Article by Anna Letitia Cook
Why? Pleasure, passion, physical and mental health – Yes, dancing even makes you more intelligent!
“After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” ? Ann Richards
Apart from the stats from studies, I have living proof in the person of my best friend, Rhonda, same age as me, so 56 glorious years young, who dances regularly 3 or 4 times a week and now does exhibitions and competitions as well! You should see her jive 
She wiggles as well now as she did in her early 20s – lol. And, intelligence? She is now doing a degree in Psychology to top off an excellent career in business and refocus her talents into something that really interests her!
Reasons why you should dance more than any other activity for the best possible ageing! Here are the stats on dancing and health – from a 21 year study of senior citizens 75 and older, done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NYC, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
How dance can reduce the risk of dementia
Findings:
% Reduced Risk of Dementia
0% in cycling, swimming, playing golf
35% in reading
47% doing crosswords at least 4 days/week
76% in dancing frequently! (Recommended type of dancing for this is ballroom)
What are the other benefits from dancing:
- It’s great for reducing stress and depression
- It increases your energy and serotonin levels
- Your overall flexibility, balance, endurance and strength improve
- It helps strengthen your bones and boosts your cardiovascular health
- It gives you better posture and more awareness of your beautifully toned body
- By exercising cognitive processes it increases your mental capacity
- It creates new neural paths due to the dynamic and rapid fire decision making – particularly in ballroom).
ALSO: It is fun, sociable and lets you fulfil childhood dreams… How many little girls imagined being Cinderella dancing with the Prince before losing her glass slipper? How many of us wanted to be ballerinas? How many of us still dream of tangoing across the dancefloor in a dramatic swirl of sultry splendour?
It is easy to find dance classes, you can find them in almost every village and town. There are a whole range of people that join up of all ages, sizes and levels of dancing skills or lack of. The general atmosphere is one of fun and friendliness so don’t be shy!
My dream? Dancing Argentinian street tango in Buenos Aires – it’s one of my big five for life!
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Anna Letitia Cook is particularly passionate about mentoring women executives and boomers in finding clarity in their career choices in order to achieve freedom, fulfilment and leadership success. She created and became CEO of her first company in the entertainment industry at age 32. Midlife approaching, hungry for a dynamic change, she refocused her experience, founding WomenUP Ltd, focusing on the challenges of corporate gender balance strategy. Creator of the process SCOPE for career fulfilment. She is currently working on her first book ‘Liberate Your Career: The Women’s Guide to Freedom and Fulfilment’, with plans for a second, ‘Glass Ceiling Grans’, early next year.