• Strengthen your bones and muscles – this is achieved as most forms of dancing are social and are done moderately, allowing each dance movement to strengthen the bones and muscles
without injuring your joints. There is always a need for your own strength in many parts of the
body to effectively execute each dance move, especially if your dancing with a partner.

• Greatly improve your posture and balance – Partnership dancing in general will help straighten your entire body and can help the correction of any pre-existing conditions. Posture is an
essential ingredient to effective dancing as it not only looks good, but it greatly improves the connection with your partner. Your balance will also improve as almost all dances involve spins, turns, dips and other movents that require a sense of balance, which of course will help in preventing falls.

• Increase your stamina and flexibility – Most partnership dances are medium to fast in tempo
and within minutes of dancing, you will quickly feel the calories burning! Your body will soon
become accustomed to this new workout and you will find that in time, your ability to dance
longer and with more vigour has greatly improved. Dancing also requires a lot of flexibility as
you create various shapes with the arms, torso, hips and legs. Besides the ‘Robot Dance', there
aren't many dances that require the body to be stiff and rigid. Its in fact the opposite as most dances will involve many fluid and graceful movements, requiring extension and isolation
through the body.

• Helps in the prevention of Osteoporosis – Dancing is a weight bearing exercise and as a result,
will help strengthen your weight bearing bones (tibia, fibula and femur). There's also little risk of injury involved in dancing, unlike high-impact exercises, such as running, high impact aerobics
and contact sports.

• Reduce the risk of Arthritis – The American Journal of Medicine has stated that the best way to avoid arthritis or remedy any joint discomfort, is to use the joints in a controlled manner through regular exercise. The rotating motions of dance help spread synovial fluid to the connective
tissue and joints, which goes a long way towards keeping them healthy. These benefits can even
be achieved with a less strenuous dance such as a Rumba or a Slow Waltz.

Mental Benefits

Dancing is often said to be a mind-body workout and unlike many other activities, can
significantly improve your general mental well being. These benefits include:

General well-being and happiness – Humans are, by and large social creatures and social dancing
is a fantastic way of developing new acquaintances and friends. Dancing, like many physical activities also releases endorphins, which can quickly uplift your mood. Unlike other forms of exercise such as jogging and aerobics, dancing is far less repetitive, helping the mind stay active. Add some great music and a few laughs that almost always accompany a dance lesson and you
will quickly find that dancing takes all the stress away!

Increases the use of memory – Dancing involves many complex and intricate movements that
are often choreographed in sequence. Any dancer will have to draw upon their memory as they recall various pieces of information.

A single step within a single dance will often include more than 10 different elements! For example each step will have a specific pattern, a name, a specific lead and follow, a position in which the step is executed in relation to the floor and the partner, a specific technique, etc. Learning about the peripheral elements of dancing such as its history and culture will also draw upon your long term memory.

Develops creativity and your imagination – Dancing is in many ways an art form, where movements are realised as an expression of one's emotions, desires and experiences. A more accomplished dancer will often take part in choreography, where they are encouraged to create new movements to match a piece of music. Even beginner dancers will tap into their imagination and creativity as they use their own metaphors and visualisations to help pick up and understand each manoeuvre.

Builds confidence – Social dancing involves meeting and dancing with many different types of people, from various backgrounds and ages. This interaction enables your social skills to improve as you begin conversing to a varied social network. During many lessons, you will often find that other students will watch and admire your dancing, which of course will greatly improve your self-esteem and confidence. We also invite our students to perform at our end of year ball and other functions, which are often in front of hundreds of people!