Dance – It's Good for Your Heart

• After eight weeks of regular dancing, research shows improvements in cardiovascular function and improved body composition (greater ratio of lean muscle mass to body fat).
• Dance has great physical and psychological benefits. It develops self-confidence and improves physical awareness, coordination, balance, core stability, cardiovascular strength and stamina. It makes people aware of posture, breathing and alignment.
• Dance done at a moderate intensity has been shown to be just as effective as walking or jogging for aerobic fitness.
• Dancing is a great form of exercise. You can increase the intensity by including some faster routines and bigger moves.
• A Japanese study into the benefits of dance for older women found those who danced regularly, reduced the risk of falling by improving balance, locomotion and agility.
• Research into the effects of regular dance on high blood pressure indicates that dancing at a moderate intensity can reduce the blood pressure among women.
• Dance is fun, engrossing and can be done at home to any type of music. It is a great way to entertain kids of all ages and get couch potatoes achieving their 30 minutes of exercise a day, often without being aware they are exercising.
• Attending organised dance classes is a great way to meet new people or spend time with your partner enjoying a hobby.
• Dance is a very important way for New Zealanders to express their ethnic identity. It crosses language barriers as well as expressing cultural diversity, values, creativity, innovation and beauty.
• Dance is relevant for all ages, from parents and tots dancing for fun and childhood development, to chair dancing for elderly – with a huge range of styles in between!
• Dancing is enjoyable, social and interpretative; it involves challenge, creation and improvisation; it requires concentration and memorisation of sequences; it involves team work and individual contribution.

Contact your Regional Sports Trust to find out where to get moving near you.

For more information:

The improvement effect of Modern Balinese Baris Dancing Exercise on body composition, blood pressure and heart rate. Adiputra IN Year: 1994
Is aerobic dance an effective alternative to walk-jog exercise training? Garber CE, McKinney JS, Carleton RA Year: 1992
2002 - Shigematsu - Dance-based aerobic exercise may improve indicies of falling risk in older womenLipid and lipoprotein changes in premenstrual women following step aerobic dance training. Mosher PE, Ferguson MA, Arnold RO Year: 2005