DANCING FIT: Get your groove on

24 March 2014 - 09:50 By Yolisa Mkele, additional reporting ©The Daily Telegraph
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TANGO DRILL: Dance exercises both your body and, surprisingly, your brain Picture: ALON SKUY
TANGO DRILL: Dance exercises both your body and, surprisingly, your brain Picture: ALON SKUY

Conventional wisdom tells us that if you want to get fitter you need to run or visit the gym. For many of us those options are about as appealing as being stabbed with a butter knife.

The alternatives are not always particularly alluring. Yoga classes are often enveloped in flatulence, and fighting classes require an arm full of tattoos and a general proclivity for violence.

There is a another way you can boost your fitness - and it equips you with some useful party tricks. It is dance.

Depending on your goals and the style you choose, dance can be a great way to sweat off excess kilos and tone your bat wings. It improves your balance, posture and rhythm, and turns the gym bunnies 50 shades of green when you and your partner take over the dance floor.

Dance is also a great way to exercise your mind. When you learn a dance, your brain has to make rapid-fire decisions while functioning on many levels simultaneously - kinaesthetic (learning by moving your body), rational, musical and emotional.

There are a number of dance styles. Choosing one depends on what you want to achieve and how open you are to wearing tights.

BALLET

This is probably one of the hardest dance forms to master for both men and women. It requires impeccable balance, muscle control and significant core strength. This makes it perfect for those who are serious about getting into shape.

"One doesn't realise just how much athleticism goes into being a ballet dancer. You work up just as much of a sweat as you would on a treadmill or doing weights," says Wardah Hartley, an e.tv sports anchor who took part in a celebrity ballet class hosted by the Johannesburg Ballet Company.

Call Johannesburg Ballet Company on 011-877-6882 or Cape Ballet Centre on 073-107-8787

TANGO

For those who have a frosty relationship with tights, the tango is a steamy alternative. It is a passionate and technical dance to stirring music that allows you to shake off the stresses of rush-hour or deadlines and express yourself. It combines precise moves with rhythm and sexual tension, and your arms do a surprising amount of work.

If you are looking to shed large amounts of weight, tango alone will not be enough, but it is a ton of fun and builds the kind of confidence for which Antonio Banderas is famed. It is great for any age group.

Call Dance Junxion on 011-442-6462 or Libertango in Cape Town on 082-255-7829

POLE DANCING

Your core and upper body will join the boyfriend or husband in thanks for learning this skill. Be warned, however, that this is tough work that will undoubtedly leave you stiff afterwards. Pole dancing is a fantastic way to get strong and sexy. Women tend to want to learn pole dancing, but don't forget that Cirque du Soleil is performed by both men and women.

Call Vertical Vixen in Johannesburg on 072-199-3133 or Pole Dance Cape Town on 021-424-1243

ZUMBA

Zumba has been the fitness craze for a while. Not surprisingly. You have sweaty fun attempting Latino moves to vibrant music. The standard format is a one-hour class, which uses four basic rhythms based on simplified versions of salsa, merengue, cumbia and reggaeton. It is a great way to lose weight, increase strength and coordination, and foster self-esteem. It is reportedly enjoyed by 15million people around the world every week.

See www.zumba.com for classes in your area

FIERCE

Latin America provided the soundtrack for Zumba. Now, there is a new dance craze called Fierce that is sweeping through the world.

Incorporating traditional African dance moves into a cardio workout, Fierce encourages participants to channel their alter- ago and unleash the "inner warrior".

The dance was created by a Virgin Active dance teacher and uses the rhythms of South African cultural music. It markets itself as an activity that anyone can try, from total beginners to more experienced dancers.

Using natural movements, such as swinging, stamping, kicking and jumping, Fierce works the entire body and is a great workout.

It is also said to give you a psychological boost, with the uplifting music and cultural form of expression providing a natural high.

See www.virginactive.co.za

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