s cheaper to buy what’s in season, but if you’re craving blackberries in winter, buy them frozen. Fruits and veggies are usually frozen close to where they’re grown, trapping in the nutrients.

Cook Up Variety and Balance

Skolnik suggests spending one day a week in the kitchen, prepping soup, stew or grilled chicken to be used in meals for the rest of the week. For a quick meal, have leftovers from a night out—don’t deny yourself a few of those—and throw them in a pan with frozen vegetables or pasta. If there are certain pricier items that work better for your hectic schedule—like a prepared rotisserie chicken—figure out how to cut back somewhere else. And beware of food ruts, says Skolnik. “Don’t be too rigid. Look to websites and cookbooks to freshen up your menu. You can use the same basic ingredients with a different spice palate and have a whole new dish.

When to Buy Organic

Organic foods always cost more. If you’re worried about pesticides, Heidi Skolnik suggests prioritizing your purchases: Focus on buying organic varieties of the most contaminated produce, nicknamed the “dirty dozen.”

1. Apples

2. Peaches

3. Nectarines

4. Strawberries

5. Grapes

6. Celery

7. Spinach

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Cucumbers

10. Cherry tomatoes

11. Snap peas (imported)

12. Potatoes

The article was found at dancemagazine

North Shore Dance Society

Dangers of Perfecting Your Dance Moves, North Shore Dance Society

Everyone wants a flawless performance. I get it. Isn’t that why dancers practice hundreds of hours? Well… to a certain degree, yes, but too much focus on a flawless performance can actually hurt your dancing. In this article, I’m addressing the technical dancers, aka the perfectionists. Technical abilities can be a great asset, as long as you’re careful not to fall into theses 3 traps of extreme perfectionism:

1 – Precision at the Expense of Balance
Although balance requires a certain amount of precision – a clear sense of body alignment and clear pathways of movement in space – it relies even more heavily on your ability to adapt to change. Balance is dynamic, not static.

When you control your movement too much, trying to be super precise, your muscles tighten and you lose your ability to quickly adapt. For example, it may seem counterintuitive but whenever you feel off balance, instead of trying to “control” your movement and tighten your muscles, release your muscles and you will find that you easily regain your stability.

2 – Perfection over Connection
At some point in your dancing, I’m sure you’ve all experienced the icy glare of your partner, blaming you for a loss of connection. When you focus too much on perfecting your choreography, you become less receptive to lead and follow cues.

When your movement is over-controlled and stiff, it is less reflexive and you cannot quickly adapt to new information (i.e. change in lead, direction, etc…). Also, if you have practiced your routine perfectly for hours and hours, any change will likely throw you off and you’ll either make a mistake or you’ll go blank and forget your routine.

Expect that your routine will change slightly when you perform. Dedicate time to sensing lead and follow with your partner and playing around with it. (emphasis on “play”!) It’s a smart move to purposely have your partner change the routine here and there in practice to check your ability to adapt.

3 – Clean But Boring
As a naturally technical dancer myself, I must admit that I love to watch beautifully executed technique. However, expressive dancing (that is also technically sound) steals away my attention very quickly.

Have coaches ever told you that you “think too much” or (even more heart- wrenching) “you’re boring to watch?”. This is like taking a knife to the heart when you work so hard to master you craft in hopes of becoming a champion. To stop overthinking and deliver an expressive performance, you need to shift your mindset from perfection to play. Performing is like playing. There are no hard and fast rules in play or if there are, the rules constantly change. Play is free. Play is adaptive. Play is relaxed. Play requires room for error. An attempt to dance perfectly kills play.

As part of your practice, take some time to move playfully to music and sense the feeling of the music (no choreography or steps!). By allowing your body the freedom to move without structure, you will learn to trust it and in trusting your body, you will be able to free your mind and can express what you feel in the music.

A great dancer is not one who dances flawlessly, but rather one who creates the illusion of dancing flawlessly. To create this illusion, you need to become a master at adapting, rather than perfecting.

Author: Amber Copeland

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society

You’ve probably heard the saying: ‘Beginner dancers take intermediate classes, intermediate dancers take advanced classes, and advanced dancers take beginner classes.’

Put another way, most of us start our dancing journey with an interest in steps. We like the variety, the tangible feeling of accomplishment as we commit each one to memory.

Gradually however, you may find yourself growing bored with this method of learning. Where is the feeling of exhilaration, the smoothness and sexiness of dancing you were looking for? And some of these new patterns are starting to feel downright awkward.

Dancers who make it beyond this point grow increasingly interested in technique. Put another way, what you know becomes much less important than how you do it. And it is here where the true joy of dance can be captured.

Of course, getting there often requires a considerable investment in time and money, and not everyone wants to go that far. Here are some important considerations for you, depending on the type of dancer you are.

Social Dancers

In social dancing, like ballroom dancing, you don’t need many technical skills to have a great time! Sure, there’s the occasional misstep, but it’s fun to combine what you know in creative ways, while enjoying each other’s company.

Over time, work on honing the essentials, like balance and posture, maintaining a light but responsive connection with your partner, and smooth continuous movement. You may also find yourself experimenting with trickier combinations to see what works.

Performance Dancers

Whether this is a wedding dance or a studio showcase, you are planning your choreography in advance, and want to execute it to the best of your ability. That means a lot more focus on technical skills, at least as far as they relate to the performance.

As soon as you know where to put your feet, start learning how to give the dance the look and feel that makes the crowd ooh and ahh. The goal is move sharper, smoother, stretch farther than you did last week, so you can better support your partner, or your dance crew.

Competitive Dancers

Dancers with a competitive streak love the excitement and tension of putting their skills to the test, especially with the potential reward of a trophy or prize money. Nothing feels better than beating your personal best in front of judges and a cheering crowd.

If you decide to embrace the competitive circuit, get ready for hours of punishing drills that will strengthen your mind and body. Every move must be polished to perfection. Injury is a much greater risk as well, so be sure to rest, stretch frequently, and cross-train when possible.

Of the three paths above, there is no ‘best’ path to take – or rather, the best path is the one you enjoy the most. Just know that there’s always another layer that can be peeled back to make your dancing more fun, rewarding, and challenging. Good luck!

Author: Ian Crewe

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society

Working on your flexibility can be frustrating. The popular rhetoric about gentle, gradual stretching doesn’t seem to match what’s required to make it in this career. Being overly cautious will do little more than maintain the flexibility you already have. But forcefully kicking into extreme extensions before your body is ready is obviously dangerous.

Somewhere in between, there is a real-world way to increase your range of motion. “The level of flexibility you see from professionals is a realistic goal for most dancers, and it can be achieved without risking injury,” says Meredith Butulis, a doctor of physical therapy who has treated the Rockettes and the Broadway cast of The Lion King. It requires getting specific about when, how and how often you stretch, knowing which muscles are your problem areas and, at times, calling in a physical therapist for extra help.

Stretch More Often

The muscle groups dancers usually want to lengthen are the hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, inner thighs, calves and hip rotators. Jennifer Green, founder of PhysioArts in New York City, suggests increasing the frequency of stretch sessions that focus on your personal trouble spots. “If you stretch for an hour a day and allow 23 hours to pass without working those muscles again, you’re not going to improve,” she says. “Stretching for short sessions multiple times a day means the muscles don’t have a chance to tighten back up.” Three to six days a week, stretch your tightest muscles five times throughout the day, holding each stretch for 30 seconds. But don’t push looser muscles to the extreme. “You might already have a deep plié, so you only have to stretch your calves after class, but you could work your hamstrings and quads more frequently.”

Be Intentional

Your approach to stretching is just as important as how often you do it. “If the only time you stretch is while you talk with friends before class, you won’t see results,” says Chris Frederick, a dance physical therapist and co-director of the Stretch to Win Institute. “You can’t just wait around in static positions for your muscles to lengthen. In fact, studies show that sitting in a stretch for longer than 30 seconds actually weakens your muscles.”

Dynamic stretching, where you engage the muscles while actively moving through your range of motion, is more likely to prepare your body to dance. “Your muscles will be more available to you than if you sit and elongate the muscles so much that they’re tired,” says Green. Think loose battements or yoga flow: “Move through a lunge to a downward dog, then lift one foot directly behind you, flex it, and step through to another lunge,” suggests Butulis. “Just never stop moving.”

If you’re naturally stiff, add foam rolling to the mix. It sends blood flow to knots and signals the nervous system to help muscles relax. “If you have tight hamstrings, you need to know that there are actually three muscles working together there and you can’t go about stretching them in a linear way. Usually, the outer muscle is the hang-up,” says Butulis. “After you’re warm, work a foam roller or lacrosse ball down the full length of the outer hamstring, and hold in tight spots—you’ll feel them—for about 30 seconds. Then roll the whole muscle set for four to five minutes before you move on to dynamic stretches.” Add some static stretches after class, when you’re already warm and ripe for the lengthening effects, letting the muscles relax. Butulis believes that with this combination, you’ll start to feel a difference right away and continue to see measurable improvement over time.

Go Easy

If all this still sounds pretty gentle to you, you’re right—low impact done right will get results. “A little goes a long way with stretches,” says Frederick. “You can’t crank them. When a muscle doesn’t let go as you stretch, it’s a sign that it is protecting itself, so if you force it you’re risking injury.” Same thing goes if a partner stretch pushes you too far—Butulis points out that it only takes a pound of pressure from a partner to give you a deeper stretch. “Gentle pressure can activate sensors that allow the muscles to contract and relax,” she says. “However, if you use excessive force or move the limb too quickly, the sensors will react to protect the muscle by tightening, preventing the stretch.”

Get Help

Some dancers may not be able to fully overcome muscle stiffness through stretching alone. For example, Green warns that extremely tight hamstrings may indicate the medial and lateral muscles have actually adhered to each other. “You’ll need soft-tissue mobilization to break up tissue fluids, release tension and inspire some play between the two muscles,” she says. “Only a trained massage therapist or physical therapist can effectively do that.”

Identify the areas where you’d like to improve and track your progress, but remember that extreme flexibility isn’t the only attribute of a great dancer. “You don’t just need a flat split to do a split in the air—that also takes timing, motor skills, hip strength, leg strength and control,” says Butulis. “That understanding is just as critical as great range of motion, and no amount of stretching alone will unlock all the possibilities of what your body can do.”

What Are the Most Dangerous Stretching Mistakes?

“Sitting in a split between two chairs, with the crotch dropping down between. Over time this is weakening your ligaments and putting strain on your joints.” —Chris Frederick

“Doing a bunch of straddle-throughs before you’re warm, or using momentum or gravity to get into an extreme place can lead to cartilage damage, surgery or even total hip replacement.” —Jennifer Green

“The frog stretch, where you’re face down on your stomach with your legs in a diamond, could actually be creating an unstable hip socket, rather than more flexibility.”

—Meredith Butulis
When to Back Off

“If you feel a line, like your whole calf is stretched taut, that’s okay. If you feel a painful spot, like in your kneecap or hip socket, it may indicate you’re tugging at a joint or there’s scar tissue, so ease up.”

—Meredith Butulis

Credit for this wonderful article to DanceMagazine

North Shore Dance Society

 

North Shore Dance Society

Have you ever gotten a ‘feeling’ about someone? Maybe you thought they were attracted to you, or you got a ‘bad vibe’. We get a lot of these intuitions from their subconscious body language. Dancing on the other hand, uses body language deliberately to tell a story.

It’s worth mentioning that some dance styles can express different feelings with the same movement, so ask an instructor if you aren’t sure. Also, some movements express things you might not want to express! Can you guess which ones?

The Hips, and Core:

Neutral position, stretched upwards: Strong, rigid.

Sharp, strong hip movements: Powerful and sexy, confident, or adversarial, traditionally masculine.

Smooth, rolling hip movements: Sensual, freedom, fluid, traditionally feminine.

The Legs, and Feet

Sharp, longer steps: Passionate, powerful, aggressive, confident or arrogant, driven.

Smooth, continuous steps: Graceful, elegant, classy, romantic, emotional, possibly sorrowful.

Thighs crossed: Tension and anxiety, shyness, defensive.

Pushing down into floor with feet: Grounded, solid, earthy, strong.

Bouncing on balls of feet: Light, whimsical, energetic, fun.

Tapping, or styling with toes: Similar to above; also graceful and classy.

Standing sideways to partner: Fencing pose, adversarial.

General Movement

Traveling smoothly and low to ground: Stealthy and strong, as in a tango. Concealed power.

Lifting feet up and down off the ground while traveling: Military, stiff, jerky, explosive power if done quickly.

Leading movement from chest: Strong, confident, well-poised.

Leaning away from direction of movement: Hesitant, uncertain, nervous of the object they are moving toward.

Combining Body Parts

As we talked about last time, we’re trying to align our whole body to send the same message. For example, we might convey power with sharp, long steps, a still frame and torso, leading from the chest, with head turned slightly up and arms making large, open movements.

Romance is another example. We can express this in a dance with smoother, continuous movement in the legs, more flexible and fluid hips, and softer arm gestures. Film yourself dancing, and watch your own body language. What were you trying to convey? How successful were you?

Author: Ian Crewe

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society is excited to share this wonder article about the power of body language

Dancing is your autobiography in motion. Mikhail Baryshnikov once said ‘dance with me for 5 minutes, and I will tell you who you are.’ No matter the dance, our body language conveys a lot about ourselves.

A major part of learning to dance is learning how to convey yourself in different ways with your body. A ballroom dancer might want to show confidence and power for example, while a contemporary dancer could communicate softness and fluidity. But how do we do this?

Each body part can send a different message, and we must be consistent for that message to be believed. Let’s start with the top half of the body, and what it tells our partners, and our audience.

The Head

Straight: Conveys confidence and directness, especially with eye contact. Well-poised.

Upwards: Proud or arrogant. The neck is bared, indicating the person has no fear of the people around them.

Downwards: Shyness, self-doubt, sadness, or despair. Careful – this position can throw off your balance!

Tilted to side: Questioning, uncertain, curious.

Looking left/right: If combined with looking forward, creates a sidelong, or skeptical look. If panning from one side to the other, can indicate searching, fear, or frantic-ness. Held in one place, it can convey confidence.

The Chest

Puffed out: Pride, power, or arrogance. Male dancers (or men in general) may use this to look more attractive, or to intimidate others.

Collapsed in: Weak, frail, unsteady, self-protective.

Fixed vs fluid: A still and solid frame conveys strength and control, but too much muscle tension makes it stiff and awkward instead. A more relaxed torso with body isolations creates a sexy, sensual feel.

The Arms

 

Shoulders hunched: Stiffness, defensiveness, afraid or self-protective.

Shoulders down: Relaxed and confident. Similar to an upward head, the body is left open, indicating a fearless quality.

Close to body: Very defensive or self-protective, wounded, constrained.

Open away from body: Liberated and free, powerful and expressive, joyful, vulnerable.

Stiff vs bent: Straight arms create a strong, but robotic feel. By contrast, softly bent arms convey

This article was found at joyofdance

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society recommend recording your dancing at least once a week.

I know, I know – you hate watching yourself dancing. Maybe you suspect you look terrible, and don’t want to demoralize yourself. Perhaps you’re thinking you can confine your dancing to the studio where only your instructor will actually see you. But, is that really what you want?

Let’s face it – you didn’t start learning to dance so that you could hide it away from the world. You did it to build confidence in yourself, to grow as a person and be part of a community. And yes, sooner or later, someone will see you dancing.

Since we can only delay the inevitable, it’s far better to see what you look like before they do. Here’s just a few reasons why.

1. You can be more objective with yourself.

No matter what your instructor tells you, your sense of what you look like to the outside world is biased by your personal opinions. I can’t tell you how many great dancers I’ve seen insist on how terrible they must look – or proud, opinionated dancers strutting their terrible technique.

Videos don’t lie – whether you like what you see or not, you’ll be able to spot what needs work, and what looks great. And that means you can better prioritize what you want to focus on next, not what you think needs improvement.
2. It’s easier to recall for practicing.

Speaking from personal experience, if I haven’t filmed what an instructor has taught in a workshop, I might as well have stayed home. Film yourself dancing the steps you’ve just learned, and you won’t have to struggle to recall it later.

‘But what if I don’t do it perfectly?’ You ask, ‘I don’t want to practice a bad habit.’ Fair enough, but not practicing at all is hardly a better solution. Even if something feels a bit off, you have the gist of a step you can keep fresh until you clarify it next time.
3. You can more clearly see your improvement.

It can be a very satisfying experience comparing a newer video of you dancing with an older one. Sure, everyone around says you’ve come a long way, but what do they know, right? The video will prove your improvement, giving you renewed satisfaction when you feel you’re plateauing.
4. You’ll be more comfortable seeing yourself dancing.

This won’t happen overnight, but the more you see yourself, the more you will grow comfortable with seeing yourself. Yes, you’ll still wince when something is off, but you won’t shy away from yourself like you used to.

Seeing ourselves more honestly is an important step towards forgiving the things we don’t like, which in turn will build confidence in your image.
5. You’ll be more comfortable with others seeing you dance.

Usually our fears of being seen by others centres around a fear of being judged. And yet, we are usually the harshest judge of all.

As I mentioned earlier, filming ourselves is a perfect opportunity to see ourselves in a more honest light, where we often find our mistakes are not as crippling as we thought they were. The fact is, if you can forgive yourself that muffed cou-de-pied, odds are your audience will too.

Author: Ian Crewe

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society

Every day, I see students walk into the dance studio, ready to start or continue with their lessons. Sadly, most of them won’t make it past the beginner level, despite their passionate dreams of becoming something amazing. Why? Because somewhere along the journey, their mind let them down.

You see, we all have a certain routine that we fall into in our day-to-day lives, which resists change of any kind. We call this our comfort zone. Some people have very powerful comfort zones. They will feel uncomfortable, panic-y, or emotional when they attempt to leave the zone to try something new – like dancing, for instance.

Others however, have learned how to prepare their mind for the dancing journey. They seem to be willing to try anything, shrug off any mistake, in their quest towards their dreams. So, how can you adopt the mindset of a successful dancer?

Mental Housecleaning

I recently read an article about why some people stay poor while others get rich; the poor people have certain beliefs about money (ex. ‘money is the root of all evil’), that make them uncomfortable with having too much. Most of these people aren’t even aware they have these beliefs, because they haven’t tried to look for them.

Likewise, nearly every student I’ve taught has blurted out ‘I must be your worst student!’ at some point. If you feel you could never be a great dancer, you’ll be uncomfortable whenever you are told you are doing well – in other words, more success will actually drive you away!

I’ve written previously on countering these limiting beliefs, but the key is replacing the negative thought with an empowering one, then repeating it yourself regularly until your body accepts it as truth. For example, you might say, ‘I am capable of great dancing’, or ‘nobody, not even me, knows just how far I can go.

                                                      Ballet dancer posing on pointe

A Dream that Drives You

Most of us started dancing with a vague idea at best of what we wanted to accomplish. Even those that DO know can have their idea evolve over time without them knowing. This causes you to loose track of why you’re dancing in the first place, especially if you hit a roadblock in your progress.

Spend some time seriously thinking about what you want to do, have, or be through your dance lessons. Make sure your dance dream fills you with excitement and anticipation – it’s the surest sign you’ve found your secret motivation. Now write it down and reconnect with it every day.

This dream now becomes the constant that drives you forward when others would give up. It motivates you through the missteps, and keeps you looking ahead instead of resting on your laurels when you succeed.

We’re homing in on the goal of developing the mindset of the dancers we love. Next week, we’ll complete the journey with three more mental tools. See you then!

Author: Ian Crewe

North Shore Dance Society

When you read stories about people who have accomplished great deeds, one thing they all return to is how much they learned from the experience. In dancing, we tend to think of our learning as something that improves our body – more flexibility, for instance. But, what about our mind?

Yes, the champions of dance accomplish amazing things with their bodies. But it was their focus, their vision, their determination and tenacity – all mental attributes – that helped them get there. They weren’t born with these qualities, any more than we are born with naturally perfect reflexes. They learned from their art. And you can to.

1. How to bounce back from defeat.

Dancing teaches us to make peace with our mistakes, namely because we make so many of them it’s really the only way forward. Our resilience to mistakes determines how hard we push through that tricky step, how many hours we spend practicing that technique we can’t seem to get.

Some people may be more sensitive to mistakes than others, especially if they grew up in a household with perfectionist ideals. But gradually, dancing trains us all to make peace with our missteps, as a necessary part of learning and stepping outside our comfort zone. And that is an invaluable skill in all parts of our life.

2. How to reconnect with your body.

In modern society, the brain is considered king, and all other aspects – emotions, intuition, and anything else not easily quantifiable – take a backseat to it. As a result, many of us lose touch with our bodies, what we’re feeling, and how we should respond.

Dancing is often described as the point where motion meets emotion, because you can only go so far focusing only on the physical aspects of dance, like where to step or how much to turn. Sooner or later, you must reconnect with what you feel. Was this step shaky? Unbalanced? Did it evoke joy or sadness, and why?

Reconnecting to our body’s innate sense of what feels right also connects us to our intuition about situations in our life, and to respond more emphatically with those we love. And in doing so, we become more balanced and happy ourselves.

3. How to identify who you really are.

As we begin to listen again to what our emotions are telling us, we start to notice them steering us towards a specific path. From a dancer’s perspective, certain moves may feel good, while others feel lost, or uncomfortable. This optimal way of moving, of doing, and of living is what many refer to as their calling.

Your calling is the thing you are happiest doing at your deepest level. It expresses itself through the job you have, the company you keep, and yes, the way you dance. For example, tango is a passionate dance, and will therefore tend to draw passionate people. Or at least people who subconsciously want to be more passionate.

This might sound like hogwash, but don’t take your calling lightly: It’s literally the happiest way you can be as a person. And if you’re not happy, than honestly, what else is there?

Author: Ian Crewe

North Shore Dance Society

North Shore Dance Society found this wonderful article, telling us some of the great benefits that Ballroom Dance bring to us!

Although ballroom dancing may not be as strenuous an activity as training to run a marathon, don’t knock the benefits of regular movement and exercise. The U.S. Department of Agriculture considers ballroom dancing a “moderate” activity. It has some specific health benefits, too, that may not have occurred to you before.

Muscle Toning
Ballroom dancing helps tone and strengthen the muscles in your calves, thighs and buttocks. Specific ballroom dance moves work these muscles differently than more familiar exercises, such as walking, jogging or cycling, do. If you’re performing a style that involves lifting or dipping your partner, you can also get a pretty good upper body workout. Ballroom dancing will also help strengthen the core muscles of the abdomen and back.
Conditioning
Any regular exercise performed continuously for 30 to 40 minutes three or four times a week will help condition your cardiovascular system, strengthening your heart and lowering your cholesterol and blood pressure. It will also increase your lung capacity and your general stamina.

Bones and Joints
Dancing is a weight-bearing exercise, so it helps maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis. It can also help rehabilitate your knees after surgery, as it’s lower impact than jogging or aerobics.

Brain Food
A 2003 study published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” suggests that social dancing has a special benefit for seniors: it reduces the chances of dementia. As it’s an activity that one performs with a partner, it can also lessen loneliness and depression in the elderly.

Calories Burned
Thirty minutes of dancing burns between 200 and 400 calories — the same amount burned by swimming or cycling.

North Shore Dance Society thanks the author.