Learning Important Life Skills from Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing is mostly known for being a fun physical activity. It’s a great way to get in shape, tone your muscles and also enjoy the social aspect of having a great time. However, there are much greater which one can take away from learning the beautiful art of ballroom dance. It can take us on a journey of self-discovery and building important life skills which we can take into the real world.

Learn to be a great leader or a successful follower.

Do you typically find yourself following the crowd or are you one of those people who likes to take charge in different situations? One of the important lessons in ballroom dancing is learning how to build trust and learn the art of leading and following between the dance partners. Unlike other types of dancing or physical activity only performed by one person, ballroom dancing is strongly based on developing a solid partnership. So, if you are someone who is used to taking charge or, the opposite, only follow, then dancing can teach you how to be a great team player. Many techniques in ballroom dancing are based on feeling the partner’s push or pull impulse and reacting to the action by following with a particular movement. For example, it can definitely teach an impatient person how to wait for the right timing and respond in a proper way. In the same way, a person dancing in a leading role (typically a male) has to master the leading action and learn how to send the right signals at the right time to their partner. So, developing patience or taking initiative as well as learning how to properly lead and follow are some of the most invaluable life skills one can learn from ballroom dancing.

Build confidence.

For some of us, it may take a lot of courage to get out there on the dance floor, especially in front of an audience, such as performing in student showcases at Ultimate Ballroom dance studio or attending dance competitions. Ballroom dancing is a slow but steady process of developing the necessary skills to perfect your dance-performance ability. While working on your dance technique and getting more comfortable with being on stage, ballroom dancing is your best friend when it comes to developing the strength and confidence to express yourself freely in front of others. The more you practice your dance steps and conquer your fear of being in the spotlight, the more you will feel confident about yourself in other life situations, whether you are giving a speech, making a presentation or leading a project.

Develop emotional intelligence.

Ballroom dancing is an art form that has an affinity with acting. The beauty of ballroom dancing is that one can explore the myriad of emotions while learning and engaging in a dance. While taking the lessons, you may discover many things about yourself and get in touch with your inner world of feelings, thoughts and emotions. Sometimes a particular song or difficulty in learning a specific technique may trigger certain emotions within which can then lead to greater self-discovery and self-knowledge. We see this often on a popular show “Dancing with the Stars,” when many celebrities look to dance as a way to heal or strengthen their emotional well-being, often coming to the show after having a life-changing and sometimes traumatic experience or event in their life.Ballroom dance allows us to experience and learn more about our emotions and learn how to let them flow and pass freely by expressing them through dancing.

Learn how to be authentic.

One of the greatest powers of ballroom dance is helping one get in touch with their true nature and become more authentic. While in the real world we often hide behind certain personality types, once you are on that stage, your inner being has no choice but to express the real you. Let’s be honest… you can’t really fake dancing. You either do it or you don’t! The interesting part about dance is that the more you can do it from your heart and express yourself in a child-like and honest way, the more your dancing will improve overall and be a pure joy to others who are watching. Consequently, this will help you get in touch with the real you or the person you are meant to be.

by Ballroom Butterfly