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Partner dancing is absolutely my favorite way to exercise. Contradancing, swing dancing (lindy hop, charleston, jitterbug), ballroom dancing, blues dancing, I am less good at Latin dancing like Salsa but I love it too.

I find dancing to be great because it uses the whole body...you use all sorts of muscle groups and build muscle tone in addition to engaging in aerobic activity. Fast dancing can be more aerobic and slower dances such as blues focus more on quality of movement, almost like yoga or Tai Chi.

I also think partner dancing is really valuable because it combines exercise with a social activity. Dancing that's based on lead-follow (like swing, salsa, ballroom dances) not only is exercise but it develops your ability to communicate nonverbally. I found that my ability to read people's nonverbal signals (in situations beyond dancing) was taken to a totally new level when I started getting really into partner dancing. Caller-based dances like square dancing and contradancing build totally different skills, and have a different feel because you're dancing with everyone in the room at the same time.

I also find that touch is really valuable. Touch releases hormones that relax us, promote healthy immune response, and make it easier for us to relate to others and form stronger bonds with them. I personally find that it's a lot easier to stay relaxed in partner dancing when you're in physical contact with other people than when engaging in other forms of equally vigorous exercise, and I suspect that touch has something to do with it. Relaxation is important in exercise because it prevents injury! I also think that touch leads to better connections with people.

So...if anyone hasn't tried out partner dancing I would really encourage them to give it a try!!! I swear I used to have two left feet but after doing lots of different styles of dance for years, now I absolutely love it.