Author: Bella Diva Dance

How Dancing Affects the Brain

Dance is used a lot as a way to stay healthy, relieve stress, or to have something fun to focus on during the week. Some of its most significant benefits, however, have to do with the way it impacts the brain.

Reduces the Risk of Developing Cognitive Diseases

Did you know that dancing regularly can significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia when you’re older? According to this study, dancers are 76% less inclined to suffer from cognitive issues. Other research, done on residents of a dementia nursing home, evidenced that those residents who danced every week showed improved visual functions and better planning abilities. Concluding that dancing helps their mind stay busy, minimizing the appearance of their symptoms.

Improves Muscle Memory

Visualizing your moves is vital to learning a dance routine. It’s not about hitting every step correctly, but about focusing on the method itself. This practice, in a consistent manner, can help improve muscle memory.

Impacts Your Emotions

There are many ways in which dancing can benefit your emotions. It can make you feel happier, less stressed, as well as give you the feeling of being able to think more clearly. Dance can also make you feel more confident in yourself and motivate you to pursue your goals. It helps you establish bonds with other dance classmates, making you feel less lonely and more social.

Boosts Your Ability to Solve Problems

Different types of dance can help you develop different problem-solving skills. Improv requires creativity, and that same creativity can help you find out-of-the-box solutions for a variety of problems. On the other hand, more structured types of dance, promote your ability to solve more straightforward issues.

 

Dance has a positive impact overall, not just on the physical but on the emotional, psychological, and cognitive areas. So, if you’re feeling the urge to enroll in a dance class, don’t hesitate! Start dancing now! And if you already have the enjoyment of dancing in your life, cheers! It’s fun and functional for you!

4 Ways Dance Can Impact Your Life

There are many reasons to start taking dance classes as an adult — health, entertainment, social activity engagement, or just because you love to dance. Regardless of the reason, once you start taking dance classes, your life changes in many ways.

Helps Channel Your Stress

Everyday life comes with a burden called stress. It builds up inside and needs to be managed in a healthy way to prevent it from taking over your life. Dance works as an emotional outlet that helps you burn all that stress and other emotions, and can make you feel lighter. Since it’s a physical activity, it also enables you to release endorphins and boost your mood.

Gives You an Amazing Community

There’s nothing quite like being able to share what you love with others who love it too. Once you start taking adult dance classes in Denver, you will find yourself surrounded by many others who are there for the same reasons you are. Dancing together becomes an experience you treasure, whether it is at the studio or on stage. You get to share moments of laughter, happiness, love, as well as moments of frustration, but somehow everything seems better when you’re all there dancing together, because they’re not just your dance mates, they are your friends too. 🙂

Makes You Feel the Urge to Dance Whenever You Hear Music

Suddenly, not too long after you start dancing, you will get a tingling feeling throughout your body whenever you hear music. It won’t matter if it’s a new song or one of your favorites, if you’re at home or the grocery store, you will dance, and it will make you feel happy.

Teaches You to Love Yourself

When you start dancing as a teenager, it can put a little too much stress on you to be perfect. As an adult, the focus is different. You’re dancing to take some time for yourself, to do something that makes you feel good, not put you down.

Dance teaches you to love yourself and what makes you unique. In addition to dedication, you and everyone else in your dance class have something unique to bring to the table that takes your performances to the next level. Plus, watching yourself get better and better over time at something that requires so much coordination is so rewarding that it will make you feel like you accomplished something great at the end of each class.

 

How else has dance impacted your life?

We are dedicating a whole show to celebrate our amazingly talented students, and we’d love for you to be there.

It’s Almost Time for Divas on the Rise!

When?

Wednesday December 11, 2019 @ 8:00PM

Where?

The Clocktower Cabaret

1601 Arapahoe St, Denver 80202

Save the date because new divas are on the RISE! We are thrilled to invite you to attend our intimate Teacher/Student Showcase. It will feature our beautiful & talented students showcasing their original work, and others who will be dancing side by side with their teachers from their weekly classes at Bella Diva Dance. You are more than welcome to join us on this special night, no matter what your age is. You could even bring your kids with you to enjoy the show!

The event will be hosted by our amazing director and founder, Caitlin Bronza-Smith, and Clocktower Cabaret’s Naughty Pierre. Expect an electrifying show that will get you off your seat and impress you with the fantastic talent of our wonderful students.

We are incredibly proud as a dance community to be able to witness the growth of our incredible students and how ready they are to share all of their exceptional talent and hard work with all of you. They are full of energy, a positive attitude, and great dance moves, which guarantees a fantastic show that will leave you wanting more!

Event Details

There will be a cocktail service for your enjoyment. Seating begins at 7 pm. Please be sure to arrive before 7:45 pm to be seated by the time the show starts. You don’t want to miss one second of this fantastic show. Unclaimed assigned seats may be released 10 minutes after the show begins.

Ticket Information

General seating is only $15, and Premier seating is $25. Get your tickets now to ensure your spot at the event. This is not an event to miss!

To keep up with event updates, join our Facebook event.

5 Types of Belly Dance Costumes

The beautiful middle eastern dance that we know and love has some variations that are accompanied by different styles of costumes. Want to learn more more about them? These are five different styles of belly dance costumes:

Egyptian

A form-fitting top and a hip-hugging skirt are two essential elements of the Egyptian style belly dance costume. The more traditional costumes of this style have a mesh that covers the midsection and brings the top and bottom together, but the Western-style Egyptian costume doesn’t have that, allowing the midsection to be bare. That is called the “Bedlah” style. This costume is meant to accentuate the Egyptian movements.

American Tribal

ATS is known for having “tribes” dance in hypnotic unison. The tribe will usually select costumes that are similar but have contrasting colors. Hand-made jewelry, makeup, headpieces, and body art complement the outfits.

Cabaret

Back in the 60s and 70s, belly dancers would try to mimic the style of Turkish and Arabic belly dancers for their costumes. It usually includes chain drapes, coins, beading, metallic fabrics, hip belts, and two-piece skirts, although harem pants are also an option. There’s often a lot of jewelry involved, as well as finger cymbals.

Fusion

Fusion belly dance is a mix of traditional belly dance and other types of dance like ballroom, Brazilian, Spanish, and more. There are even a little bit of martial arts in that mix. Fusion belly dance costumes can take all kinds of different forms, which allows you to get creative. Explore the theme and come up with ideas for a belly dance costume based on that. There can be pants, lace, headpieces; you name it.

Gypsy

Free-spirited nomadic groups performed gypsy dances. They adopted moves from each village they’d visit during their travels. Their costumes are quite diverse and reflect the different ethics and traditions of the lands they visited, as well as the changing climates. Gypsy dresses incorporate lots of color and movement, layering different types of garments with different textures. Belts, jewelry, and ribbons used as complements.

 

Costumes are a favorite item for those of us who love belly dance. Which one is your favorite?

How to Beat Those Negative Thoughts That Prevent You from Dancing

Have you ever felt the urge to start dancing but suddenly find yourself regretting just thinking about it? Many of us lose lots of opportunities out of fear. We allow fear to take over and rob us of things that could be great for us.

Fear can trick you into thinking lots of negative thoughts that will keep you away from the things you want to achieve. Here are some of the most common lies you might be telling yourself to keep you from dancing and some suggestions on how to get over them.

“I Will Make a Fool of Myself”

No one knows how to dance until they learn how to dance. You are not the first one —and will certainly not be the last one— to attend a dance class without knowing much about dance. That’s why dance studios and dance teachers are needed. Everyone else in your class will be at the same level as you.

“I Don’t Like Going to Class Alone”

Why not? Think of it as self-care. It gives you an excuse to invest in yourself and relieve stress. Plus, you can bet you’ll make friends there.

“I Don’t Even Know Where to Take Dance Classes”

Find a dance studio in your area that offers the style of dance you like, whether you want to learn world dance or ballroom dance. Just do some research and register for a class.

“I’m Too Old to Dance”

Dance has no age, so it is never too late to start dancing. There is no reason to feel self-conscious. Everyone will go at their own pace.

“I Have Two Left Feet”

So, you lack a little coordination? Don’t worry about it. Dancing will help you out with that. All the more reason to get started now. You might struggle with learning choreography at first, but you’ll watch yourself improve quickly if you attend dance classes regularly.

 

Don’t let those lies keep you from dancing. Start now!

How does Dance Benefit your Mental Well-Being?

We know dance is an excellent form of exercise, and we also know that it can make you feel good, but beyond that, dancing can have a positive impact on mental health.

Lowers Anxiety, Stress and Boosts Your Mood

We have learned, thanks to many different studies, that dance promotes the production of chemicals in the brain, which can improve your mood and make you feel better. These same chemicals —when produced by a lively dance session— can help you reduce depression and increase your levels of happiness.

Contributes to Minimizing Depression

Research has shown that patients with depression have had a positive response to recreational dance sessions, which has helped them reduce their level of depression.

Helps Improve Expression and Overcome Social Anxiety

Dance serves as an escape valve, allowing you to release stress and deal with your feelings better. Movement may help you vocalize your feelings, providing a sense of liberation. It also helps those who suffer from social anxiety, as it can make them feel less self-conscious when interacting with others.

Promotes Social Bonding

Dance has been proven to help establish connections and a sense of unity between people, which also helps increase social activity. Besides, dance classes have been are a great way to increase social bonds and build friendships, which contributes to a more excellent feeling of well-being.

 

Dance has been shown to have a positive impact on the mental health of individuals, regardless of their age. It helps you stay healthy and is even considered a form of therapy. If you are looking for a way to improve your sense of well-being and practice good mental health, give a dance class a try. However, dance cannot replace the need for NYGoodHealth mental health professionals.

How Do I Create Belly Dance Choreography?

There is no denying that belly dance classes are super fun. You learn everything, from the basics to jazzing up dance routines with props you never thought you’d use, like swords. After dancing for a while, you might start feeling the creative urge to come up with your combination and eventually put together a whole dance routine on your own.

In addition to allowing your creativity to fly, some other essential tips can help you get on track to creating your belly dance masterpiece.

Choose Music You Love

Not every track will inspire you the same way. When you’re choreographing, you’ll be listening to the same song over and over, so it better be a piece of belly dance music that you like a lot, so you’re still inspired to create after listening to it several times. Plus, if you’re passionate about a song, you will be much more creative, and the choreography process will be more efficient.

Pay Attention to the Instruments

Before you start creating, you need to understand the music you’re using. Pay close attention to the nuances in the song. Tremolando sounds are perfect for shimmies, drum sounds call for percussive movements, and wind or string instruments are the ideal combinations for flowing movements.

Use Repetition to Your Advantage

Phrases are always repeated or sections in every song, and they are usually repeated more than once. Create a sequence of steps and movements for those phrases. You can repeat your sequence each time those phrases come back or change them up a bit to put a new spin on the remaining piece of choreography.

Use the Space and Create Different Levels

To keep things interesting, avoid staying in the same spot throughout the song. Instead, use the whole dance floor as much as possible. Also, incorporate movements that come from different parts of your body or that go in different directions. You don’t want your choreography to be 95% shimmies and 5% a few other movements, but you also don’t want to have too many things going on.

 

Don’t be afraid to start playing around with your creativity and put together your first piece of belly dance choreography. You got this! ????