Since the beginning of time, dance has been a fundamental human experience. Why? Because dance is a nonverbal language everyone can speak, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Its dramatic expression conveys emotions, tells stories, and helps humans connect on multiple levels. 

You don’t need formal dance class lessons to gain many of dance’s benefits and skills—but it helps. Here are six specific benefits of dance class that come easier and more consistently in a more formal environment with structured lessons, set expectations, and an instructor who leads with care.

1. Dance Releases Endorphins

Endorphins are natural chemicals found in the brain that regulate pain and pleasure. Dance helps release endorphins, which is why moving your body to music eases stress and feels so good.

Take Reggie, for example:

Reggie enters the dance studio one afternoon feeling the heavy weight of having a chronically sick parent. Reggie may start warming up her body slowly and unenthusiastically, but once she gets going, the endorphins start to kick in. Reggie finds her own contemporary choreography emulates how she feels and allows her to express them outwardly. After class, she’s exhausted but much more relaxed and ready to go home and spend an enjoyable night with her family.

2. Dance Strengthens Relationships

Just as dancing with friends, a romantic partner, or a happy child builds relationships, so does dancing with a team. This also establishes a sense of community, especially when people of all backgrounds are brought together for the sole purpose of entertaining and supporting one another. 

Dance class provides a positive, energetic environment that inspires everyone in the room, strangers or not. Because of the vulnerability and trust required on stage and in the studio, dancers share a unique connection that isn’t found anywhere else. Dancemates talk, help each other out, and bond during class time and at rehearsals—many dancers even find lifelong friends in each other.    

3. Dance Raises Self-Esteem

There are so many ways dance can raise self-esteem—here are just a few. Dance:

• Gives you confidence in front of an audience
• Helps you appreciate your body and all it can do 
• Gets you out of your comfort zone (constantly)
• Allows you to feel emotion and express it in a healthy manner

These are good social and developmental skills that stay with you your whole life throughout many different situations.  

4. Dance Increases Creativity

Dance is art—a way to express yourself creatively. There are innumerable options for getting an idea or feeling across through the movement of one’s body. Creativity requires thinking and problem solving while still being fun and even promoting a sense of pride.

Take a hip-hop crew who invents new moves to tell a story about the evolution of street dance. To avoid simply rehashing old moves, they mix them with other dance genres like jazz and funk to create something no one has ever seen before. They know this tactic will keep the audience engaged and rooting them on.   

5. Dance Keeps the Body Strong and Healthy

Dance combines flexibility, strength, aerobic, and endurance exercises into fluid motion. Dance also connects the body with the mind and teaches spatial awareness, which helps to mentally and physically move their body in space. It’s a complete workout that tones the body and helps keep the heart healthy. 

The health benefits of dance class are:

• Healthier heart and lungs
• Strengthened bones
• Improved balance
• Increased muscle tone
• Managed weight 
• Better coordination

Taking dance class lessons is important for learning how to safely use and support the body. It teaches control, correct posture, hand-eye coordination, alignment, and many different motor skills using both large and minute muscle movements. 

6. Dance Builds Discipline and Motivation

Dance isn’t only about free-flowing movements that show how a dancer is feeling at any moment in time. Dance is all about discipline. It teaches teamwork, self-control, obedience, and patience. Often, it takes one baby step at a time to eventually work up to big, powerful moves. The same movement is practiced over and over again for days or weeks—until it’s perfect. All this requires a dancer to be motivated to work hard without constant nagging and oversight.

That’s why dancers become so good at staying focused and working hard without giving up. 

Feel Good and Look Good in Jo+Jax Dancewear

Now that you know all the benefits of dance class, it’s time to get to your dance class lessons! 

But no matter who you are and what dance style you enjoy, you want to look and feel good while doing it. Designed by two dancers (who also happen to be sisters), Jo+Jax has dancewear that feels good and performs well. And given Joey and Jacki’s experience performing and/or choreographing for the Radio City Rockettes, Broadway’s In the Heights, and So You Think You Can Dance, they should know!

Shop our catalog and get dancing!