Mary Klootwyk
Give us a whirl! Square Dance lessons start Thursday, Oct. 17, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., sponsored by SaddleBrooke Squares Dance Club. For more information, contact Terry Jackson at 520-241-4164.
Why Square Dance?
Square dancing is a unique and inexpensive recreational activity that offers fun, mental and physical fitness, and fellowship. Here are some positive ways square dancing can impact and enrich your life.
Good Fun
Natural movement. With most dance forms you have to learn to place your feet in specific arrangements. Not so with square dancing. Square dancing is based upon moving in defined directions for defined distances, much like walking.
Entertainment. The caller entertains dancers with a variety of call sequences and a wide range of music, including rock, jazz, gospel, country-western, and everything in between.
Stress Relief. Directed by a leader giving commands, you become so focused on the “task at hand” that your troubles are forgotten, at least for a couple of hours. While square dancing, you can escape from the worries of the day.
Non-competitive. There are no “winners/losers,” but dancers experience a feeling of achievement for “team effort” as they work through the sequences.
“Thinking person’s activity.” Square dancing requires you to use both sides of your brain through “cross-lateral” movements, which are movements that cross from one side of your body to the other. These are great exercises for your brain, memory, and coordination.
Learning. You stretch your brain by learning the calls.
Challenging. All square dancing engages your brain by asking you to react quickly to commands (like Simon Says for adults).
Mind/body connection. Dancers react to calls as they are given. This forces the body and brain to be tightly coordinated. Studies have shown that activities involving simultaneous physical and mental activity keep the brain healthy.
Energizing. No matter how tired you are from a long day’s work, once you start dancing, you become energized again.
Good for Your Body
Exercise. Square dancing is a good moderate, low-impact exercise.
Steps and Miles. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recommends 10,000 steps per day to maintain physical fitness. Square dance students can log up to 3,000 steps per class. It is estimated that at a typical dance you can expect to clock 9,000 to 10,000 steps, or about three to five miles per evening.
Positive impact. Square dancing can lead to a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and improved cholesterol profile. Dancing strengthens weight-bearing bones and may help prevent or slow down loss of bone mass (osteoporosis).
Calories. Dancing burns between 200 and 400 calories every 30 minutes of dancing.
Balance. Studies have shown that adults who have a history of activities, such as dance, tend to have less incidents of falling as they get older.
Healthy Environment. Square dances are smoke and alcohol-free.
Square up and make a circle of friends!