International Dance Day

Held each year on the 29th of April, International Dance Day aims to bring people together through promoting and celebrating dance.

As osteopaths, it’s our job to improve the health of our patients by encouraging and maintaining their body’s mobility. Dancing is an ideal way for you to help yourself by increasing your strength and mobility, as well as providing aerobic fitness and cognitive stimulation in a way that is fun, enjoyable and sociable. What’s more, dancing is the only physical activity that has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia later in life.

We’re lucky that Bristol has a huge range of different types of dance classes on offer, from ballet to belly dance, swing to salsa. If you’re looking to try something new but aren’t sure where to start, a good idea is to choose a style of music that inspires you to get up and move! I’ve put together a small selection of links at the end of the article to inspire you.

I can speak from experience when I say that it’s never too late to start dancing. Two years ago, having never danced before in my life, I was grudgingly persuaded to accompany my wife to a swing dance class. Despite some initial awkwardness I was quickly hooked. Now it’s a rare evening that I’m not out cutting a rug!

A quick healthcare note: it’s easy to forget that you’re exercising when you’re out dancing, so don’t forget to warm up and cool down just like with any other form of physical activity.

Happy dancing!

Sam

28 April 2014

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Where to dance in Bristol:

Swing (Lindy Hop): http://www.swingdancebristol.com/
Latin and Ballroom: http://bristoldanceexperience.co.uk/
Zumba: http://www.bristolzumba.co.uk/
Tobacco Factory (many different styles!): http://www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/classes/

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Sources:
http://international-dance-day.org/en/
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/getting-started-guides/Pages/getting-started-dancing.aspx
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022252