Contemporary dance draws from many genres, ranging from jazz to ballet. Because it’s challenging and often free-form, many people are motivated to join a contemporary dance class. It offers dancers a number of benefits to keep them engaged. If you’re considering this dance discipline, you can count on the following perks.

Reasons to Try Contemporary Dance

1. Creative Release

Improvisation is a foundation of contemporary dance. Dancers often perform in their bare feet and focus on connecting fluid movements and transitions, leveraging gravity and floor work. Each dance is unique. It’s a creative outlet that continuously challenges and welcomes new ideas.

2. Stress Relief

Contemporary dance has therapeutic qualities that help relieve stress. When you dance, your body produces endorphins, which naturally combat stress. You may feel calmer. By focusing on dancing, you’ll let go of many of the day’s daily concerns and aggravations.

Getting lost in a dance will also distract you from stress. Contemporary dance requires in-the-moment organizing, memory recall, and planning. Dancers focus not only on what they’re doing but also on what they plan to do, which stimulates cognitive health.

3. Self-Expression

There’s no wrong way to perform contemporary dance. Self-expression is paramount. During dance classes, you’ll focus on floor work and expressing your feelings through motion, pace, and transitions. A dance may be fluid and relaxing or aggressive. Regardless, you can tailor an improvisation to your mood and vision.

4. Versatility

Some dancers turn to contemporary dance to reinvigorate their love of performance and movement. The discipline helps dancers find new ways to blend traditional patterns and styles and adapt the foundational footwork of ballet and jazz.

5. Fitness & Shape

Dancing is an excellent activity for getting healthy because it challenges muscles, balance, and coordination with transitions and poses. It’s also aerobic and will improve heart and lung health. You’ll build stamina, flexibility, and burn calories and carbs during dance classes. Many dancers feel better about themselves as they improve their health and dance skills.

Ready to try contemporary dance classes? Joan Garrett Dance Arts Studio in Newark, OH, has welcomed dancers of every skill level since 1950. They provide instruction across a range of genres, including jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. Call (740) 344-8789 to discuss enrollment, and visit them online or connect with them on Facebook to learn more about the disciplines they offer.