Improve Your Relationships Through Dance

People of all ages are returning to the idea of couples dancing. Many enjoy the intimacy of dancing together in swing, salsa, tango, and other styles. This resurgence is directly connected to a re-evaluation of relationships in our culture — partners coming back together on the dance floor.

Couples are making a new commitment to intimacy. The comeback of social ballroom dance reflects the efforts people make to get to know their life partners better. Relationships are the fabric of our lives, and partner dancing directly mirrors the steps needed to strengthen good relationships and heal difficult ones.

The first thing a couple learns when dancing together is cooperation. Two people learning to work together toward the same end, from very different perspectives — leader and follower — a mini relationship! You have to work together to accomplish a beautiful dance. The dance floor is an enjoyable, easygoing place to improve cooperation, resulting in better teamwork, coordination, and understanding both on and off the floor.

Romance is an essential piece of the relationship puzzle. Setting the mood for passion is a mental, emotional, and physical journey — one done magnificently well through partner dancing. Creating the right environment becomes effortless as two people court each other arm in arm and cheek to cheek.

Couples always enjoy the fun of dancing together, no matter how well they know each other; there is always more to learn and experience. Partner dancing is an ongoing, playful way to explore each other, keep a sense of wonder, and grow together. The more you talk and laugh on the dance floor, the more you discover about yourself and your partners.

In an age where people interact remotely and rarely meet face-to-face, personal connection and contact are often missing — yet they are an essential part of a rich and healthy life. On the dance floor, we connect to our partners and to others as we move, whirl, and twirl. The lead-and-follow element of couple dance augments physical and mental connection while developing emotional ones, too, in a non-threatening way.

So much of our communication is non-verbal, and partner dancing is an excellent place to explore and refine it. The subtleties of the signals and the connection as you dance let you practice being open and available to communication. Learning to “talk” and “listen” on the dance floor is a skill that translates into everyday life — a tremendous benefit to anyone in, or seeking, a relationship.

A partnership is a whole larger than the sum of its parts, so let’s build something together. Partner dancing requires both people fully — which is exactly why it’s so effective for individual growth and for enhancing the quality of contact between people.

Originally published in Natural Awakenings magazine, New York City Edition.