Why Dance?

Why Do People Dance?

Dance has been around forever, but it seems that in the present day, it’s been gaining more and more popularity.
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What is it that motivates people to dance?

Reasons Why We Dance

Dancing is Instinctive

Rhythmically moving our bodies is an instinct. It can be in response to sounds or just an innate need to move. Humans have always longed for personal expression and social connection, and that’s where dance comes from.

To Convey Emotions

Through dance, we are able to convey feelings and thoughts that cannot be expressed in any other way. Dance can be used to express joy, to mourn, to say thanks, to heal, to entertain – you name it.

Anyone Can DanceAnyone Can Do It

This is the coolest part. Dance is available to anyone, regardless of skill level, age.
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or any other factor. If you want to dance, just dance! Dancing is a great way to socialize; plus, it is so much fun.

It’s a Form of Art and Entertainment

Stories and ideas can be told through dance. Dance can also happen within the context of a theatrical performance, where trained dancers get to showcase their abilities and perform for an audience, usually but not always choreographed to a set of music.

There Are Many Different Styles To Choose From

Dance may reflect the cultural background and even the religious traditions and values of different cultures around the world. Dance can help us understand each other better. That’s why so many different styles have emerged over time. At Bella Diva Dance, we strive to bring culturally authentic forms of dance to share with the Denver community. From Latin Ballroom to Bollywood, we offer a whole world of dance classes for you to be a part of. Come join us, give in to the impulse to move, and experience the joy and freedom that dance can bring.
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Proper Alignment for Dancers

Proper Alignment for Dancers

Most styles of dance require great posture to produce good quality movement. To create beautiful dance moves, proper body alignment is key.

Graceful Posture Improves Your Dance Technique

The word posture comes from the Latin verb ponere, which means “to put or place.” The general concept of human posture refers to the “carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of the limbs (the arms and legs).”

Source: Wikipedia

As a dancer, having proper body alignment allows you to be able to move freely and even reduces the risk of injury. Did you ever feel annoyed at someone that kept telling you to stand up straight? They might have been thinking just about aesthetics when they told you that, but the intention was in the right place. The thing with bad posture is that it puts a lot of strain on muscles and joints, which can lead to injury. So, in life and in dance, proper body alignment is essential.

The Benefits of Good Posture

Not only does proper body alignment help to strengthen dancer’s muscles. Having good posture also means that your body will require the least amount of muscle activity to stay in an upright position, and it provides many other health benefits.

It allows us to be active with more energy, less stress and fatigue
It allows the musclo-skeletal system to hold the body parts in place
It allows space for your vital organs to function at optimal efficiency
It allows you to breathe more efficiently
It promotes efficient functioning of the nervous system

Source: laurastanyer.blogspot.com

 

Neutral Spine or AlignmentRenu gupta teaching associate

Postural muscles are those in charge of putting in the work to keep you in an upright position. All these muscles run up the front and back of your body and maintain neutral alignment by working against the pull of gravity. The goal is to keep your balance while standing still or moving.

Strong Abs Are Key to Better Posture

Did you know that the “six-pack” is the most superficial of the four layers in the abdominal wall? Each layer is responsible for different types of motion. However, when they move as a whole is when they’re the most effective. This is why it’s important to remember to keep your core tight during dance class, but also in general, as having a tight core will help your balance.

Yoga can help improve core strength, and Belly Dance is great for building strength and improving your posture. At Bella Diva Dance, we love to share dance with you in a way that is not only beneficial to your health but expands your cultural knowledge as well. Give us a call and learn more about our classes.

Why Cardio Training Is Important for Dancers

The Importance of Hydration For Dancers

People tend to think that dancers have strong cardiovascular endurance.

However, this is not always the case. Cardio training is crucial to enhancing your dance ability and fitness.

The Benefits of Cardiovascular Endurance for Dancers

Cardio respiratory training is an essential part of the physical training of a dancer. You need stamina to get through a choreography, especially if you’re dancing a very energetic style of dance, but cardio training is also important because it allows you to maintain proper technique throughout, which makes you less prone to injury.

The Cardiovascular System

Cardiovascular endurance depends on the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to where it is needed and to continue for long periods of time under stress.

Source: Laura Stanyer

Most styles of dance have sequences of movement followed by pauses. These intermittent periods of activity work mostly on your anaerobic system, but they don’t really develop your aerobic capacity, which is what improves your cardio endurance.

Aerobic ExercisesAnaerobic Exercise

This type of exercise is intense but doesn’t last long. When this happens, the demand for oxygen is sudden and the heart is unable to pump enough of it to the working muscles in that short period of time.

Anaerobic exercises are high intensity but short duration, such as sprinting and certain styles of dancing like centre work in ballet.

Aerobic Exercise

During aerobic exercises, there’s usually enough oxygen to sustain the current level of activity without having to resort to other energy sources like glycogen. This type of exercise is lower intensity and can be sustained for longer periods of time, such as jogging, swimming, and cycling.

Aerobic ExercisesAerobic Dance Styles

When your cardiovascular endurance improves, so does your dance ability and fitness, which make you a better dancer. You can do cross-training if you’re not getting enough cardio workout out of your dance class or you can try other styles like African dance, samba, or contemporary, which work both the aerobic and anaerobic systems. You’ll burn fat, build lean muscle, and improve your cardio all at once. Not bad, right?

Why Dance is a Valuable Part of Education

Benefits of Dance for Kids

Dance has many benefits related to health, but when we teach our kids how to dance, we come across a whole other variety of benefits.

Benefits of Dance for Kids

We are well aware that dance brings benefits such as increased strength, flexibility, endurance, coordination, and balance, as well as a reduced level of stress. However, beyond the physical benefits, well-taught dance can be especially valuable for children.
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Self-Expression and Creativity

Dance uses movement to express emotions and communicate things through body movement rather than in a verbal way. Although, most of the time, students will follow a certain dance curriculum during classes, they will sometimes be asked to just express what they feel to the beat of a song. This also gives them the opportunity to discover more about themselves and be creative.

Dance Promotes Discipline and Concentration
Dance promotes discipline and concentration

Discipline

A lot of dedication, practice, and hard work is at the core of dance classes. Students tend to absorb this type of work ethic and learn to apply it to other aspects of their lives such as school.
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Improved Concentration and Listening Skills

Learning intricate choreography is tricky; there’s a lot to remember. Students are challenged with this task in every class and this not only forces them to listen more closely, but it also develops their ability to retain complex information more efficiently.
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Intercultural Appreciation

World Dance classes are a great way for students to learn the dances of other cultures and develop a better understanding and sense of respect for them.

Better Self-Esteem

Dance education helps students develop physical fitness, appreciation of the body, concern for sound health practices, and effective stress management approaches.

Dance stimulates confidence. Every time students master a step in class, it gives them a sense of accomplishment that has an impact on their self-esteem. The fact that dancing promotes fitness and appreciation of the body also helps improve confidence.

Bella Diva Dance Kids World Dance classEnroll Your Children in Bella Diva Dance Classes

We offer a Kids’ World Dance class suitable for ages 7 to 12. Children over 12 can join us any of our other classes where they can immerse themselves in faraway cultures while they enjoy all the other benefits of dance.

Belly Dance – No Longer Just a Middle Eastern Dance

Using a Sword as a Belly Dance Prop

Dance is a living form of art that seems to continuously evolve.
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Take belly dance, for example. It’s originally a folk dance from the Middle East, yet it has evolved and many different forms have come out from various countries and regions.

Belly Dance Styles

Over time, more belly dance styles have appeared, not only in the Middle East but also in the West, causing its popularity to spread globally. Here are some of the several styles of belly dancing we have today:

Belly Dance

Egyptian Style

Called Raqs Sharqi (Arabic for ‘Dance of the Orient’ or ‘Dance of the East), this style is considered a more relaxed type of belly dance. Other characteristics like emotional, simple and uncluttered, and even delicate are used to define this style.
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The arms tend to be lifted and graceful, belly rolls are not often done, and you won’t see a lot of veil work (if at all) in this style.

The characteristic costuming for modern sharqi style dancers is sleek lycra two-piece costumes (bra and decorated skirt) or dresses.

 Bella Diva ColoradoAmerican Cabaret

This style is something called AmCab for short. Other names can be Vintage Oriental or American Nightclub style. When we talk about this style, we’re usually referring to a period from the 1960s until the 1980s. This style is characterized by the dancer usually being wrapped in a veil, hiding part of the costume. With that veil, the dancer will most likely perform veil-framed movements, spins and partially cover the face, or even the body. Finger cymbals are considered essential, and a lot of floorwork is involved to the slow music. Props like capes, swords, and candles are also used.

Tribal Fusion

Considered a modern Western style of belly dance, Tribal Fusion was created by combining two other styles: American Tribal Style and American Cabaret. Elements of other dance styles like Hip Hop, Popping, Egyptian belly dance, Flamenco, and other folkloric and classical dances are frequently incorporated in Tribal Fusion.

Costumes are often very elaborate with layers of fabrics, Tulle bi telli, antique tribal jewelry from many cultures, hair ornaments, and permanent body adornment such as tattoos and piercings.

Becoming a Belly Dancer in Denver

Regardless of how effortless, graceful, and engaging belly dancing can look, learning to belly dance beautifully is challenging. Diligent study and practice are necessary to train your body to respond to the music and rhythms with ease and grace. Bella Diva Dance prepares students to reach their individual dance goals, whether they include simply having a fun workout or eventually performing on stage. Sign up for one of our belly dance style classes or get in contact with us if you have any questions. We’ll be excited to help you reach your full potential as a dancer.

Tone Your Body with These Belly Dance Moves

Tone Your Body with Belly Dance

Besides being beautifully exotic, interesting, and fun, belly dance is a great workout and it incorporates several movements that can help tone and firm your bod in just the right places.

Belly Dance for a Firmer Body

It might look complicated but, with the right teachers, it can be rather easy even if you don’t have any dance experience. The combination of all these moves is the equivalent of a full body workout.

Tone Your Arms with Belly DanceBelly Roll

A classic belly dance move. It requires precision and good ab control, which makes this a really intense toning workout.
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Small Hip Circle

This move takes a lot of control to keep it contained and make it look nice. Keeping it a small circle will bring more tension and be more effective that a large hip circle.
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Basic Shimmy

When it comes to belly dance, the shimmy is the most basic move. The good thing is that it is really easy to learn. It is great for all core muscles, including abs and obliques and even leg muscles. You can practice it with a song of your liking. If you do so every day, soon you’ll see changes in the tone of your abs.

Snake Arms

This killer arm move will tone your arms in no time. At the beginning, it might not feel like a big deal, but if you hold it for some time, you’ll start feeling great tension in your muscles.
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Tone Your Abs with Belly DanceFigure 8

Vertical Figure 8

A great move for oblique muscles, meaning this one can help you get rid of those dreaded love handles, plus it’s a slick trick you can show off at a club. Practice it for a whole song and feel the burn.

Horizontal Figure 8

A move for your back muscles. If you have some stubborn fat on your lower back, this move will help you tone those quickly.

Get Toned With Belly Dance Now

Book one of our Belly Dance classes now and make it part of your routine. You’ll see how much your muscles start getting toned while you have fun.

I’m Not in Shape. Can I Start Taking Dance Classes?

Fit enough to dance

In all honesty, why does that even matter? Whether you feel like you’re out of shape or not, does that even define who you are and what you can accomplish? The answer is and will always be NO. Even if you were out of shape, isn’t moving and working out with some type of activity of your choice what gets you in shape, anyway?
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Think about that for a second.

How Fit Should I Be to Start Dancing?

“Fit” might not be the right word to use here. What you need to ask yourself first is “Is dancing something I really want to do?
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” If the answer is no, then you’re OK. Just find something else you’re passionate about. However, if your answer is yes, we’re about to give you some advice to get you on that dance floor ASAP.

Get Checked Out

Being in good health is what’s important whenever you’re about to start any type of physical activity. So, if you want to start dancing, that would be a good place to start. Have your doctor give you a check-up. Once you’re cleared, there’s no reason not to start.

Get Rid of the “Buts”

“But what if I’m too stiff? Or too weak? Or too uncomfortable?” Stop that. All of those are things you can work on and improve even if you face challenges at the beginning. With time, all those weaknesses will turn into strengths. That will give you a sense of accomplishment that you can’t get from anything else.

Enjoy the Health Benefits That Come with Dancing

Get In Shape Dancing

We talked about this is more in depth in a previous post, but basically, being active will make you feel better – physically and mentally – as it gives your brain a workout since you have to learn all those steps.

So, be patient and courageous, and give yourself some credit.
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Not everyone dares to take a risk to do what they love.

Dance Resolutions for 2017

First Dance Performance

We made it! It’s 2017, and we are all excited about what this year might bring. It’s nice to be surprised, but it’s also wise to set up goals to guide you through the year (from a dancer’s perspective). If you’ve done this already, congrats! You are well under way to achieving those goals, but if you haven’t, it’s ok. We’ve got some tips so you can knock that out of the way in no time.

Setting up dance goals for the new year

Every year, there’s this hype of making things bigger and better than the one before. The new year gets people excited and motivated, but that excitement usually lasts them a couple of months. Making goals achievable is essential to actually attaining them. Here you have some tips that will keep you right on track:

 

Dance Resolutions 2017

 

Define what you’re passionate about

Take a good, hard look at the things you’d like to achieve as a dancer this year and determine what moves you. What would you fight for? Is there a competition you’d like to participate in? A part you’d like to audition for? A big piece you’d like to choreograph? Think about it.

Be specific

Straightforward, detailed goals are key to following through with them. When you have very open-ended goals or “anything goes” types of goals, you lose interest and eventually let them go before they’re anywhere near being done. Make sure you have one long-term goal and about three short-term goals or subgoals. A good goal should be S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Be accountable for your own success

Find a buddy who you can tell all about your resolutions for this New Year. Have them be the person that hold you accountable for your progress. That way, you can almost guarantee you’ll stay focused.

Try new things

Be willing to try new things, new techniques, new music, or new styles of dancing. If you’re looking for great dance classes in Denver, give us a call. We’d be happy to welcome you into our New Year!

How Dance Classes can Benefit Your Children in 2017

Encourage Boys to Dance

Our studio is going to be closed Thursday, December 22 through Thursday, Jan 5th, with all classes resuming Sunday, January 8, 2017.

Preparing your Kids for 2017

As we celebrate the holidays, it’s easy to remember that kids are a gift in our lives. A bundle of never-ending energy. If you’re wondering about a good way to put all that good energy to good use, we have an answer for you that may be the perfect start to your 2017 resolutions.

Sign Them Up for Dance Lessons in 2017

When it comes to keeping your kids active, dance classes are a great alternative to team sports and can be beneficial for kids of all ages.

Benefits of Dance Classes for Kids
World Dance for Kids at Bella Diva

Dance for Kids for Better Physical Health

Because dance lessons represent a highly physical activity, when children take dance lessons on a regular basis, you can expect a significant improvement in their overall physical health. Regular dance practice can benefit your child’s range of motion, flexibility, strength, and stamina.
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Dancing also helps gain muscle mass, correct poor posture, increase balance, and has great benefits related to cardiovascular health.

More Social Interaction With Other Kids

During dance class, children are bound to interact with each other. They learn how to work as a team, they learn to communicate, and they make new friends.
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If your child is shy, dancing might encourage them to socialize with children of the similar ages and aid in reducing the anxiety that new people and places might cause. Dance might also help deal with stage fright.

Boosts Self-Esteem

As your child learns about dance and movement, they will become more comfortable with their own bodies, which will make it easier to develop and maintain a good level of confidence.

Dance Classes Help Improve Discipline

According to “FamilyTalk Magazine,” dance lessons can help to spark creativity in young children and help them to develop an appreciation for the arts. Becoming a skilled dancer requires a lot of effort, discipline, focus… qualities that will translate into your child’s life later on.
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2017 Kids World Dance in Denver

We are excited to offer World Dance classes for kids in 2017. Appropriate for ages 7-12, immerse your child in faraway cultures, expand their cultural horizons, connect them to their roots, or simply have them try something different! Our classes will resume Sunday, January 8th. 

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Bella Diva Dance classes will resume Sunday, January 8, 2017.

Yoga for Dancers

Benefits of yoga for dancers

Dance and yoga have been related for ages in Indian culture. Doing yoga brings stability, balance, ease of movement, and flexibility, among other things, all of which are wonderfully beneficial as a dancer. Yoga can help dancers bring poise and elegance to their movements.

Benefits of Yoga for Dancers

  • Minimizes the risks of dance-related injuries
  • Aids dancers in maintaining flexibility and tests their focus constantly with challenging sequences of movement
  • Gives confidence a boost
  • Can assist in getting you back to dancing after a long break
  • Its breathing techniques will keep you calm
  • Helps deal with pre-showcase jitters
  • Gives you more energy and stamina to perform long hours
  • Allows you to execute energetic dance sequences with more respiratory ease.
  • Tones muscles and keeps joints flexible

 

yoga instructor

Yoga Poses for Dancers

Here are a few postures that can assist you in gaining agility and translating that into your movements:

Legs Up the Wall Pose

It will help take the pressure off of your legs and feet. Great for after high-intensity practices, as it will calm your nervous system.

Upward Plank Franks

Strengthens wrists, arms, shoulders, spine, and back.

Downward Dog Pose

This is a good one. It brings strength all over (arms, shoulders, legs, feet…), increases blood flow to the brain and lengthens the spine.

Bridge Pose

Great for building strength in the legs and butt. It also encourages you to open up your chest, just like in dance class.

Boat Pose

Dancing requires great core strength, and this pose provides just that.

Chair Pose

This pose will assist dancers in balancing the body and also tones thighs, ankles, leg, and knee muscles.

yoga pigeon pose stretcg

You dance? Now Yoga!

Bella Diva Dance’s new “Yoga For Dancersclass in Denver will enable dancers to effectively cross-train, equipping them with greater breath awareness, increased strength & flexibility, injury prevention, & recovery techniques needed to maintain optimal mobility. The emphasis on proper alignment, balance, & agility will make even someone with two left feet look & feel like a dancer! This class is suitable for both dancers & non-dancers alike, male & female, all ages, & from any background. Come check us out and get your Yoga on!

Our studio is going to be closed Thursday, December 22, through Thursday Jan 5, with all classes resuming Sunday, January 8, 2017.