Health & Fitness

Health Benefits of Dancing

Did you know you can burn 150 calories doing just 30 minutes of moderate social dancing?

By Wellness Matters /

Credit: Krypto

Dancing burns calories, strengthens joints and improves memory, not to mention your love life!

You don’t have to slog it out on the step machine to get a great workout. Just get up and dance.

Dancing provides a workout for both mind and body without feeling like exercise. Concentrating on dance steps boosts brain power by improving memory skills. It also helps build confidence, reduce stress and tension, and provides an opportunity to connect with other people.

From a physical perspective, a 150-pound adult can burn about 150 calories doing just 30 minutes of moderate social dancing. Dancing also improves agility, balance and coordination, and its multidirectional movements enhance joint mobility. It’s also a weight-bearing activity, which helps increase bone density. Many forms of dancing also offer excellent cardiovascular benefits.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about dancing is that it is accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities, making it a great way to stay in shape.

Dance classes are widely available at dance schools, health clubs and recreation centres. Here are a few of the many dance options out there for you to explore. Now go shake a leg.

  • Aerobic dance
  • Ballet
  • Ballroom
  • Belly dancing
  • Clogging Contra
  • Flamenco
  • Folk (or ethnic) dancing
  • Hip Hop
  • Irish dancing
  • Jazz
  • Line dancing
  • Modern
  • Salsa
  • Square dancing
  • Swing
  • Tap
  • Yoga ballet

Originally published in Wellness Matters, Canada Wide Media’s quarterly newsletter on health and wellness.