Kianni Delgado

March 30,2018

English 4 - 4th

Ms.O’Keefe

Is dance education actually helpful or harming for the body?

Many people take dance education seriously, while some think it’s not important and it’s

a joke. People avoid dance education because some believe that it has true negative effects to the

body. Dance education is something that can be very important in many different people’s lives.

Dance in general helps with many different issues throughout the body, but dance education isn’t

just something simple and easy, there are negative effects to it as well. The different ways in

which dance and dance education affect the body is through physical activity which can cause

good effect likes weight loss, confident boost and exercise, then dance and dance education

affects the brain in positive ways as well. Some people believe that dance education positively

affects the health of the body. Some people also believe that dance education positively affects

the brain. And still others believe that dance education has negative affects the the body. The

debate around dance education is if dance education is actually helpful or more harming to the

body. These positive and negative effects vary from emotional, mental and physical ways. These

different opinions on the positives and the negatives of dance education really do have setbacks

for people actually trying to try new things like dancing.

 Dance education has true positive effects for the human body. The first point of view

believes that dance education is a positive affect to the body because it has many health benefits.

“If you're looking for a way to lose weight that's fun and that you're likely to actually stick to,

than dance is a fantastic option. Losing weight is often a very demoralising and miserable

process.​ It involves cutting all the things you love out of your diet, going on long, tiring runs, and

generally being strict with yourself in a number of ways” (Ladock 4). ​This quote talks about how

dance is a helpful way of losing weight and it is fun and active and something that you can stick

to. Dance is also a way to help with weight loss when it comes to not only being active but

controlling your diet. ​“Dancing requires fast paced, continuous exertion which is what makes it a

form of cardiovascular exercise. At the same time though it also involves a number of difficult

postures and even jumps which provides the muscles with resistance. This is what you need in

order to develop extra strength and muscle tone, and thus dancing will help to flatten stomachs,

remove 'bingo wings' and create more toned legs and buttocks” (Ladock 8). This ​quote talks

about how dance requires a lot of quick movement and helps with cardio type of exercise. Dance

also helps with muscle tone and not only focuses on the stomach flattening but the building of

muscle in parts like you buttocks and legs. These quotes point out that dance actually does help

out in positive ways for the body by losing weight, improve muscle and helping to build the body

in a much more healthier and active way. These quotes believe that dance can help the body on

the healthy side.

The second point of view believes that dance helps the body in a positive way when it

comes to the brain and its functioning. “Studies using PET imaging have identified regions of the

brain that contribute to dance learning and performance. These regions include the motor cortex,
somatosensory cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. The motor cortex is involved in the

planning, control, and execution of voluntary movement. The somatosensory cortex, located in

the mid region of the brain, is responsible for motor control and also plays a role in eye-hand

coordination. The basal ganglia, a group of structures deep in the brain, work with other brain

regions to smoothly coordinate movement, while the cerebellum integrates input from the brain

and spinal cord and helps in the planning of fine and complex motor actions” (Harvard-Mahoney

4). This quote talks about how dance is very effective to the brain when it comes to focusing on

the hand-eye coordination and body movement through the brain and its functioning. The brain

works with dance in a positive way when knowing your own control and being able to control

your movement in the correct way. “Dance has been found to be therapeutic for patients with

Parkinson’s disease. More than one million people in this country are living with Parkinson’s

disease, and, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, each year another 60,000 are

diagnosed with the disease. Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called

motor-system disorders, which develop when the dopamine-producing cells in the brain are lost”

(Harvard-Mahoney 8). This quote talks about how dance has been found to be very effective for

the positive when dealing with mental illnesses like Parkinson’s disease. Dance has been

founded to be very therapeutic for people suffering from Parkinson’s and being an active therapy

for them. These quotes reveal that they agree that dance is positively affective to the body when

it comes to the brain functioning and mental illnesses within people.

The third point of view disagrees that dance is good for people. “​Comparing one

student to another in a negative way. ‘​Angela, why can’t you get your leg as high as Connie

in arabesque?’ ​ ​I have heard so many teachers say things like the above. All you did was inspire
negative competition between your students. Competition is such an important part of being a

dancer and there are so many ways to encourage students to look at competition in a healthy

way” (Erin 2). This quote talks about how comparing students when and in dance education class

you should not compare one student’s talents to another student’s talents. This is showing how

comparing will lower confidence and raise competition. “​Talking about weight issues publicly.

I have seen it all from public weigh ins to criticizing what a student packed for lunch to, ‘See this

costume? If you don’t fit into it, you can’t dance that part!’ All awful and so unnecessary.

Weight is a major issue in the dance world and it is important to discuss it with your dancers, but

it’s your job to make it a positive and private conversation” (Erin 4). This quote talks about how

talking about weight in front of the class. When coming to dance education, these are things that

cause people to fear taking a dance class and lower confidence. These quotes would disagree that

dance and dance education is good for the body because of the ways that a teacher can teach a

dance class.

Dance education has negative effects to the human mind and body. The first point of

view disagrees and believes that dance is good for the body and health. “​Dance matters because

it teaches kids to think and respond to the world around them. ​Dance education can teach

early learners to practice what is usually reserved for older students in other academic subjects.

Dance gives the freedom and permission for students to question and explore, “What if?”

(Vaughan-Southard 2). This quote talks about dance education matters because it allows children

to better respond to the world. Dance can teach them different practices and learn from older

people in these dance classes. “​Dance matters because it demands focus. ​The body is

constantly engaged in physical experiments dealing with weight, time, and force with variables
shifting day by day or even hour by hour. Students have to be present and aware in a way that

traditional classes wish they could engage” (Vaughan-Southard 6). This quote talks about how

dance demands focus in the world and it helps people, younger people mainly, learn early how to

manage time and focus so much better. The quotes show how point of view 1 would disagree

with point B and how point B believes that dance and dance education is a much more negative

affect for the body. The second point of view also disagrees with point B because the second

POV thinks that dance is much more healthier and active for the body and brain. “​Dance – as a

ritual, therapy, and leisure activity – has been known for thousands of years. Today, dance is

increasingly used as therapy for cognitive and neurological disorders such as dementia and

Parkinson’s disease. Surprisingly, the effects of dance training on the healthy young brain are not

well understood despite the necessity of such information for planning successful clinical

interventions” (Burzynska 1). This ​quote talks about how dance is a ritual and therapy that has

been around for many many years. Dance has also been a therapy for Parkinson’s disease,

something that is commonly discussed. ​“Given the market value of dance therapy, and the

opportunity that dance may become for our aging population, it is a timely question ​whether​ and

how​ long-term dance training affects the healthy adult human brain and mind. As different types

of dance activities at an amateur level may result in mixed effects, studying young expert dancers

seems like a logical first step to understand the effects of long-term systematic training on the

healthy human brain” (Burzynska 4). This ​quote talks about how dance therapy is effective

training for the health of the human body and mind. Dance has been a very effective way to help

train for a healthy human brain. On a source named, ​Philosophy on Early Child Life​, it stated,

“Children move naturally. They move to achieve mobility, they move to express a thought or
feeling, and they move because it is joyful and feels wonderful. When their movement becomes

consciously structured and is performed with awareness for its own sake, it becomes dance.”

This ​quote talks about how children are natural movers and dance is a way for them to express

their thoughts and feelings. Dance is very joyful and active for children. All 3 quotes here would

have disagreement with the statement of dance being a negative affect for the human body

because of the way that dance actually helps the body and the brain and its functioning.

The third point of view would agree and show information that states that dance and

dance education is negative for the body. On a source that talks about things that can affect the

human body as dances named ​Better Health Channel​, “​Inexperience​ – beginners may be

vulnerable to injury because they don’t have the skills or technique to meet the physical demands

of their chosen dance style. Make sure you follow the instructions of your dance teacher. ​Poor

fitness​ – weak muscles are more likely to be injured when challenged or stretched. Controlled

progressions will improve your fitness and muscle strength.” Also on the same source it stated,

“Sprains and strains - where muscles and ligaments are overstretched or twisted. impact injuries

– such as bruises caused by falling over, bumping into another dancer or tripping over props.”

The first quote talks about how being inexperienced, you are more likely to become very

vulnerable when it comes to injuries in dance. The second quote talks about how the main

negative effects for the body as a dancer or things like sprains and strains in the lower parts of

the body. The third point of view would agree that dance is a negative affect for the body. The

reason to why they may agree with that statement is because dance has true negative effects to

the body and the parts of the body and everything isn’t always good when it comes to dance.
 In conclusion, The different point of views agree and disagree on the helping and the

harming of dance to the body. The positives in dance have definitely outweigh the negatives but

that will still continuously be a controversial issue when it comes to a dance class and dance

education. My opinion on this issue is that people need to view the positives of dance and dance

education more than trying to focus on the negative because I believe they fail to realize how

good dance can be for the body and the brain. Dance has actually been proven to be very

effective to the body and brain for the better and people use the negatives as fears to avoid taking

a dance education, dance class and dancing in general. My opinion on dance in general is that it

is truly effective and active for the body and brain. By dance being a therapeutic thing, I think

many people should look into it more than they do.

 Work Cited

“10 Things a Dance Teacher Should Never Say or Do to a Student.” ​At the Barre with Miss Erin​,
12 Nov. 2013, atthebarre.net/10-things-a-dance-teacher-should-never-say-or-do-to-a-student/.

Burzynska, Agnieszka Z., Karolina Finc, Brittany K. Taylor, Anya M. Knecht, and Arthur F.
Kramer. "The Dancing Brain: Structural and Functional Signatures of Expert Dance Training."
Frontiers. November 07, 2017. Accessed March 13, 2018.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00566/full​.

“Dancing and the Brain.” ​Dancing and the Brain | Department of Neurobiology​,
neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-serie
s/dancing-and-brain.

Department of Health & Human Services. “Dancing - preventing injury.” ​Better Health Channel​,
Department of Health & Human Services, 30 June 2015,
www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/dancing-preventing-injury​.

“Health Benefits of Dance.” ​HealthGuidance.org​,

www.healthguidance.org/entry/10409/1/Health-Benefits-of-Dance.html​.

Philosophy, Early Childhood Standards - National Dance Education Organization​,

www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?club_id=893257&module_id=55419&page_id=22​.

Vaughan-Southard, Heather, et al. “New? Start Here.” ​Dance Advantage​, 12 July 2012,
www.danceadvantage.net/why-dance-matters-survival-of-the-fittest/​.