DANCING FOR HEALTH
By Jennifer Holmes
I hate doing exercises just because people say it’s good for me. After being a professional ballerina for over 26 years, I understand what motivates me and it’s not just movement for the sake of exercise and fitness. What I did on a daily basis was dedication to fine tuning an imperfect instrument to visually describe the visions and emotions heard in music. Music is what inspired me to move.
Yet there were other types of movement that I enjoyed such as Tae Kwondo (the art of kickboxing), Tai Chi, and Country Western dancing. Ballroom dancing would have been a lot of fun as well but I never got to that.
I
was very lucky to grow up physically fit in the 1960s, as we didn’t have video
games back then and computers were just barely on the scene. That meant that I was always active whether
it was in dance class or if I was out riding my bicycle around the neighborhood
in
During
a time when I worked as a market researcher and data analyst, I sat at
a desk for eight hours a day. Then I’d go home and sit some more at the
computer, either finishing up work or playing on the net. I must confess I gained nearly 30 pounds over
four and a half years. As soon as I got
a different job that required my walking around a store and talking to
customers, I lost
the weight.
What I have understood about myself and my reason for moving is that I have to want to move for a good reason and I have to be inspired to do so. With ballet, it was the music and portraying many different characters on the stage which was so much fun for me. I lasted longer than most in the business but even at 35 years of age, it was time for me to remove myself from the stage before it was too late. I never wanted to hang on too long. The ballet requires too much precision from the body, and it’s almost impossible to maintain past a certain age, no matter how well one is trained.
Everyone has to find that which motivates them to move, whether it’s in aerobics class, swimming laps in a pool, playing tennis, running marathons. It is more than just knowing it will make a person more physically fit and healthy, but that it is fun, almost a passion that has to be fed nearly every day. Only when there is passion and desire to move in a chosen way, will there be success in attaining and maintaining a physically fit and healthy body.
If you, like me, find ordinary work-outs boring, but enjoy the grace and energy of dance, or simply have a good sense of rhythm, here are a few suggestions on how you can stay fit without going to the gym and have fun doing it too – on the dance floor:
· Look in the Yellow Pages to see who offers ballroom dancing or any other kind of dancing you might enjoy learning. Then go regularly and give it all you got! When you’ve learned enough to feel comfortable about being in public, then find some local ballroom clubs and start going to those. It’s also a great way to meet new people and network with those having similar interests.
· Contact your local YMCA or YWCA, or the adult extension evening programs at local high schools and community colleges, for dance class schedules. Some of these may even be offered for free as part of a community service program.
· Local professional dance companies usually have connected schools that offer beginning, intermediate, and advanced adult dance classes. Check out their schedules and pricing. Many of these classes are taught by the company’s top performing artists and it gives you a chance to know them on a more personal basis.
· Check with your church to see if they give dance classes. If not, maybe you can suggest to the events director that the church start a class. It would be a great way to expand church membership, too.
Whichever way you start learning dance, have fun doing it and don’t think about how you look out there. Move outside of your box. Everyone is in the same boat and it’s all about having fun!