“Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery.” -Martha Graham.

Dancing is often thought to be recreational activity and often overlooked as an important part of your daily physical and mental health. There are several important benefits that young and mature adults can gain through dancing recreationally and through the study of dance. It is also a myth that you must be in perfect shape to dance.

Jonesborough’s Mary B. Martin Program for the Arts offers technique and performance classes as part of a dance curriculum that allows students to discover and explore new ways to move and communicate with the world around them. While the classes are an energetic and fun outlet for self-expression, dance is also an important tool in the development and growth of young adults as well as maintaining physical and mental strength in older adults. Skills and technique play a primary role in our dance courses, as students sharpen their abilities, working toward their personal best. Instead of competition, a final group performance is the goal of each class.

We believe that dance is important in the lives of people of all ages. For the teen and young adult, dance may be the medium through which they can express themselves creatively with movement and music that they connect to. It also provides physical benefits such as increasing flexibility, range of motion, and strength and stamina. It can improve muscle tone, poor posture, increase balance and coordination and improve overall cardiovascular health. Dancing is an aerobic form of exercise. For youth and adults who are overweight, it can potentially help them to lose weight and improve their overall health.

For older adults health benefits of dancing includes improved condition of your heart and lungs, increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness, improved muscle tone and strength, weight management, stronger bones, better coordination, agility and flexibility, improved balance and special awareness and increased physical confidence.

There are socialization benefits that come along with dancing and taking dance classes. Dance lessons can help youth and young adults improve their social and communication skills, learn how to work as part of a team, develop a greater sense of trust and cooperation and make new friends. If you have a shy child, enrolling him or her in dance can encourage them to reach out to other children their age and help to reduce anxiety about new people or places. Dance can also help to alleviate fears related to performing in front of an audience.

More adults than ever are looking for ways to increase their social interaction with like-minded people in a fun and interesting environment. Dance provides a form of exhilarating exercise combined with the benefit of being able to interact with other people. Working with others on a routine improves communication skills as well as trust, cooperation, and making new friends.

Educational benefits can be gained through dance. Dance requires practice, discipline and focus, skills that can be useful in other areas of a young person’s life. Dance lessons can spark creativity and students who regularly participate in dance lessons typically tend to perform better academically than their non-participating peers. Studies show that students who have a background in dance tend to achieve significantly higher SAT scores and do better in math and science competitions.

For older adults dancing can boost your mood and improve mental health. Studies show that mature adults report improved moods and cognitive skills after taking dance classes. Learning to dance and mastering new moves and triumphing over tricky timing may be better for the brain than other kinds of exercise, including walking and stretching. A study looking at cognitive and neurological changes that occurred in the brain after six months of either brisk walking, dancing lessons, or simple stretching and balance exercises found that after dancing the brain’s processing speed improved, meaning the ability to understand and react to new information.

Most beginner dance classes at the McKinney Center are offered in a group setting where students feel comfortable learning together. No experience is necessary. Classes are based on learning techniques and skills but teamwork is encouraged as well as maintaining positivity.

Currently, the McKinney Center offers different levels of Hip Hop dance taught by Kevin Glasper. While we are working to grow our dance offerings Kevin Glasper works to create enthusiasm and motivation in his students. It is important to Kevin that his classroom environment be comfortable and that students stay positive even when progress is not as quick as the students may expect.

At the end of each semester students will have the opportunity to perform tougher or solo at a student celebration usually held the first Thursday in December for Fall classes or the second Thursday in May for the spring classes.

Class schedules and fees vary each semester. Please review the most current class catalog for specific detail and always feel free to call the McKinney Center to discuss what class is best suited for your child.