Lets dance- and feel better!

Why movement and dance?
Why to music?
 
Dr Dance, in an article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 7th January, Peter Lovatt FRSA explained the benefits of moving dance and right at the very bottom – in a small column headed dance prescription for overcoming the blues Medau Movement was mentioned.
 
If you search ‘the benefits of dance’ on your laptop or phone you will see a multitude of articles explaining the benefits of dance- the liberation of the mind, the burning of the calories, freeing of the spirit and loosening of the joints.
 
People say join a sports team or run round the park, join the gym and get hot and sweaty. Dance isn’t a team sport- we are individuals who participate as individuals- but at the end of the class, because we have danced together and with partners - we are a group. We get hot and sweaty, and our heart rates increase. We are not tall and lean with sculpted muscles encased in leggings and cropped tops - we are everyday people in baggy t shirts with bits that wobble and bit that don’t want to move!
 
We all start of nervous and shy- arms not knowing where they should be going and feet stumbling in vaguely the right direction- but it doesn’t matter! Well, in my classes it doesn’t matter and co-ordination is optional.

In 2021 the Sport and Recreation Alliance published a paper, and I make no excuses for copying here the acknowledgments :
 
The development of this report has been driven by Tracy Levy, Chair of the Alliance's Movement and Dance Division. Tracy's vision for the work was to deliver a step-change in how the members of the Movement and Dance Division articulate the value of the activity they work so hard to facilitate. As with any project of this scale, the work has not been achieved in isolation. 38 individuals, each highly experienced in the delivery of movement and dance, lent their expertise and knowledge to a series of workshops and consultations. From these consultations a wealth of first-hand evidence was gathered, testifying to the value movement and dance delivers to its participants, its communities, and society as a whole. Through the time effort and vision of Tracy Levy and her fellow colleagues within the division, the collation of testimonials of the power and value of movement and dance will boost the appreciation of its contribution to the physical activity eco-system; both today, and into the future.
 
This report illustrated what we - as teachers and participants - know to be true. To save you reading the whole report I have picked out some of the infographics (I wanted key points that the readers could identify with to stand out) that highlights the benefits of what we- as movement and dance teacher do- and the hidden benefits of our classes.
 
In true Strictly style- 'Keep Dancing' as there is a class and a dance for everyone!

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