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The current dance craze inspired by “Dancing with the Stars” actually can be traced back to the return of the 1980’s “Come Dancing” show in England, which was re-vamped and brought back to British television in the mid 2000’s. The re-vamped show, titled “Strictly Come Dancing” was modernized with the concept of celebrities dancing with professional dancers, to capitalize on the current trend of reality television. The inclusion of the world “Strictly” in the title, comes from the Australian movie, “Strictly Ballroom”, which sparked a similar rush in popularity of ballroom dancing in the early 1990’s.

Within a year of the comeback of “Come Dancing” on British television, the concept had been sold to numerous countries around the world by the BBC, including the United States. The show in America, and many other overseas countries was re-named, “Dancing with the Stars”.

Since the start of “Dancing with the Stars” in America, hundreds of thousands of people have taken up this exciting activity in the United States. They take it up for many different reasons, but in many cases, it’s the popularity of the television show that has inspired and encouraged people to start dancing around the nation, particularly in Southern California, where there is a high concentration of salsa clubs, dance studios and instructors.

Venues range from casual dancing in salsa and tango bars, to formal lessons in ballroom and Latin American studios. Whatever the setting, dancing offers the chance to build confidence and social skills, learn new skills, and get fit or lose weight. The appeal of the fitness element can be observed in the current fitness craze of “Zumba”.

“Zumba”, other dance fitness classes, social salsa and all types of Latin and ballroom, offer the opportunity for dancers to improve their fitness, while having fun and learning new skills. Many people prefer dancing than going to the gym because of the element of fun and social interaction. Other recognized benefits of dance include improving posture, grace and poise, meeting new friends and improving self-confidence and existing relationships.

Wedding dance preparation is one such example of dancing for relationship reasons. In fact, the “Wedding First Dance” has become a modern trend in itself. It is now extremely common for newly married couples to perform a choreographed first wedding dance at their wedding reception. Popular wedding dance genres most notably include waltz, foxtrot, swing, tango and salsa, among many others. Many couples are coming to studios now for a package of 10 – 20 wedding lessons to learn the basics and fundamentals, and have a routine choreographed to their special wedding song. It really is a positive bonding experience for the bridal couple, and is often entertaining for the reception guests, as well as enjoyable for the couple.

In addition to all the positive social benefits, the medical and health benefits of dance can be seen by all. Scientists have done studies which show that Latin dancing can be comparable to running an Olympic race in terms of calories burned, energy exerted and muscles used. Medical studies have even shown that dancing can prevent and decrease dementia and heart conditions.

These health benefits can also be seen when you watch “Dancing with the Stars”, and witness the fitness of the celebrities improving over the course of the series. In many instances, you can observe the celebrities losing weight, becoming more toned in their bodies, improving their energy and fitness levels, and showing off new body shapes.

We should be very thankful for television shows such as “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”, as well as movies like “Strictly Ballroom”, “Dance with Me”, “Take the Lead”, and “Shall We Dance” for inspiring people to take to this exciting activity. These television shows and movies have made dancing fashionable again, and introduced so many of us to the social and health benefits of dancing. I hope that reading this article will encourage others to look for an instructor or studio in their area and take up dance.

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Source by Stephen A Thomas