Dancing is a feature of all of our Musikgarten classes from Babies & Toddlers to Preschoolers with their parents and older children on their own. Some dances are free movement with Family Music classes while others are choreographed movements like in our Ode to Joy in this week's Music Makers at the Keyboard class using the scarves or singing games where we do circle dances, both of which help us to understand musical phrasing, form, rhythm and balance. So what else can dancing do for us?
"Physical exercise has an anti-aging effect on the hippocampus region of the brain -- an area that controls memory, learning and balance. A new study, comparing different forms of exercise -- dancing and endurance training -- undertaken by elderly volunteers for eighteen months, shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain, but only dancing corresponded to a noticeable difference in behavior. This difference is attributed to the extra challenge of learning dancing routines."
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170825124902.htm
Sounds interesting right? Well, take a look at the video below and you'll see just how dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain.
You don't have to wait until you're a senior, let the joy of music and movement come alive in your body and dance today. So the next time we say in class "It's dancing time!", just remember you're not only improving your child's balance and memory but you're benefitting too by keeping your brain a little bit younger each time you dance!