Taking up dancing as a couple has lots of benefits beyond creating a killer first dance for your wedding. Dancing is a wonderful way to strengthen your relationship and bring you together. Here are some of the specific social, emotional, and physical benefits of dancing with your partner…
Exercise
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of dancing is burning calories! Dancing is an easy way to have fun while doing something good for your body. Getting up and getting your body moving has countless physical and mental benefits and dance is a great way to start!
Connection
Dancing with your romantic partner will help bring you together. Not only are you moving your bodies in close contact with each other, but you also need to work together in order to make the dance work. You’re constantly relying on conscious and unconscious signals from each other, and each step you take on the dance floor will bring you closer off the dance floor, too!
Resilience
Anyone who has ever danced at some point in their lives will tell you it’s definitely not easy. Even if you’re executing rehearsed choreography, something is always different...every single time. Your brain and body are constantly adapting; even more so when you’re improvising in a social dance setting. “Dancing increases cognitive acuity at all ages. It integrates several brain functions at once—kinesthetic, rational, musical and emotional—further increasing your neural connectivity,” said Richard Powers, a social and historic dance instructor at Stanford University. Who knew dance could cover so many bases?
Trust
Learning to work as a team with your dance partner will create a stronger bond when you leave the dance floor and get back out into the world. Think of it like the ultimate team building activity- your goal is literally to make two separate people move as one. Healthy relationships require give and take just like dancing with a partner requires leading and following. Learning to be completely in tune with your partner on the dance floor will allow you to be more present in all aspects of your life together. And if your partner has your back on the dance floor, you know they’ll have it when the going gets tough in life, too.
Communication
You need to constantly find new ways to communicate verbally and non-verbally out on the dance floor. Expressing your needs to your partner is essential, otherwise the whole dance will fall apart. These are key skills that will come in handy off the dance floor, and you probably won’t even notice you’re learning them and then using them! The more you practice, the more they’ll become a part of who you are without even trying.
Fun
Dancing is fun, people! It may be scary at first, but once you get the hang of it, it really is a wonderful way to connect with others and reap some wellness benefits that are difficult to find in other activities. Finding time to play and be creative is essential for a well rounded human life, and dance is a great way to play!
Relaxation
Taking time away from the demands of daily life as a couple is essential to the health of your relationship. Studies show that a shared social ritual can help couples feel more satisfied in their relationship. With so many benefits in so many areas, why not make dance that ritual?
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