What are the Physical and Cognitive Benefits of Dancing?

It’s true that academic knowledge and technical skills are still important in getting ahead and becoming successful. But what about art and creativity? Specifically, can dancing help in realising one’s full potential?

First, dancing facilitates physical movement. This is very important if we want to maintain or improve our health. It’s a form of exercise. The difference is that dancing can be entertaining, encouraging and engaging. As a result, people become more motivated to dance and move (instead of practicing boring exercise routines).

This physical movement through dance is not just about improving blood circulation and preserving the health of our bones and muscles. It’s also good for the brain. After all, a healthy mind goes with a healthy body. There are exceptions to this, but in most cases you get a better chance of having a great mental performance if you’re physically healthy.

Children and dancing

This is especially true in young children wherein their core brain architecture is just developing. During each dancing class and performance, they get to stimulate or activate their sensory and motor circuits. At their age this is crucial so they can better navigate their surroundings and outside world.

Dancing is also a good way to develop social and spatial awareness. In other words, it removes some of the awkwardness from the children’s movements and interaction with other people and the surroundings. In dancing, people have to be aware of the space they occupy so they can smoothly execute their movements.

In addition, we also mentioned earlier the social awareness. This is more about interacting with other people. During each dance class, kids will be able to interact with fellow children. They make new friends along the way and learn to achieve common goals. This is great preparation for formal schooling, professional life and beyond. No matter what technological advances appear, it’s very likely that collaboration will remain important.

Learning how to dance also requires focus and discipline. This is especially pronounced in learning ballet. The forms and movements are very specific and as a result this requires significant commitment of time and practice. The focus and discipline will help kids not just learn ballet techniques, but also in learning other skills and concepts. Indeed, children can get lifelong benefits from attending dance classes.

The physical and cognitive benefits of dancing can carry over throughout the child’s entire life. It’s a great time to build a solid foundation and get some early advantages that may accumulate with each passing year. It’s just the beginning and with a good dance class, your child may get that early advantage.

Here at Dance on Q, we conduct dance classes (including ballet, jazz and musical theatre) for students ages 2 to 18 years old. Our focus has always been on giving students the early advantages and the kickstart so kids will get ahead (whether they pursue dancing as a professional career or not). Contact us today if you want to learn more about our approach and programs.