s 54 The QUEE NS Courier • dance • september 5, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com dance Learning to dance makes you a better lover BY SHAWN BYFIELD Learning to dance actually improves your love life. “If you’re looking to spice up your love life, learning to dance is a surefire The benefits of dance for kids BY CATHERINE M. LOZADA [email protected] Dance can really benefit children’s health, emotional and mental levels. Dance involves a greater range of motion, coordination, strength and endurance than most other physical activities. This is accomplished through movement patterns that teach coordination and kinesthetic memory. Dancing utilizes the entire body and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness and enhancing overall well-being. Young children are naturally active, but dance offers a fun opportunity to learn new skills and movements. It is widely accepted that children can and should be introduced to physical exercise as early as possible. Dancing helps improve sleep and improves mood, while children learn to relax and reduce stress. The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science and the National Registry of Dance Educators have done studies to educate the public on the benefits of dance. Dance is a powerful ally for developing many of the attributes of a growing child. Dance helps children mature physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. • Dancing can really help to enhance children’s posture, balance and concentration. • Dancers don’t slouch because they are taught how to hold themselves, keep a flat back, stand tall and remember your legs. • Dance helps the body’s circulatory system as it makes your heart pump blood faster and flow to the brain, which encourages direct focus and concentration. • Dancing improves your brain activity. It helps to develop key skills, such as coordination, balance, flexibility, strength, stamina, discipline and even memory. • Being active in this way also helps boost a child’s self-esteem, make them feel good about their own abilities and increase their self-confidence. Louise Benes, Director of the Louise Benes Dance Company in Richmond Hill believes through dance kids learn independence and feel good about themselves. If a child can conquer their fears by getting onstage and performing in front of an audience, they can bring that to their everyday life. • Dance school gets kids out of the house, away from the TV and actually moving. It teaches them how to move their bodies, use their bodies and stay active. • While childhood obesity is particularly high these days, dancing encourages weight control and keeps them in shape. • Dancing is a good way for kids to meet other people, make new friends and improve their social life. • Dance fosters social encounters, interaction, and cooperation. Children quickly learn to work within a group dynamic. Niall O’Leary, who teaches children at the Niall O’Leary School of Dance in Bayside and at the New York Irish Center in Long Island City, believes dance gives children a sense of accomplishment, especially when there’s an appreciative audience watching them perform. “It’s an opportunity to have fun, learn body control and place their feet well. Any child in a learning program where they’re using their body is more confident. When children ooze confidence and hold themselves well, they’re more likely to achieve success in life,” O’Leary said. way to attract the opposite sex” says Shawn Byfield, a leading expert in dance instruction for adults. Besides the obvious ability to show off your new dance moves, learning to dance comes with many other romantic benefits. Here are Bayfield’s top 10 tips explaining why dancers make better lovers: 1.) Better Rhythm: Hearing the rhythm of the music directly translates into keeping a better rhythm elsewhere. 2.) Better Confidence: Learning to dance improves your confidence on and off the dance floor. The #1 most attractive trait about a partner is their confidence level. Boldly use your moves to sweep your partner off the dance floor and bring them... somewhere more private. 3.) Better Moves: This goes without saying. Watching your partner move well on the dance floor is subconsciously a very sexy indicator of how well they’ll partner at other times. 4.) Better Improvisation skills: Sometimes, things go wrong. Learning to dance teaches you to improvise and think on your feet. Dancers transform awkward lovemaking situations and improvise new scenarios. 5.) Better Stamina: Out of breath? Not if you dance regularly. The cardio workout from dancing dramatically boosts your stamina. 6.) Better Skin: If sweat grosses you out, it shouldn’t. That sweaty dance workout actually helps clear your pores and releases toxins that create pimples, blackheads and acne. So dance often, and reap the rewards of beautiful skin. 7.) Better Flexibility: Can’t touch your toes? Chances are, your love making experience could benefit from a dance class. Regular stretching and warm ups improves your flexibility and circulation throughout your muscles. 8.) Better Creativity: A common complaint among couples is boredom. Dancers know how to break the monotony because they’re forced to use more right brain functions – which is the artistic, creative side of the brain. Dancers use their noggin to experience how good change can be. 9.) Better Positive Energy: Dance releases endorphins in your body, which is one of the chemicals your body releases, leaving you feeling more positive, relaxed, and generally happier. A positive person is always a turn-on. 10.) Better Friends: Being a better lover is about building a mutual relationship of trust. Learning to dance teaches you how to listen, respect, love and appreciate yourself and others. So if you’re looking to improve the quality of your love making, and want to develop that sex appeal others won’t be able to resist, make the time to learn to dance. Your bedroom will never be the same again! – © 2009 Shawn Byfield (www. ShawnByfield.com) is an award winning choreographer, show director and a leading expert in dance lessons and industry advice. s
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