Boost Memory. Participants in the program reported improvements in attention, focus, and of course. Also, in another separate dance program, older people experiencing mild cognitive impairment improved their thinking and memory after a 10-month-long of dance class.
Other studies show that dance helps reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition.
The researchers put to the test different activities such as reading, golfing, swimming and doing cross puzzles. They found out that dancing was the activity that surpassed all the others by improving cognitive skills by 76%.
The study found that for dancers, one part of the brain controls movement without expressive intention, while another part imagines movement qualities and these parts work to execute movement while also making higher-level decisions.
Neuroscientists call this muscle memory (or motor learning). If you've ever watched a professional dancer perform, you might notice their movement seems second nature, almost like taking a breath. “You don't think about what the body is doing anymore. When I go into the wings, I can't remember what I've done.
Professional dancers are born with at least two special genes that give them a leg up on the rest of us, according to a new study. Recent research also has suggested that intelligence, athletic ability and musical talent are linked to our genes and brain hard-wiring.
Scientists have found that the areas of the brain that control memory and skills such as planning and organizing improve with exercise. Dance has the added dimensions of rhythm, balance, music, and a social setting that enhances the benefits of simple movement – and can be fun!
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind–body union. Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and crafts people exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence.
During class and on stage dancers use the upper rear portion of the brain for spatial awareness. The lower part of the brain is used to memorize class combinations and choreography for performances. If your child studies dance, it should not surprise you that they are brilliant and excel at school.
Aharon Shulimson and Julie Terry on dancers at Ballet West, adds that, in fact, ballet dancers may actually be more likely to display ADHD traits. The study found that over two-thirds of the dancers in the Salt Lake City–based company had a “highly-overactive brain.”
Most children and adults can learn how to dance and acquire the skill. However, achieving a world-class status may require something beyond skills and practice. A bit of talent and lots of luck may play a huge role in making a certain dancer achieve fame and massive success.
Dancing ability could be down to genes, according to a new study released today, which reveals that successful dancers are most likely to be Taureans with dark hair, dark eyes, small feet and no siblings.
LEARNING AND REMEMBERING MOVEMENT
As a dancer learns a new piece of choreography, they create both explicit and implicit memories. Their own experiences and the communications received while learning are encoded in the dancer's explicit or declarative memory.
Dancing improves brain function and boosts memory. Several studies have shown that dancing is linked to a reduced risk of dementia. In a study by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, they found that dancing is associated with 76% reduced risk of dementia among the participants.
Learning choreography has been proven to have a positive effect on memory. Dancers must remember the counts and tiny details of several works at once, and our bodies are so smart that they will hang onto the memory of these for years and years!
Social psychologist Malcolm Gladwell once famously said- "What is rare in life isn't talent, its effort." Dancing is no exception. You can learn to dance whether you have been born with natural talent or not. If you have the passion, you can enhance your talent, as well as learn a new dance skill.
Extraverts (56% agreeing) were the most likely to rate themselves as good dancers, much more so than Introverts (33%), but the results suggest that how we feel about our dancing can't simply be chalked up to how comfortable we are in social situations. Other personality traits play a part too.
Successful dancers must have excellent balance, physical strength, and physical dexterity, so they can move their bodies without falling or losing their sense of rhythm. Creativity. Dancers need artistic ability and creativity to express ideas through movement.
Dancing has been shown to increase self-confidence and self-esteem by providing an expressive outlet and the opportunity to learn something new and fun!
Dance can also be classified as a sport because it is equally as dangerous as any other sport – dancers are prone to lifetime injuries. Both teams and individuals can compete in dance competitions for their own entertainment and the entertainment of spectators. Yes, dance fits within the sports category.
Dancers' identities intertwine with their bodies from a young age. Although this creates many positive experiences for the dancers, they also expressed how this can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
They may have difficulties with auditory memory, auditory sequencing and discriminating sounds (words) in background noise. In making the connection between my own dance challenges, I realized that this processing of information happens with movement as well.
The authors concluded that social dancing may be a safe, enjoyable, and effective alternative to traditional physical exercise for preventing cognitive decline and reducing risk for Alzheimer's disease.