There are many health benefits of dance. Notably there have been numerous research around how dance helps people with  Alzeimers, Dementia and other medical disorders.  Click here to view a study by Stanford that supports this claim.

Knowing this we as educators can expand on the long term benefits for our students. When students are empowered and inclined to dance from early years on, it supports their mental and physical health. Dance allows students to be creative all while showing a willingness to participate and learn through movement. Since dance is supported by movement and music, the brain is engaged in numerous ways.  Dance and movement allows the brain to release dopamine (the feel good hormone), which supports various learning styles. As such, students who may be suffering from depression or anxiety can benefit from this, as dancing activates sensory, motor and emotional responses.

Here is a video that describes how dance supports students with anxiety and depression.

Since, anxiety and depression are becoming more and more common in todays day and age, it is important to address resources to help students and people learn. As stated in the video, the benefits of a dance class extends beyond just the time of following the class. Therefore, starting children off younger can benefit them in their adult years. Dance can serve as an outlet much like singing. As a result, we can conclude that the performing arts can help students feel more confident and be more healthier, both physically and mentally. The use of dance in the classroom can thus help students have the opportunity to dance (as dance classes are expensive and not always widely available). The more opportunities we as teachers provide the more we can support the diversity of learners in our classrooms. This is why I believe that dance is important to include not only in Physical Education but also in the daily classroom and cross curricular (as we learned in the last blog).