Fun Fitness Ideas: Ballroom Dancing Is Great for Your Health & Relationships, Too by Charlene Torkelson

As we get older, we look for new ways to improve health and have more fun. Sometimes those two goals don’t seem to work together. Exercise – both physical and emotional – often can become a sweaty, grueling chore. So why not look at an enjoyable way to include fitness and exercise into a more social activity?

Ballroom dancing not only gets us moving in a low impact form of exercise, but it allows us to share an experience with friends and spouses in a pleasing social environment. Studies have also shown that ballroom dancing may prevent memory loss as we age. It makes sense – it combines movement, requires mental stimulation and involves partnership with others. Ballroom dancing is no longer an activity all about us. It involves sharing with someone else. It is social!

What dances make a well-rounded social dancer? Waltz, Fox Trot, Tango, Polka and Country Two-step are forms of “smooth dances.” These move around the floor much like the traffic on the highway. “Spot dances” include the Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, Salsa, Night Club Two-step, Samba, and Hustle. These generally stay in one spot and may be danced in the smaller night club spaces. Just begin! Enjoy! 

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