A Warm Testimonial to the Benefits of Learning How to Dance

Over the years being a dance teacher has allowed me a priviledge of knowing that learning how to dance can mean a whole lot more to us than just "learning how to dance".

If you would like to share what dance means to you, please email me. (linda@staverdancesport.com)

Best Wishes for Happy and Joyful Dancing,

~Linda

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"I love to dance. As it does for most people, dancing lifts my depression and chases away any sadness. But dancing also helps keep me balanced- literally balanced.

I had surgery for a brain tumor nine years ago. I lost both the hearing and the balance nerve in my right ear. A quick turn of my head would "zap" me with disorientation; going down stairs made me dizzy; walking on uneven ground was hard; a single dance spin would cause me to stumble; doing a double twirl seemed beyond my reach. I also lost some of the awareness of my body on the side I am deaf. I have persisted and persisted and persisted in dance classes because I have known that as I keep forcing my body to relearn spins, I am also creating new pathways in my brain. My balance and my body awareness improve.

I am now taking dance classes with Linda Staver who really understands the subtleties of balance and body awareness. She has been wonderfully supportive, a great coach, and has helped me understand more ways to improve. The position of my head, where I gaze, how I enter a move, whether I put my heel or toe down first, whether I actually loose contact with the floor as a move my feet along the dance floor, the lift of my chest- all these and more are important. What I learn in dancing makes me more confident not only as I move on the dance floor and but also as I navigate through the rest of my day. Walking down the hall at work I keep checking how I am carrying myself, the tilt of my chin, the position of my feet.

One of my doctors told me that our balance system is the first to develop when we are infants, and the first to deteriorate when we grow older. The gift of my surgery is that I understand at a young age the importance of keeping my balance system strong. I have no doubt I will be dancing the rest of my life."