A recent summer SBDC dance class (photo by Wanda Ross)
Watched any Dancing with the Stars episodes? Then you have probably seen rumba. Remember Johnny (Patrick Swayze) in Dirty Dancing? “Time of Your Life” was a rumba-based dance. Did you ask, “Is that dance complicated? Which foot goes where?” Now is the time to figure this out! Dancing is great physical and mental exercise, a lot more fun than going to the gym, and if they can do it, you can do it, too! Dancing really is right, left, right, left.
Although they won’t be teaching the lift in Dirty Dancing, Brian Hand and Laurie Messick will be teaching two beginning Rumba classes to members of the SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club (SBDC). One beginning class starts at 6 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. Not a member? You are welcome to come to the first class to see if this is a fit for you. Beginning classes are Mondays and Thursdays for all of August. Both classes are taught in the Mariposa Room in the SaddleBrooke TWO DesertView clubhouse. Registration is required, and enrollment is limited. To register, email Brian Hand at [email protected]. Please indicate if you prefer to attend the 6 p.m. class or the 7 p.m. class.
The monthly dance classes are available free to SBDC members. The club’s goal is to provide practices, classes, and other opportunities for SaddleBrooke residents to fully enjoy ballroom dancing. To become a member, visit www.sbballroomdance.com, scroll down toward the bottom of the screen, and you will see a place to enter your information to receive membership information. You can also view all the fun events SBDC offers.
Some of the physical effects of dancing are obvious. Dance can boost cardiovascular health and bone strength (because dance is a weight-bearing exercise) and improve balance and flexibility. But there’s evidence that it does much more.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine investigated the effect leisure activities had on the risk of dementia as we age. Researchers found that frequent dancing was the only physical activity of the nine studied that appeared to lower the participants’ risk of dementia, and it lowered risk by 76%! The lead author of the study, Joe Verghese, a professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, says he’s not sure why dancing had such a unique effect, but surmises that, “unlike many other physical activities, dancing also involves significant mental engagement and social interaction.” Both intellectual and social stimulation have been shown to reduce the risk of getting dementia.
Rumba can be danced to many kinds of music, including rock, country, jazz, rhythm and blues, and Latin. It can be danced to slow, medium, and some fast songs. It is a very versatile and fun dance to have in your wheelhouse. Don’t let this opportunity slip by. Register today! SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club, Where the “Learning Continues and the Fun Never Ends.”