New to Exercise? Dance Is A Great Way to Get Started
Have you ever felt you have “too many” hobbies or interests? Turns out, at least in terms of exercise, your dilettante approach to movement may be what keeps you healthy for many years to come.
A Harvard study published in 2026 reveals that not only is exercise extremely important for maintaining your health, the variety of movement modalities makes a big difference as well. Even when controlling for the amount of exercise participants engaged in, those who participated in more forms of exercise had the best health outcomes in terms of longevity.
This finding resonated deeply with us and the vision we have for the spaces (including our home studio) that we seek to promote. Our studio is not just home to a single modality. It welcomes solo dance, partner dance, weightlifting, barre, yoga, cardio, and more! We seek inspiration ourselves by attending workshops, pilates, and aerial yoga & fitness classes while traveling—all with an eye to discover what we can bring home to enrich the lives of our students and community.
Why? Because we get it.
Dance as a category has a tremendous amount of variety within itself.
We currently compete in two step, west coast swing, triple two step, cha cha, east coast swing, waltz, nightclub two step, and polka. Yeah, it’s a lot. Each dance has its own style and unique ways to move—and those are just SOME of the many styles that exist within country dance.
There are many more styles of dance which exist, including both partner and solo dances. The point is… even with all the dancing that we do—it’s not enough for us.
We still enjoy (and sometimes even feel the absolute need for) other ways of moving. Skylar LOVES group fitness classes. Derek enjoys weightlifting. And we’re both big fans of yoga.
If you have likewise felt torn between trying zumba or resistance training, yoga or dance classes, here’s the secret: it doesn’t matter! In the long run, it will probably be more advantageous if you start with one, and add or switch to another later on.
The main thing you need to remember is this: doing some form of exercise DOES matter. Doing it daily, if possible, throughout your life will lead to more health and happiness and save you thousands and thousands of dollars of healthcare costs that inevitably will come if you don’t give your body the medicinal movement it so desperately needs.
Now to help you manage your decision fatigue, we’ll give you a few ideas on what exercise style might be best for you right now (which will probably change at some point, and that’s OK and even ideal!) Here we’re giving recommendations based on a specific category of people. If you don’t find yourself in this category, and want to learn more about other forms of exercise, check out our website and social media channel for more ideas on how to get started on your fitness journey.
I don’t even WANT to exercise!
Hey, we get it! Contrary to what many avid exercisers want you to believe, we all struggle to find the will to get up & move—especially when we’re most in need of physical activity.
What are the best exercise options for those who feel anti-exercise? We recommend DANCE!
Hold on to your salsa. Don’t discount us outright! When we recommend dance for people who don’t exercise, they sometimes think it’s the worst idea because, in addition to not having a good history of physical activity, they also might have “no rhythm” or “two left feet.”
Here’s the thing—very few people come by their dance skills naturally. Most people really have to work at it. Why do they put in the effort to get as good as they do? Because dance is extremely fun. It’s addicting. The combination of rhythm, social connection, music, and movement is absolutely intoxicating.
We’re not saying people don’t get nervous when they first learn to dance. But if they commit to dance anyways, the rewards are great. Moreover, there is a style for everyone!
Partner Dance
Want to start exercising and also meet new people? Or enhance your relationship while increasing your physical activity? Partner dance is for you!
Want to develop grace, skill, and athleticism? Try ballroom!
Want to work on connection and improvisation? Try West Coast Swing!
Want to start with something fun and easy to learn? Try Country Swing!
Solo Dance
Solo dance is a great way to build your brain and your body!
Want to increase your strength & balance? Try ballet!
Want to increase your confidence and have a really fun time? Try Jazz!
(Learning ballet & jazz as an adult is seriously cool.)
One more piece of advice.
Give yourself a timeline of several months, and commit to it! As a young personal trainer working in his first big box gym, I learned that those who signed up to do personal training at my gym had to sign up for a 6-month contract.
At first, I was appalled. Then I realized that unlike most people who joined a gym and never showed, those who signed the contract stuck with it, and saw RESULTS! Here’s the thing: changing your routine is hard. Self-development is hard. Strong commitment is necessary to see change.
So even if you take your first dance class and think you suck. Doesn’t matter. Lock yourself in. Sign up for a big package of classes, or get a private instructor. Make it hard to quit. Your long-term health and wellbeing is high stakes. Your commitment to maintain your health should be too. As I said before, dance is addicting. Give yourself the chance to get hooked, and discover how delightful it can be to move your body.
~White Mountain Dance Studio: Find Your Rhythm. Build Your Strength.
