Shall We Dance?
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| Mon, 03-13-2006 - 6:36pm |
Ok, not seriously, lol.....the other night I watched "Shall we dance?" and actually found it very inspiring. I know there are 'dance lessons' available on island (not sure how much they are, but I do know the teacher) and was thinking maybe I'd join, maybe ;-)
I did learn how to ballroom dance when I was younger...not sure how much I remember though! I mentioned this last night to a friend, who actually expressed interest in doing it too, he's a guy- so built in partner!!
I'll probably see the teacher tomorrow or the latest by Wednesday (she teaches modern dance at our school) and I'll ask her then...
Then today I see this article below, and am even more anxious to find out about the classes:
Trend Alert: Ballroom Dancing
Get lighter
by Sabrina Rojas Weiss
The image of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire floating across a room is still iconic seven decades after they first graced a screen. And yet for some reason most of our own generation has never associated Ginger's perfect body with the healthy benefits of ballroom dancing. For that, it took John O'Hurley ‑- that dapper, funny gentleman from Seinfeld ‑- who very publicly lost 15 pounds on this summer's sleeper hit, Dancing with the Stars. It turns out that fox-trotting, twirling and swinging to the beat can be legitimate ways to lose weight.
If the only times you've ever danced with a partner are at proms and weddings, you might need a little patience before the ballroom becomes your gym alternative. Beginner classes start off slowly: You can spend the entire first hour doing nothing but the basic step, first in front of the mirror and then with rotating partners, and the only sweat comes from your palms (or, unfortunately, your nervous partner's). But soon enough, once you learn a turn and a variation or two, you'll be moving continuously through entire songs. It's this uninterrupted movement that raises your heart rate while you're too busy thinking about the steps and having fun to notice. According to the iVillage calorie calculator, a 140-pound person can burn an average of 349 calories in an hour of fast social dancing and 191 calories in slower styles. Swing, salsa and quickstep are obvious fast choices. However, with the slower styles such as tango or traditional ballroom (waltz, cha-cha and foxtrot), it's easier to dance longer without stopping.
In addition to exercising your leg muscles, social dancing also works your core and upper body as you concentrate on maintaining proper posture ‑- holding your arms strong and looking your partner in the eye, not looking at your feet. And all that spinning helps you develop a sense of balance you can't really get anywhere else.
"Physically, new dancers use muscles that they've never found before, because you use so much of your body when dancing," says Jeni Breen, the salsa and tango coordinator at Sandra Cameron Dance Center in New York City. "They develop coordination skills that they've never had before, because they've never had to use them."
Over the years, Breen has watched many people transform their bodies through dance, but it takes more than just classes to make that change happen. Many ballroom studios open their doors for students to gather without the teachers and apply what they've learned. "In the classes you learn the vocabulary," Breen explains, "and then the practice sessions ‑- because you're doing it without stopping or slowing down ‑- are where you'll lose weight very quickly. It's a language. Once you know the language you can have a long, extensive conversation."
And there are other benefits to learning the language: Dancers quickly make friends in class (shared embarrassment and excitement always brings people together). Plus, as you grow more comfortable with the steps, the movement becomes a satisfying form of expression. "A lot of people who have previously had no experience with a creative or artistic activity gradually discover their own artistic sensibility ," Breen says. No, you don't need the sequined leotards, pounds of blush and a spotlight to get a kick out of dancing. But you can bring that new artistic self to a nightclub or another wedding, along with a slimmer body and a dress made for showing off your moves.
Anyone else ever take dance classes (as adults)? Did you enjoy them?


~IslandGirl
Every achievement starts with a little legwork!
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That sounds awesome!!