With all the excitement over this latest season of Dancing with the Stars, I can’t help but get a little of it on myself! I’ve taken lessons here and there, and I know if I really put myself to task, I could be half decent at it. Every season, same thing, I’m totally inspired to take up dancing again, and to take it a little more seriously when I finally do. So this week, I decided to do just that, and signed up for lessons! You can read some more about that on my personal blog. Here, however, I would like to talk about ballroom dancing as another way to stay fit, physically and mentally!

The beauty, gracefulness and sexiness of the dancing - it’s one of the most overt displays of self-confidence I’ve ever seen. Not only that, ballroom has many health benefits and is an excellent workout! It burns calories (how many depends on the style of dance and how long you dance). It improves your cardiovascular endurance and overall fitness. It’s a weight-bearing exercise, so it’s beneficial for your bone health (though not in the same way as resistance training).

And, in case you didn’t know, it’s actually an Olympic sport! Hell yeah! For all us girls who are afraid of the ball, or who can’t ski, or run fast enough or do a triple somersault… there’s dancing. Dancesport, to be exact. The website has a calendar of events, and sometimes you may find one in your area or close enough to take a short road trip. These competitions are so worth checking out. Every year in March, my fiancé and I go to the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH. While I do get excited about watching the Olympic lifting meet and table tennis, and fencing and all the other sports, I always manage to spend a good amount of time at the Dancesport competitions. I sit there for hours, smiling like a fool, usually alone since my guy things the whole thing is ridiculous (he’s missing out I say!).

The pros are many, with regard to your health, your mood, and your social life!. The cons, though, as far as I can see, I’d say there are two major ones. First, it’s not affordable for everyone. Lessons, dresses, shoes, hair, makeup, travel… it can become an expensive endeavor if you decide to get serious about it. Second, like with ballet and pointe shoes, wearing high heels is another price you pay. Still, if you’re only doing it for fun, locally, not planning on competing or showing, and just going to lessons once or twice a week, the pros wayyyyy outweigh the cons here!

If you’re thinking about it, you can Access Dance for dance lessons in your area. Or check out BallroomDancers.com’s Learning Center, and get familiar with the basics at home!

P.S. In case you need a little extra motivation (as if watching non-dancers get as good as the pros on DWTS isn’t enough!), check out a few cool videos. They’re a bit of a turn from the “traditional” image most people have of ballroom, but it’s inspiring and fun to watch!

Salsa - the way I grew up dancing it:

West Coast Swing: I took my first WCS classes this week, and had a blast! Here are Tessa Cunningham and Myles Munroe (Canadian Swing Champions):

And another one with these two - a funny one!

Tango - well, a really “out-there” take on tango… Tomas Mielnicki and JT Thomas from NYC:

Speaking of Tango… Tim Ferriss, Mr. “Four-Hour Work Week” set a world record “on a lark” as he says:

Last Modified : October 3rd, 2008 Filed under : Move Navigate : Previous post / Next post