HealthLinksSC.com | 57 “We average about 150 people each year, ranging in age from 2.5 years to adults,” said Stankiewicz, chief instructor of West End Dance Company, which she founded in 2007. “But regardless of their age, a lot of my clients are realizing that dancing gets your heart rate up, burns calories, helps with stretching and flexibility and builds endurance.” And now, no matter where you go or what type of dancing you like or want to learn, more people than ever before are looking to dancing to keep them young, fit and in better overall health. “Dancing is accessible to everybody,” said Dr. Lauren Elson, a former professional dancer, now a specialist in sports and rehabilitation medicine at Harvard Medical School. In a 2016 online article for Harvard Health, she noted, “[T]here are so many benefits of dancing — cognitive, physical, and social — that it merits consideration by everybody.” For example, national data research firm Statista estimates that in 2022 in the United States alone, the number of participants in dance, step, and other choreographed exercise to music amounted to approximately 25.16 million. While it might be nearly impossible to determine how many people dance for better health, the physical and mental benefits are definite and wide-ranging, and include:
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