Let's dance! Find your inner "Strictly"....

Back to school, new beginnings and the return of Strictly Come Dancing to light up those autumnal Saturday evenings. This weekend sees the start of Strictly’s 17th series with celebrities including Catherine Tyldesley, Anneka Rice, Emma Barton and James Cracknell.

Apart from just watching this year though, why not take up dancing and find your ubiety in the foxtrot, the tango or a soothing waltz? Thanks to TV shows like Strictly, Fame, the immortal Dirty Dancing and more, dancing’s become a craze that’s swept the nation and is great for both physical and mental health.

Dancing is a really good work out. It raises your heart rate, burns calories and makes your muscles work hard. It requires you to use many different parts of the body, from your head and neck right down to your toes. Often your upper body and arms might move in one direction, while your lower body and legs might be doing something completely different. Changes in patterns of movements such as these are a bit like rubbing your tummy and patting your head, requiring concentration, coordination, balance and agility. It’s a complete body workout.

There are also huge mental benefits to dancing. Studies suggest that dancing reduces depression, decreases anxiety and boosts your mood. Learning a dance sequence requires lots of brain power so you can literally “lose yourself” in the joy of dancing, putting aside any day-to-day worries. With the huge range of dancing styles that exist, it isn’t ageist and anybody can give it a go in a way, a style and at a pace that suits them.

Take a look at finddanceclasses.co.uk or dancenearyou.co.uk find your ubiety and take to the floor! Craig, Shirley, Motsi and Bruno will applaud.