Tower and Town, March 2020 (view the full edition)Ballroom Dancing And HealthOver eleven million viewers tuned in to watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing last December. Are there health benefits from actually taking part, if not at a professional level, by attending local classes? The vast health benefits of ballroom dancing are well documented by scientific research and confirmed by dancers themselves. Ballroom dancing improves your cardiovascular system, helping to prevent heart disease. It will noticeably improve your posture and body alignment, as well as strengthen your body's core abdominal muscles. Ballroom dancing is also a superb weight loss treatment, helping you burn as much as 400 calories in one hour, all while you are having fun at almost any age! The movements of many types of dances also strengthen weight-bearing bones and can even help prevent or slow bone loss. As you practise dancing, you become more flexible, agile, and graceful both on and off the dance floor. Dancing will also improve your mental acuity and research shows that it can reduce the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease in older people who dance on a regular basis. Physical exercise in any form promotes a healthier self-image. Perhaps more than other sports, ballroom dance has a social component: you can feel the camaraderie when you learn dances within group lessons, make new friends, and laugh with a partner during a private lesson. These benefits alone can help reduce stress and encourage a feeling of overall wellbeing. Gordon is a professional piano tuner. He plays the harpsichord and taught the trumpet at Marlborough College and elsewhere. He was a founder member and first conductor of the Marlborough Concert Orchestra. At Summer School he partners the 'partnerless' during the Ballroom Dancing classes. Gordon Nelson |