In 2008 I walked into a ballroom dance studio for the first time in my life. You could say I was a tomboy and this was certainly out of my comfort zone. There were mirrors everywhere. What if someone caught me looking in a mirror at my myself?
Fast forward to 2016. My name is Jessica and I now own a ballroom dance studio on Michigan Ave in downtown Chicago. Let me explain how I got here. When I walked down the street I looked at the ground. At times you could say I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin. My posture was bad and my eating habits were not so great, but when I walked into that dance studio I started feeling something magical. I just couldn't get enough, so not long after I signed up for a teacher training program, eventually left corporate america, and created my own business. Today we see over 2000 students a year touching each and everyone of their lives.
BENEFITS OF DANCING
The Push - It pushes you to do something new. For many people they may not get interact with others socially and may be lacking that interaction in their lives. Just by signing up for a dance class they get to have that social interaction and stimulation for 60 minutes
Burning Calories- Ok we might sweat during class especially if we dance East Coast Swing for 60 minutes. Moving and utilizing different parts of our body end up being a huge benefit for us physically.
Posture- Standing up straight is a big part of dance. Connecting with a dance partner and engaging your core and back muscles are very common while on the dance lesson. Eventually this becomes normally and our overall posture starts to improve.
Mental Exercise - We have to use a new part of our brain to dance. We have to visually watch where we are going and also move in unison with our dance partner all while staying on time.
Trust - For all you control freaks ( ME ) it taught me to trust and let go. When the lead is in control we don't get to take over. We are the follow so hang on the for the ride.