STRENGTH & STAMINA
It's a low-impact, aerobic workout for anyone of any size,
shape or ability. What more need I say? We all need to stay healthy,
limber and fit, and there is no more fun way to do so than with
Ethnic Dance. Part of the fun is that you can enjoy this at every
stage of life, because in many of the ethnic forms, it is the dance
of life for all ages. There are no barriers to enjoying this exercise.
RELAXATION & MENTAL CLARITY
Here's what hooks most people on Ethnic Dance. Your job is tough,
there's that infinite chore list, the kids, the car, the
shopping. The stress never ends, unless you stop and make time
for yourself. You've heard this a thousand times and yet it still
seems impossible to do. Then your health suffers and your priorities
shift. You realize you can't give from and empty cup. Ethnic Dance
is a very calming, relaxing way to be active and release tension
at the same time. Its a way to release the positive
neurotransmitters into your brain that will keep you off Prozac
and able to cope with the demands of life. You are worthy of this
time. What's more, you absolutely deserve it.
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION & SPIRITUALITY
Come for the relaxation and mental clarity; stay for the shear joy of
artistry. What happens when you study
Ethnic Dance is that by the time relaxation has you hooked, you've
learned enough about the your body, and it's capacity for movement,
that musical interpretation emerges. You create a new dance each
time from your own vocabulary of muscular control. Even when
everything in your life is out of control, you can come to the
dance for solace and peace. It is solely your realm until you choose
to share it. Some use their dance as liturgical ritual, a
devotional prayer to their Lord. Others use it as a "walking"
meditation to be present in the moment while casting out fear
and anxiety. Still others revel in artistic and creative freedom
fostered by improvizational dance. They tap creativity that cannot
expose itself during the daily battle to control the variables in our lives.
Releasing contol, if only for the length of a class or performance is enough.
Artistic expression and spiritual practice are the
two main reasons people stick with Ethnic Dance.
COMMUNITY
Welcome Home. You are accepted here, with your flaws, limitations,
warts and all. But with those warts there are gems of beauty, power,
delight and love within your being. Bring all your gifts. Come and
you will notice the community bond between Ethnic Dancers around the
globe. Think you're alone? Not a chance. Come see for yourself.
ODE TO THE BOOTAY!
Ask not what your booty can do for you, but what you can do for your booty!
The booty in modern society takes plenty of abuse, yet performs countless
(and thankless) acts every day. It is continuously disparaged, hidden, girdled,
tucked, sucked, lifted, ridiculed and scorned. Yet it allows us to stand erect,
enables our locomotion, gives us a center of gravity on which to balance, and
pads our seating area (which is often no small task). I firmly believe we should
not scorn the booty, but celebrate its virtue. At the very least, we should
maintain its functionality; give it stretches to keep it limber and exercise it
for strength. For celebration of the bootay, nothing works like dance. KC & the Sunshine Band
had it right "Shake your bootay! Shake your bootay! Do it!"
On a more serious note, societal obsession with the size and shape of young
women and men's bodies as objects of no value beyond sexual enticement is dangerous.
Ethnic dance forms help to promote a community of acceptance and healthy fitness.
It allows young people to experience their bodies as powerful artistic and spiritual
vehicles for change in their lives.
|
|
BENEFITS OF THE DANCE
