Canadian writer Galadriel Watson studied to be a professional ballet dancer, but ended up writing about dance instead. She has written about the arts, science and more for publications like Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Parent.co and Discover. She also writes magazine articles for children, and her 23rd non-fiction book for children will be coming out in 2019, with dance-relevant chapters on flexibility and balance. Learn more at
www.galadrielwatson.com.
Let's say that today you're having a terrible time following your class's choreography and are feeling ashamed—you're always stumbling a few beats behind. Do you:
1. Admit it's your fault because you didn't study the steps last night? Tonight you'll nail them down. 2. Feel worthless and alone? You slump your shoulders, avoid eye contact with your teacher and fellow dancers, and wish to disappear.
Shame is a natural emotion that everyone occasionally feels. If you answered #1, it may be appropriate—you earned it by not studying—and positive if it motivates you to do better in the future.
Does dancing lead to long-term changes in the brain? Photo by Thinkstock.
Dancing can be exhausting—on your body and brain. Neuroscientist Agnieszka Burzynska, from Colorado State University, understands this. "I did some modern dancing myself back in high school. I remember how hard it was to remember a sequence, and then our teacher would say, 'Now let's flip it to the other leg!'"
But does this mental work lead to long-term changes in the brain? In a recent study, Burzynska and her team looked at 40 female college students: half highly trained in modern dance, and half non-dancers. They had the subjects do various tasks—from watching dance videos to remembering the location of dots on a screen—and used scanners to look at their brain structure and activity. Here's what they found:
