Happy Feet, Healthy Body
Posted by Michelle Kennedy on Fri, Jul 30, 2010
Shake that groove thang. Bust a move. Twist and shout. Get jiggy with it. Walk like an Egyptian. It doesn't matter which dance gets you moving—the important thing is that you get moving. That's the whole point of National Dance Day, a grassroots movement that encourages Americans to get up and move. The big day is tomorrow: Saturday, July 31, and it's being recognized as a national holiday.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who has been an advocate for healthy lifestyle and is responsible for getting Congress to recognize the day, will speak about the importance of dance and physical education, and then will host her own flash mob on the National Mall in D.C. (Not familiar with flash mobs? Check out the 20,000-strong flash mob that invaded Michigan Avenue during Oprah's 24th season premiere.)
Although many programs, such as the Dizzy Feet Foundation and Angelina Ballerina, are focusing on getting children involved, there are plenty of ways for adults to get in on the action, too. Check out the So You Think You Can Dance blog or Examiner.com to find events (many of them offered free of charge) by city.
If there are no special events in your area or you're looking for other ideas, you can:
• Check out the phone book or your local community guide, or even do a Google search in your area for dance lessons for adults. Just make sure to confirm the class is for adults—you don't want to be surrounded by pint-size, pink-tutu-wearing princesses. If you find a class but you're still unsure whether you'll enjoy it, ask to watch a session before joining.
• Hit your local gym and take an aerobic-based dance class, such as cardio dance, Zumba, salsa aerobics or even pole dancing (our rookie diaries blogger gave this class a spin and loved it). Or, look into renting or buying a video or DVD version of one of these classes so you can do it at home.
• Head to a nightclub that offers free dance lessons—this is very popular in Latin and Country dance clubs. Generally an hour before the club gets really busy, teachers from nearby dance studios come and provide a free tutorial so that new patrons can keep up when the club gets crowded.
• Log on and learn to dance. Many online sites offer lessons for free. Check out LearntoDance.com or simply go to YouTube and search "dance lessons" for some great video demonstrations.
The beauty of dance is that it's a personal expression. Unless you're competing in a "So You Think You Can Dance" style competition, there is really no right way or wrong way to dance—no judge will be critiquing you for failing to point your toes or you won't lose points for not having beautiful lines. If you let yourself get wrapped up in the motions and the music, you'll get a good workout (a 150-pound woman can burn about 200 calories during a 30-minute modern dance class) and even have some fun. Now that's what I call happy feet!