7 Solid Basis Why An Actor Must Learn Dancing For Good Acting

Dance... Dance and Just Dance!

To Attain Success As An Actor

What are the benefits of dancing for an actor and in general, the human brain?

Plenty of studies proves that this physical activity is the best “brain enhancers and sharpener” especially for actors which help them to keep ahead in an environment of fierce competition and proofs keep coming.
In fact, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine proves that dancing is one of the best exercises meant to improve “cognitive abilities” of a human brain, including creativity.
(Cognitive functioning is a term referring to a human's ability to process of thinking (thoughts). It  mainly refers to things like memory, the ability to learn new information, speech, understanding of written material. )

1. What does that mean for you?

• When an actor engages in dancing, it’s mainly with the aim to maintain a good body figure. Once you realize that dancing can help you focus and memorize lines more easily, this activity becomes much more attractive. Does it not?
• It doesn’t matter whether you’re ten or eighty years old; the benefits are the same for every age. Cognitive skills help you remember things, read, think, and learn new things.
• All these brain activities are meant to digest information and transform it into basic knowledge. 
• Basically, without these skills, you’d have a hard time remembering the script.

2. How do body movements make you more focused?

• Dancing improves blood circulation, allowing your brain to receive more oxygen and glucose. These effects automatically boost your brain’s functions and make it healthier. If your brain is healthier, your chances of developing mental problems like tension, forgetfulness, fear, tiredness, breathlessness,  irritability in auditions, during a shoot or in life decrease considerably.
• You won’t have to worry about abandoning acting too early because of memory decaying with age, something that happened to  even top Hollywood stars like Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.
• Dancing can help you keep it fresh. The same study mentioned earlier shows how a regular dancer has 76% fewer chances of developing dementia. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

3. An Actor Has to Be Smart. Dancing Can Boost Your Intelligence!

• When you dance, you use more brain functions at the same time like emotional, rational, kinesthetic (a learning style in which learning takes place by the students carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations.) , and musical functions are present every time you perform dancing. Remember, especially as an actor, dancing is believed to be one of the most complex sports, and that is because it requires intelligence and cognitive skills.
• Intelligence is more about making quick and smart decisions (an extremely important ability of an actor to transform into different characters, emotions, and situations while improvisating in auditions or in a take, rather than knowing a lot of things). 
• Dancers are known to be “bodily-intelligent”. The quick definition of this term would be the ability to quickly convert thoughts and emotions into action.

4. Daily Shoots Are Tough. Dancing Makes You Relaxed.

• Apart from its intelligence boosting benefit, dancing is also extremely beneficial for actors who deal with a lot of stress in their lives.
• When you dance, your body flushes out many body toxins that build up in time. These toxins are the main causes of stress, and the more you move your body and practice this amazing activity, the more you reduce the stress in your body and mind. 
• Here, dancing is  similar to doing yoga.
• Life isn’t easy for most of us and necessary daily activities and film / TV shoots don’t actually help your brain relax. Dancing is a useful distraction from all that’s happening around you because it doesn’t let you think of anything else except what move you should do next.

5. You’ll Memorize the Scripts Easily!

• Here’s something you didn’t know: dancing is proven to increase your long-term memory by sparking brain cells that are responsible for gaining knowledge. The process is called neurogenesis (growth and development of new brain cells), and their main role is to connect your thoughts.
• Our memory is created and maintained by billions of electric active cells (neurons). Whenever you dance, these connections somehow grow stronger and therefore strengthen the memory muscles found in your cerebellum.
• It makes sense considering the fact that whenever you learn a specific blocking move during a shoot, or a theater move, or a dance move, your brain has to remember the exact movements and steps that you’re about to perform on camera to maintain continuity for subsequent takes.

6. More Happiness + Less Anxiety = Better Acting

• Your mood is mostly influenced by the number of endorphins released in your brain. All that stress you go through on a daily basis doesn’t do you well.
• Film /TV Directors or casting directors are expecting you to give your best during every single scene you perform, and they have certain ideas about the way you should behave on camera or on stage in public. You simply need an activity that helps you relax, and dancing is the perfect choice to make.

7. Just Dance Dance And Dance!

• You don’t have to join a dancing school is a talented dancer in order to get all these amazing benefits. Most people aren’t, and most of the studies mentioned above have dealt with regular people who practiced dancing as a hobby.
• Of course, if you’re a really good dancer, you have more chances of exhibiting these empowering effects causes by this healthy activity. So don’t forget to practice more and get better with time. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next star of a dance-themed movie?
• If you want to convince yourself of the great benefits you can gain by moving your body to the rhythm of the music, then make dancing a regular habit and adapt it to your lifestyle as soon as possible. The results will appear immediately. After only one session of dancing, you’ll most certainly feel more active, focused, energized, and relaxed. Source

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