Many years of top level professional ballet experience gives me a very good understanding that ballet enhances body, mind and spirit, but science seems to finally be taking notice. A recent crop of articles reveal the myriad of benefits doing ballet holds for people of all ages and abilities. 

Here’s a look at a variety of ballet-related findings and op-eds. 

“Boosting the metabolism” may very well be the “holy grail” of the fitness industry. Fortunately, there are several tried and true methods to accomplish this. Exercise, for instance, is arguably the most potent tool in the metabolism-boosting toolbox. Indeed, certain types of exercise can boost metabolism for hours after exercise. Even better, they can lead to long-term increases in resting metabolic rate by building calorie-burning muscle. 

Increasing the amount of non-exercise activity—such as walking, doing yard work, dancing, taking the stairs, and moving throughout the day—is another effective way to increase daily energy expenditure. 

Believe it or not, the food you eat—or don’t eat—can also have a significant impact on metabolism. For example, under-eating can lead to reduced metabolic rate. Meanwhile, certain metabolism-boosting foods and drinks help boost metabolic rate.

Here are five metabolism-boosting foods at the top of the list:

Nowadays anyone can see dancers perform thanks to television, where movies like Center Stage and shows like So You Think You Can Dance are accessible to the masses.
Nevertheless, ballet still remains off-limits for a large percentage of the population—particularly young people and, especially, young men.

If you or those around you are reluctant to go see a ballet, probably one of many misconceptions is skewing the perception of what is actually an exciting and dynamic art. So here we debunk the most common myths about ballet:

It’s a Girl Thing

Most men find it very emasculating to sit down to watch sparkly tutus and men in tights. However, ballet goes far deeper into the complexity of human beings than just the tutus they wear and the slippers they dance on.

Ballet dancers are incredibly athletic and you can see it in superhuman jumps to breakneck turns across the stage. The men and women train from a young age to perform physical feats that few athletes from other sports could even attempt. So if you like athletic sports like Basketball, you may also enjoy the mind-blowing amount of muscular strength and power ballet dancers display.

In a recent study, ballet dancers and people with no dance experience were compared by measuring their emotional sensitivity when viewing others.

The participants were monitored by putting electrodes on the tips of their fingers and measuring the sweat response triggered by an emotional reaction.

The dancers were able to read emotions better and their body reacted in a stronger way than the ones in the control group.

Here is an explanation why ballet helps you develop more empathetical understanding of others.

Ballet and dance in general is a very popular and highly enjoyable activity, either recreationally or professionally. But how many of you who ever did some ballet or dancing realise the positive effects it is making not just for your body but also for the brain?

Dance, in fact, has such beneficial effects on the brain that it is now being used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological movement disorder.

To join our regular classes : www.balletbodysculpture.com

Source : Harvard Medical School : Neurobiology