Side effects

January 6th 2011

Introduction

So, I was getting up in the morning a few days ago, and putting on my socks. As you do. Nothing exceptional about that.

Except that I noticed something - I was standing up when doing so, and balancing on one foot to put the sock on the other, then vice versa. Whereas, say, a few years ago I always sat down to do this. This change was not a deliberate choice, it wasn't some clever Karate-Kid like "wax on" exercise, it was simply a part of my behaviour that I'd changed unconsciously, because I'd acquired the stability to do so.

Now, OK, this sock-putting-on anecdote is not the most rivetting or earth-shattering revelation, but it's one side-effect of doing Tango.

So I wondered what other side-effects I could think of. What other physical things have changed in my everyday life as a result of my dancing?

Note: this isn't a standard "benefits of dance" thing - there's thousands of articles about that online. This is more of an "unintentional consequences of dance" article. Things that have happened to me, as "side effects" of learning Tango.

Posture

"He looks a bit like David, but taller" - a comment from someone seeing a photo of me dancing Tango

Or "stand up straight!" as your parents may have told you...

I'm fairly sure that, at the ripe old age of mid-40s, I've not actually grown taller, but my posture has clearly improved, and I look taller - for a little blert like myself, that's a significant difference.

From a "horizontal height" point of view, also, changes in posture are significant. God knows, I've not lost any weight in the past couple of years. But I look like I have. Which is just as good :)

Now, I'm not sure that my general posture (i.e. outside of dancing) has changed a lot, I may still slouch along when I walk along the stree. But it's clear that my posture when dancing has changed, and hopefully for the better.

Stability

The above sock scenario was an example of my improved groundedness, or stability (I'm not sure I'd use the word "balance", they're slightly different concepts I think). Put simply, I'm far more used to standing, steadily, with weight on one foot at a time, rather than distributed over two feet.

Generally, I'm now more aware of how I stand, and I understand a bit more how my weight is distributed throughout my body. Which means that I can usually adjust my weight distribution to be more stable (or "grounded") in most positions.

In practical terms, this means I'm generally more stable - but the benefits are not exactly earth-shattering, as the socks example showed. It's not like learning dancing will suddenly give me superpowers. More's the pity.

Balance and health

However, and this one is quite interesting, there is some evidence that these "balance benefits" can be of use to people suffering from some types of muscular disorders such as Parkinson's. From here:

Tango from the region of Rio de la Plata was seen in one study to help heal neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease in a manner that was greater than the same amount of regular exercise. Parkinson's sufferers given tango classes showed improvements in balance and other measures not seen in another group of patients given regular exercise classes. The researchers said that while dance in general may be beneficial, tango uses several forms of movement especially relevant for Parkinson's disease patients including dynamic balance, turning, initiation of movement, moving at a variety of speeds and walking backward

Furthermore, a local event organiser runs regular Tango for balance classes, aimed specifically at these people. There's a lot more information about this, here.

Musicality

I find that when listening to music - any music, yes, even the Top 40 pap - I'm now hearing more subtleties in the structure, more melodies, more intricacies. I hear other instruments apart from the drums and the vocals - it gives me some more to play with, musically.

I've also started noticing when a piece of music would (in my opinion) be good for dancing-to.

For example, here's an amazing piece of music to Vals to:

Yes, it's a theme from Conan The Barbarian. I know, who'd have thought, huh?

So, we start with socks, we end in an orgy. Seems appropriate somehow...

- David Bailey, 6th January 2011

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