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Ballroom Dancing for Older Adults

Ballroom dance can enhance overall successful aging by promoting longstanding participation in physical and social activities. Ballroom dance is an enjoyable and shared experience in which couples engage in a series of coordinated dance movement patterns in dances such as the Slow Foxtort, Modern Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Samba, Cha ha Cha plus the unqiue and popular sequence New Vogue style.  Ballroom dance as serious leisure is a core leisure activity that participants find so gratifying that they orchestrate a set of activities such as lessons and social dancing that progressively increase their knowledge, skills, and overall participation in the activity. Such gratification perpetuates continued participation in an activity that can foster successful aging by promoting well-being and function.

Ballroom dance encompasses many of the qualities that are linked to successful aging.  Successful aging is a combination of health, well-being, and high function as well as active engagement in social and leisure activities and dance demands high cognitive and physical capacities. The world of dance offers many social activities that build social connectedness. Their perceived value of dance can motivate continued participation.  Ballroom dance as serious leisure offers older adults excellent opportunities to participate in physical and social activities that contribute to their successful aging.

Source: Stevens-Ratchford, RG. Ballroom Dance: Linking Serious Leisure to Successful Aging