Social Dancing makes you Smarter
It sounds like an absurd statement, but the truth is a study was done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study looked at numerous activities, both physical and non-physical, and their effectiveness to protect against dementia.
Reduced Risk of Dementia
- Bicycling and Swimming - 0%
- Playing Golf - 0%
- Reading - 35%
- Doing Crossword Puzzles Regularly- 47%
- Dancing Frequently - 76%
No other physical activity offered any cognitive benefits,
and dancing ranked higher than all the other activities by a significant
margin. Google the cognitive benefits of ballroom dancing, and you will find
there is no shortage of information on the subject. In fact this was not the
only study on the subject. This is a link to the TAP site (The Alzheimer's
Project), one of the many google results you can find on the subject: http://thealzheimersproject.org/2014/12/ballroom-dancing-and-alzheimers-can-dancing-make-you-smarter/
Social, or partnership, dancing offers greater cognitive
benefits than other types of dancing. Richard Powers from Stanford University
has written a great deal on the subject explaining social dancing as "Intelligent Dancing."
The bottom line is it is due to the
"leading and following" factor. Dancing with a partner keeps you on
your proverbial toes, so to speak. Both partners must think and respond
accordingly while they dance, as opposed to dancing by memory. He also points
out the process in which a person is taught and therefore learns social dancing
makes a difference in the cognitive benefits they might receive.
Process, Process, Process
I have been teaching ballroom dancing for 30 years, and I
can't stress enough the importance of process. It's true everyone's process is a
little different, and some people might have a more difficult time learning
with a particular process. It is also true that certain processes produce
certain results. For instance, if a man learns 5 dance figures and reinforces
his memory of the steps by putting them in a particular order, he will most
likely retain those figures quicker than if he were forced to mix them up upon
execution. Unfortunately, should someone get in his way on the dance floor,
essentially blocking him from doing the next step on his list, he won't be able
to handle it. Naturally his leading won't be very strong as a result, and for
guys....well, leading is kinda the whole point.
It is even worse for ladies. If a lady works hard to master
a figure, making sure to be able to dance it correctly every time, she will run
into equally tough issues. She may practice tirelessly to bring her feet
exactly together on her basic box step, but if her process of perfection leaves
no room for alternatives, he perfect footwork will buy her nothing but trouble
when the gentlemen she is dancing with does an open box, where the feet do not
come together. I'm not saying don't practice bringing your feet together in a box, nor that practicing on good technique of any kind is bad. I am saying women should put much less stock in figures, especially long showy figures, and much much more on elements.
Those long American style school figures are terrible for dancing from a lead and follow perspective. Women develop following skills that are by recognition rather than pure following and men try to lead these steps that are impossible.
The point is people should be dancing from as creative a place as they can, and the only rules that are truly important in ballroom dancing are the ones that pertain to providing your dance partner with the best partner you can. Any steps learned are only meant as a vehicle to learn to move your body in a variety of ways. Ultimately social dance steps teach us how to rotate left and right with a partner, enabling us to move around the dance floor efficiently and with ease so that we may express the character of the music and share this with a partner.
Notice I did not say while expressing the character of the dance. When the dance and the music have been paired together purposefully it is assumed the dance's characteristic movement will fit the music. But, it is an assumption nonetheless and you shouldn't consider expressing the characteristics of a Foxtrot more important than the music. (The exception might be competing, as the type of dance may be a better option than the poor music your given. lol) It is not about repeating what you have been taught, but rather taking what you have been taught and applying it by expressing what you are feeling, and enjoying sharing that with a partner.
I could go on and on, but I will leave you with this. Ballroom dancing can really make a difference in your life, and the benefits go far past the cognitive benefits that help protect against dementia. There is truly something mystical about the healing powers of dancing with a partner. And, to get the full set of benefits, the process in which you learn is important. Don't learn a dance, learn To dance.
Check out these other fantastic articles by Richard Powers.
