It’s a cardio-heavy activity, but it doesn’t have the word “aerobics” attached to it. It’s strength training, but there aren’t any weights involved. It’s also a flexibility-builder, though it isn’t necessarily advertised that way. In short, dance—whether it’s fast-paced partner dancing or solo ballet—is physically valuable and definitely counts as a workout, but may often be overlooked as a gym-alternative.

Mark Holty of Arthur Murray Dance Studio delved into partner dancing when he was eighteen and is now a teacher of Latin and ballroom partner dances, a la Dancing with the Stars. Though he’s always described himself as a fit person, he acknowledges that dancing has helped him maintain his level of fitness.

When I asked him if there were any unexpected benefits of the activity, Holty had an answer for me right away. “Posture,” he said. Though initially he had to consciously think about his “dance frame” while dancing, this healthier body alignment eventually became second nature and entered his daily life.

Holty’s students have seen and felt some real benefits, too. He recalls some students who he guesses have lost 70 or 80 pounds throughout the duration of their dance classes. For some, it counts as their weekly workout. “It’s great, low-impact exercise,” he says. “It’s more exciting… more personable. It’s also conversational, musical, and social.”

Stephanie Houdek, a teacher at Eau Claire School of Dance who has been instructing dance students both young and old for 20-plus years, agrees that dance differs from traditional “workouts,” but she sees basic similarities, too. “There’s a warm-up & stretching session to get the blood flowing… then you work out, and there’s a cool-down and stretch,” she says. “We all leave the floor with red cheeks, and sweating.”

Within all of the styles ECSD offers—jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, and point—students focus on moving from their core.  “The core is the center of all movement,” says Houdek. This, it turns out, is the secret weapon of football players. So when running backs suit up in ballet slippers, they have their game face on—and a distinct goal in mind.  “They do it to find out where their movement is coming from,” says Houdek.  “Ballet helps them assess how to move left and right even more quickly.”

So, you’re not a football player. And you don’t want to be a dancer, per se. For those of us who want to get in shape, Stephanie recommends trying whatever style of dance is most appealing, though she says jazz and hip hop routines burn the most calories. Ballet, in which repetition and technique are at the forefront, is a better all-around workout for the muscles.

The benefits are not limited to the physical, either. Houdek says she’s heard time and again that students leave the dance floor freed of tension and stress. Also, particularly in jazz classes, students learn how to take criticism and be corrected, and how to listen and work together as a unit. You’re working out your brain, too, as a sharp memory is both essential to and enhanced by dancing. “These are really life lessons,” says Houdek. 

Can you say that about a weekly stint on the treadmill?

Mayo Clinic researchers reported that social dancing helps to:
  •Reduce stress
  •Increase energy
  •Improve strength
  •Increase muscle tone and coordination

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) says that dancing can:
  •Lower your risk of coronary heart disease
  •Decrease blood pressure
  •Help you manage your weight
  •Strengthen the bones of your legs and hips

Dance the Calories Away
Based on a 150-pound person, this is how many calories they would burn per hour:
  •Swing dancing: 235
  •Ballroom dancing: 265
  •Square dancing: 280
  •Ballet: 300
  •Belly dancing: 380
  •Salsa dancing: 420+
  •Aerobic dancing: 540+

AREA DANCE STUDIOS

Danz Kraze
Building 4/6, Suite 205
800 Wisconsin Street
(715) 832-DANZ

En Avant School of Dance
3330 North Town Hall Rd.
(715) 874-5575
www.enavantdance.com

Eau Claire School of Dance
306 Main Street


(715) 832-9900
www.eauclaireschoolofdance.com

Arthur Murray
401 1/2 S. Barstow Street

(715) 834-6166
www.arthurmurray.com

Diamond School of Dance
123 S. Graham Ave.
(715) 577-1285
www.diamondschoolofdance.com

Jean Marie’s School of Dance
31 W Spring St.
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 723-8635
www.jeanmariedance.com

Jewelry Box Dancer
110 Main Street West
Menomonie, WI
(715) 563-3534

Two to Tango
McPhee Dance Studio
University of WI-Eau Claire
www.uwec.edu/tango

Goggin Ballroom Dancing
Eau Claire Regional Arts Center
316 Eau Claire St
(715) 833-1879
www.dancingoggin.homestead.com