Dance is passion. Dance is rapture. Dance is liberation. Dance is exhilaration. Dance is … exercise?
Marcella Walker often takes groups of dancers out into the streets to prove that not only does New York have it all, but people here have the most fun too. And not only is she dancing in the streets for sheer pleasure, she is showing that dance is a great workout. Move it! with Marcella turns the grind of exercise into a fun groove.
Dance tones muscles, burns calories and provides a great cardiovascular workout. What most people overlook is that dance is also great exercise for your nervous system.
While dancing, you are coordinating yourself with music, concentrating on your timing as you synchronize yourself with the rhythm. You are not simply exercising to your favorite music, you are exercising in your favorite music. This harmonizes your motor skills with your thought and sharpens your responsiveness to the stimuli in your environment.
Consider Victor Cruz’ love for Salsa, his love for those steps on the dance floor help him maintain his focus for his amazing receptions. Everyone knows that Lynn Swann took ballet lessons and was probably the most graceful player in the history of football. Dance helps you get your mind in the game.
Exercising through dance will not only give you some great moves on your nights out, and not only provide an excellent cardiovascular workout, but it will help harmonize your mind with your body, make you more attuned with your environment, more precise in your actions and more graceful in your day.
So get out and dance. Do it for your heart, do it for your mind, do it for your life and do it for fun.
Check out Marcella’s tumbler for class schedules at http://zumbawithmarcellanyc.tumblr.com/aboutme
Garrett Buhl Robinson is a poet and novelist and passionate about dance. Check out his website at garrettrobinson.us
