Get the kids in step
Dance has become a great way to keep fit and learn new skills.
And with the popularity of Strictly Come Dancing, a new fitness class, Fitsteps, created by its stars Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe, a ballroom dancing-based class was born.
Dance has inspired many classes, from Hip Hop to Ballet, dancing is great fun: it is an excellent way to improve your strength, coordination and stamina.
It is also cardiovascular exercise – dance regularly and it will help to keep your heart fit.
And for young people there are the obvious benefits of studying dance; reduced obesity, a fun source of exercise, healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and helping to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
There is clinically significant evidence that children who participate actively in the performing arts spend less time sitting in front of a computer screen playing games, and therefore are at less of a risk of developing health problems.
Children who spend more than two hours a day on screen-related pastimes are at a high risk of developing health issues, such as obesity.
While dance is a good source of fun exercise for young children, it is also a creative outlet.
Fun exercise is important, but the opportunity to release creativity is as important as exercising and maintaining a balanced diet in the development of healthy children, because of the life skills they will learn.
Dancing can make a person feel physically refreshed and improve their mood, tackling serious issues including anxiety and depression, and not just in adults.
Group dancing is a tool to release daily stress, a distraction from everyday worries, and an outlet for imagination and emotion.
There are physical benefits of partaking in dance classes as a child.
Through dance, children develop a greater range of movement whilst developing the ability to work within different spaces.
They learn to interpret the effect their movement has on the world around them.
Dancing also improves a child’s coordination, especially at a time when they are rapidly developing in an ever-changing and evolving environment.
Good coordination is vital in developing skills learnt in other parts of life, such as learning to ride a bike and learning how to multi-task successfully.