Line Dance lessons with Rebecca

Dr. Mark Magdanz

This winter two beginner classes are being enjoyed for the first time in SaddleBrooke. With double the floor space for Beginners/Level 1 due to the addition of Thursday afternoon class there was enough room for almost every dancer in town. So now there are four classes and one happy feet practice session each week. The Level 2/Intermediate class is substantially more vigorous and the dances more complex. All class sizes are limited to ensure quality of instruction. With these limited spaces, you must pre-register with Rebecca to attend. No drop-in attendance allowed.

Research says you can live a longer happier life. How? Let’s describe steps you can take to achieve better quality golden years.

1) Vary Rhythms Within Your Exercise—Dance! Sway! Move to the beat! Research suggests that music with exercise is better. Adding music to rehabilitation improves outcome. If you want more alternating rhythms with exercise—line dance!

2) Sleep—Your immune system relaxes, reloads, and repairs during sleep. Many important wonderful processes take place to recharge your mental and physical batteries.

3) University of British Columbia research finds that regular exercise actually increases the size your brain that helps you learn and remember (Hippocampus). Memory, concentration and learning with dance is a proven brain capacity builder. Dancing is much like a new language for feet and brain.

4) Balance/coordination: Step/movement skills learned in classes provide directional changes supporting inner ear training/desensitization that improves balance.

5) Exercise: Doing a fun activity means you’ll do it more regularly. Dance gives mild to moderate cardio work out and increased strength to muscles and bones.

6) Socialization: In class people meet and make new friends. This is vital to mental health and happiness.

Line Dance is mild to moderate interval training. Dancing produces alternating periods of high intensity work with periods of low intensity recovery. The key to interval training is to continue to increase the intensity of work intervals over the course of several weeks. Each class series starts slower and builds intensity as you improve overall fitness—and always—the best exercise is the one you actually do.

Rebecca gives you the fundamentals of dance for years of dancing enjoyment. It’s an activity that allows you to get some exercise, improve your balance and coordination, and enjoy new friends. Classes in adult communities must be mindful of physical limitations. Rebecca takes pride in professionally modifying dance components to accommodate individual’s physical limitations, safety, comfort and development.

Her classes for spring/summer 2018 are accepting reservations and now is the time to place your name on one of the class lists. The next series starts in April. Contact Rebecca Magdanz at [email protected] or phone 818-2656. Rebecca is an 11+ year full-time SaddleBrooke resident teaching classes about 42 weeks each year. Rebecca has taught our fellow residents in the SaddleBrooke community for over ten years.