By: Margaret Carr, Correspondent
Anyone can dance, in fact, maybe everyone should.
Dance is a great option for being active, and more and more fitness centers are adding Dance Fitness classes such as Zumba as an option for members.
But the benefits of dance aren’t just tied to exercise. Dance combines music and movement in a unique way that allows you to express yourself and release emotions or physical tension in your body.
A 2023 article by Aglaia Zeferoudi published in the Journal of Social Sciences reviews the many facets of wellness, including the dimensions of mental, emotional, and social health. Zeferoudi discusses how dance promotes wellness in all three of those dimensions in addition to physical health.
Dance impacts mental processing by helping to create new circuits in the brain that promote processing and creativity. This provides an opportunity for emotional processing and expression. Zeferoudi also reviews research showing that 70% of participants in a dance intervention made new social connections that were continued after the intervention was completed.
Research published in the journal for Psychology of Sport & Exercise in 2025 found evidence that music, social contact, and movement all benefit stress regulation skills. Researchers make the connection that dance is therefore able to promote healthy coping skills and build resilience.
Outside of fitness classes, adults don’t often consider dance to be an accessible skill. Instead, they see dance as an artform that requires years of training starting in childhood. It isn’t seen as something that can practically fit into an adult schedule. Individuals like Amy Smith are working to change that.
Smith is the Studio Director at Impulse Dance and Fitness, an adults-only dance studio in Fort Collins, Colorado.
In an emailed statement to Follow South Jersey, Smith explains that many of the instructors at the studio, including herself, have been dancing for the majority of their lives and have “learned that it’s like a mental health vitamin” for them.
“Many of us are inspired to continue dancing because we have realized that dance isn’t something we’re willing to compromise,” Smith said.
Dancing as a child looks very different from dancing as an adult, both physically and mentally. By catering classes specifically to adults, Impulse tries to prioritize accessibility and engagement for adult bodies and minds. It also provides a space for people to make new, meaningful connections in their lives.
“When you provide adults with a space to enjoy dance without the pressure of competition or judgment, it’s a powerful way to create community, foster friendships, and even gently hold us accountable for protecting something in our lives that makes us so happy and healthy,” Smith said. “It’s hard not to feel connected to one another because we all know the value (and rarity) of inclusive and celebratory dance spaces for adults.”
Adults-only studios are becoming more common. Many of them, like Powerhouse located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, offer a wide variety of classes and pricing options. Powerhouse states that their mission is “to inspire adult dancers to connect with the most powerful part of themselves, while finding joy and building confidence in our supportive, welcoming community.”
Signing up for a weekly dance class means committing both time and money to something that isn’t often thought of as a casual hobby. But investing in dancing for wellness can mean investing in your own physical health, mental wellbeing, and community.
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