So You Think You Can Dance?

Today we are going to talk about dance! Dance is such a liberating form of self-expression and can be used to convey powerful messages. We found these guys from the American TV show So You Think You Can Dance performing a moving contemporary dance routine inspired by Alzheimer’s Disease…The routine is about a couple. The wife has early onset Alzheimer’s, and the dance moves from happy moments to frustrating moments, which prevent her from recognising her husband. Nothing like we’ve ever seen before…

While dance can be used to tell stories, it certainly has other great benefits for someone with Alzheimer’s, but more importantly to prevent it. A study has shown that dancing in comparison to other physical activities such as swimming or playing tennis, has a better effect on reducing the risk of dementia [1]. The results of the study showed that dancing frequently has a risk reduction up to 76% [2].

How does dance reduce the risk of dementia? As a natural ageing process brain cells die gradually and this means that neural pathways are broken. According to researchers the best solution to this issue is to create new pathways, and this where dance comes in.

Dance challenges the brain because of rapid-fire decisions, which open more pathways making the network of connections more complex. This way with more alternatives, the brain is less vulnerable and remains with a good cognitive function for longer [2].

Dance genres such as foxtrot, waltz, swing, tango, and Latin dance showed to be particularly beneficial as they allow freestyle.

To summarise here are the benefits of dancing:

– Great physical activity and mood booster

– Great social activity

– Dance activates different brain functions improving connectivity

– Rapid-fire decisions that also improve connectivity between different parts of

the brain

– You can change patterns, learn new routines and freestyle

via GIPHY

So grab your dances shoes and dance like no one is watching!