Dancers have been said to be a different breed of human, for they have characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the population. These characteristics give dancers a heightened level of awareness when it comes to the world around them. Whether these artists are in the studio, on the street, at sea, or at home, you will know a dancer when you see one.
1. Dancers have an unyielding sense of discipline.
They are trained to do whatever their director wants, however many times, whenever, wherever.
2. Research shows that dancing increases cognitive acuity, at every age.
A study in The New England Journal of Medicine proves that dancing boosts memory as well as preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The study also reveals that volume loss in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory, can be reversed by dancing.
3. Dancers are programmed to make split-second decisions.
No matter if it's finding a way to not snap their neck while dancing or choosing their pre-rehearsal snack, dancers are pro decision-makers. By firing up their cognitive processes repeatedly, dancers train their brain to work as fast as possible.
4. Our neural-connectivity is "en pointe".
Dance involves the exercise of nearly every brain function: emotional, musical, kinesthetic, and rational. The average dancer learns new choreography nearly every week. This challenges the mind and stimulates neural connectivity, generating the need for new pathways.
5. Dancers have an incredible amount of social intelligence.
Whether it be verbal or nonverbal, dancers have the ability to interpret nearly every form of communication that comes their way. One could say that body language is a dancer’s primary form of communication.
6. Dancers have better-than-average peripheral vision.
Because choreographers often include specific angles of the head as part of their choreography, dancers have to use their eyes alone to look at something other than the studio mirror or the audience in front of them.
7. Life as a dancer is very expensive.
There seems to be a fee for nearly everything in the world of dance. There are fees for choreography, costumes, seamstresses, rehearsals, as well as anything else that dancers might need for a performance. Additionally, dancers have to pay for their own rehearsal clothes, shoes, makeup, and *oh yeah!* their basic human needs.
8. Dancers are just as hardcore as football players.
Research proves that dance equates to football as the most demanding of all physical sports and activities. Ronald Smith from the University of Washington states in Anxiety, Stress and Coping that, “Psychologists have found that professional ballet dancers get hurt just as often and suffer just as serious injuries as athletes in contact sports.”
9. Dance is stress’ worst enemy.
A controlled study from the Journal of Applied Gerontology reveals that movement, especially when accompanied by music and/or partners, assists in the reduction of stress.
10. Dancers are strong-hearted
Great news, dancers! For all of those times you worked so hard you thought you were going to die, your heart rewarded you! Researchers at Western Sydney University's School of Science and Health recently revealed that “people who participate in dance have a 49 percent reduction in risk of dying form cardiovascular disease.”
11. Dancers don’t get dizzy.
Researchers from the Imperial College London reported on distinct differences in the brain structure of dancers that allow them to avoid feelings of dizziness when they turn. This research suggests that all those years of training allow dancers to suppress the signals their brain sends them from the balance organs in the inner ear.
