IS DANCING HEALTHY ?

Shannon News, 10 May 1927, Page 3

IS DANCING HEALTHY ?

The answer to this question depends entirely on .the dancer. We hear so niuch about tlie various ills and disabilities suffered. by the community from,- dancing in; general that there-are evidently pitfalls for most of us in this'-Gompa-ratiyely innocuous "pastijrie'l"''*_/*''' ;^'J""'.. ■ ".- " " The,sbundes.ti/i'.ule for everybody is to dance h% moderation. Taken in moderate doses," a/good dance after, the day's work is an admirable tonic. The : evils of dancing are nearly all traceable to the- abuses of early morning parties; excessive smoking, and a resort to cocktails because they are fashionable gather than because they are' enjoyed. Daricing for the average, person can be as healthy as tennis or any other outdoor pastime if a few simple prohibitions are borne in mind. It may sound ridiculous to suggest to people that they should avoid overcrowded ballrooms, but if they want a healthy dance they will certainly have to do so.

Another point" to bear in mind is your 'style of dancing. The Charleston has not helped matters in this direction. It has made dancing ugly, and ugliness, giving as it does very little pleasure, adds nothing of value to one's individual being. Look after your dancing style, acquire grace and a fleeting movement in the dances you dp, and you cannot but derive inspiration-, and physical improvement from the process. Don't dance for the sake of dancing, either in summer or in winter, Or you will speedily be reduced to boredom. if you dance .whenever you feel the need of it you can never go wrong, in your calculations.

Perhaps it is true that we take our dancing too self-consciously and wonder whether we ought to enjoy ourselves while the enjoyment is slipping away. But the warm and cordial atmosphere, the attractive lighting, the exhilarating music of ah average ballroom are undoubtedly of enormous recuperative value to normal humanity, and it is a sound instinct which makes for the dance floor without paying too much attention to ulterior matters of health and sanity.