Dancers are both athletes and artists.
Margot Fonteyn
The English ballerina we quote knows what she's on about. She was a dance world insider, an athlete and an artist. Athlete, because of the enormous effort and endurance to keep her body at peak dance performance. Artist, because she graced the dance stage for an astounding 44 years.
All of that answers the question of dancing for weightloss only in a roundabout way. Properly done, regular athletic training optimises the body's systems, including weight management. As an athletic pursuit, dance thus qualifies as a weight-loss activity. This table hints at the best dances for weight loss by calorie consumption, ahead of exploring the topic in-depth.
| 🕺Dance style | 🎯Target area | 🔥Calorie burn/30 minute session |
|---|---|---|
| Ballroom dancing | Low-impact, cardiovascular system, overall toning | 118 |
| Salsa dancing | lower body | 143 |
| Tap dancing | Cardiovascular system, lower body | 164 |
| Line dancing | Lower body, low impact | 172 |
| Ballet dancing | Overall toning, flexibility, cardiovascular system | 179 |
| Hip hop dancing | High-impact, cardiovascular system, overall toning | 207 |
| Swing dancing | High-impact, total body workout, cardiovascular system | 207 |
Dancing for Weight Loss
You might have noticed we left a few details off our table, such as how much the dancer burning those calories weighs (average 68 kilograms). This matters, because a person who weighs less will burn fewer calories. A dancer who weighs more will burn more.
The environment those dance trials took place in matter, too. Dancing in a warm space with a humidifier running leads to a greater calorie burn than in a chilly studio, or outdoors. That's true particularly for the high-impact dances, but only if dancers work out in short bursts.
These two conditions prove how complex the science behind dancing for weight loss is. Even measuring dance's effectiveness by calorie burn is controversial.
Some experts argue that the source of calories matters, while others claim that a calorie is a calorie, regardless of its origin. Also at issue is how the body uses calories: for fuel or storage?
Debate aside, the calorie breakdown gives us an efficient way to measure how dancing for weight loss works. One might conclude that the more energetic, elaborate dance styles are better for weight loss than the low-impact dances, though. At least, our table makes that clear.
Regardless of the dance style you choose for weight loss, you cannot fail to follow these dance warm-up tips. You risk hurting yourself, and missing optimal calorie burn, if you dance without first making sure your body is ready for its workout. Now, let's discuss some dance-like workouts that can help weight loss efforts.
🩰Ballet for Fitness
When people think of ballet, they tend to picture pointe shoes and tutus. This art form is graceful, slow, exacting, and hard work. Ballet is the most formal type of dance.
For anyone who's been away from their workout routine, ballet is a great place to jump back in. It's low-impact, meaning you're not likely to harm your joints or pull your muscles. It's slow-paced, so you needn't worry about getting winded halfway through your workout.
Time Under Tension (TUT) workouts involve slow movements, while working against increased resistance. Holding poses at their peak is a TUT hallmark.
TUT began making waves in the early 2000s, particularly among weightlifters and resistance trainers. Tai chi, the centuries-old Chinese martial art, represents the TUT concept in its purest form. In dance, ballet is TUT, particularly in ballet-as-exercise classes, where dancers can take the time to exercise properly.
Strength and flexibility are two physical benefits of ballet. Developing good posture is another. And, of course, losing weight. All that reaching and flexing under tension leaves your muscles with a warm glow that persists long after class is over.
Barre Classes
People often associate barre exercises with ballet; they aren't wrong to do so. However, barre for fitness weaves a few Pilates and yoga poses into the standard barre workout.
Barre for fitness is a bit more dynamic than ballet, which focuses more on traditional dance elements. That makes barre a great dance workout for weight loss. This video gives you a taste of what a barre class entails, and what it can do for your workout.
🎶Zumba Dance Workout for Weight Loss
Beto Pérez, the Columbian choreographer and dancer, established this dance workout in 2001. It's energetic and fast-paced, with high-intensity bursts of movement scattered amid slower-paced repetitions (reps). These alternations cause greater calorie burn, which you can enhance in a warm and humid environment, as described above.
These classes typically feature Latin music, or some other international style of lively music. Class participants work their way through up to 16 core steps. A complete routine comprises four sets of four basic steps. The music alternates between cumbia, salsa, merengue, and reggaeton.
Rushing to teach an aerobics class one day, Beto Pérez realised he forgot his music. He scrounged up a music cassette of recorded salsa and merengue music. That improvised lesson turned into a world-famous exercise routine.
This dance workout for weight loss is so popular, its creators designed more ways to enjoy it. Among the variations, we find:
- aqua Zumba: easier on the joints, as one dances in a swimming pool
- Zumba Step: a lower-body workout
- Zumba in the Circuit combines dance moves with circuit training
- Zumba Gold: less intense than regular routines
- Zumba Kids: a combination of fitness and discovery
This dance-for-fitness programme is one of the best for weight loss, as it combines high energy with interval training. Enthusiasts rave about this routine's benefits, but one doesn't have to be in peak form to enjoy these classes. Choose a session that aligns with your current workout level, and discover Zumba's benefits for yourself.
💃Ballroom Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is one of BBC One's most popular programmes. It features celebrities pairing up with dance professionals to compete for the coveted Glitterball Trophy. The contestants dance Latin and Ballroom dances, though they often update the traditional moves.
Our chart (above) shows ballroom stepping is a low-impact dance style. However, if you watch Strictly, you know that some ballroom dances are quite energetic.
This dance style offers a mix of peppy and mellow dances to suit any mood, and all levels of physical ability.
Fast ballroom dances
- Quickstep
- Samba
- Mambo
- Cha cha
- Jive
- Swing
Slow(er) ballroom dances
- Foxtrot
- Rumba
- Bolero
- Pasodoble
- Waltz
- Tango
Again, if you've been out of the exercise loop for a while, consider starting with the slower dances. Once you're back to optimal form and have built up endurance, test yourself with a lively Quickstep, or a taxing Jive. You can find resources for such dance workouts online or, better yet, at your dance studio.
🤸♂️Hip-Hop Dancing to Work Out
Hip-hop is both high-energy and high-impact. It demands coordination, balance, and flexibility. This isn't a type of dancing for weight loss, but it delivers a power workout. Hip-hop can build on the conditioning you've already achieved.
That is one way dancing improves your health and fitness. Beware, though, that this dance style's downside is a high risk of injury.
Even young, fit dancers like the ones in this clip should give their knees and hips plenty of rest and recovery time between sessions.
Breaking, popping, and locking are legacy hip-hop styles. They originated in the late 60s and early 70s, in the United States (US). Over the years, dancers created new hip-hop styles: tutting, liquid, and many others. Those Tiktok dancers are gliding, because the lower body does all the work, while the arms punctuate the steps.
🦵Pole Dancing as Exercise
If you thought breakdancing was demanding, wait until you try pole dancing. Part acrobatics and part dance, this movement art form is one of the most challenging physical activities one could undertake.
Like breakdancers, pole dancers must have a strong core and well-conditioned joints. However, pole dancers must be flexible, and have reserves of physical strength. Unlike breakdancing, this is not the type of dance one can learn on their own. Pole lessons with a qualified instructor will ensure you master the proper technique, and avoid injury.
This dance style has a bad reputation, which it doesn't deserve. Pole dancing is more than 800 years old. Back then, it was a venerable sport that featured performers leaping and posing across series of vertical poles. The kind of dance that features scantily clad ladies emerged much later, and it wasn't a lady that made it famous.
Elvis Presley shocked censors as he gyrated and twirled on a pole in his 1957 hit, Jailhouse Rock.
Pole dancing isn't just for women. Men also enjoy this hyper-athletic activity, sometimes to enhance their body-sculpting workouts. This dancer demonstrates how effective a pole workout can be, in that regard.
Note this dancer's focus as he goes through his routine. Other dance styles, particularly ballet, demand similar levels of concentration and spatial awareness. As you learn how to dance, you too will reap such mental health benefits.
Getting fit through dance can be a part of your workout regimen, which might also include strength and resistance training. Once at your optimal fitness level, dance is great to maintain endurance and muscle tone.
At any stage of your get-fit journey, dancing helps you keep your positive mindset. Such wellness is a crucial component of sticking to your weight-loss goals.
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