The Benefit
I could tell now what I have done in my more than 25 years of dancing experience, but more interesting for you is actually, what I can offer you with ballroom. So, what’s in for you?
There are clear benefits and some of them I’d like to present you now:
Social activity
The concept of ballroom dancing is doing it as a couple. Yet, you usually learn it within a bigger group you meet on a regular basis. Changing partners during the lessons gives the opportunity to get to know new people. And also to make new friends or even deeper relationships. If you join lessons with your partner, it gives you the chance to share something.
Health
Dancing has a big positive impact on both your physical and mental health. Even at lower intensities it stimulates the blood circulation, burns calories and fat, makes your muscles and joints work. Within a social and fun setting in combination with music. It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and benefits your stamina. The strong coordinative requirements on the other hand keep your brain working, building up new nerval networks. After all it is considered to prevent dementia, one of the biggest social diseases among elderly people.
Challenge
Spoken over strong coordinative requirements. Dancing in general counts as one of the most complex activities. Ballroom dancing is requesting a lot of skills if you want to do it properly, healthy and yes, also good looking. Skills like balance and balancing, rhythmization, orientation, anticipation, agility, combination ability, adaptability, control and some more. And all this in an interaction with your partner. It’s so versatile that it makes you learn other things more easily as well after all. And you are never done developing.
Bonding
Psychology is one of the sciences that deals with embodiment. The concept says that physical action has impact on the mentality and vice versa. Mirror neurons on the other hand help copying and understanding the body language of someone else. And therefore their emotions. There is also a lot of investigation regarding the synchronization of brain waves of people doing things together like music or dancing. All these cognitive effects lead to the conclusion that ballroom dancing means synchronizing both movements and minds. So after a certain time you will realize that you think more and more similarly, understanding each other better and better. And meaning more to each other.
Attraction
Survival of the fittest is basically the main character of evolution. Instinctively we look out for potential partners who can support, feed or protect us and who raise the chances for strong and healthy offspring. Research shows that, because dancing has a positive impact on health and fitness, we perceive dancing people as attractive. But not only this. Dancing provides a better posture, often accompanied by a better self confidence and self awareness which translates to a more interesting charisma. And, depending on how much you are going to love it, passion is considered attractive, too.
Teacher or Trainer – What’s the difference?
Usually, within ballroom dancing, we draw a distinction between social dancing and competition sport. Though there is some overlap the goals are very different.
Social dancers want to learn new steps, having a fun experience. They like to be together with their mates in the lesson and having some drinks afterwards. Just a leisure activity to get out from daily business. However, a competition dancer has a different objective. Sure, the social factor is much appreciated as well, but not the main goal. As a competition dancer you seek for sportive challenges that require a significantly higher effort in order to grow as a sportsperson.
For both fractions you need a different approach. The Teacher creates programs of different levels (like Bronze, Silver, Gold) of figures to be taught within in certain period. Though there are adjustments possible and sometimes necessary, a program is usually repeating regularly, whilst the group changes. At a certain point, when finished regular classes, people step over to a continuing class where they broaden their pool of figures. Whilst some technique is given to overcome challenges, it is usually not the main content. After all, people have a nice evening, go home and repeat next time.
The Trainer instead cares about the individual development. Which includes technique, stamina, coordination skills and competition planning, but also coaching regarding social skills, (inter) personal issues, free practice or even nutrition. And of course everything around competitions like regulations, choice of clothes, registrations, preparation, style etc. He creates a plan suiting the current level and the desired goal of a single person, a couple or a whole group and adjusts it whenever needed. The Trainer accompanies couples in their way to success and tries to motivate them to push themselves to get everything out of themselves.