5 Ways Ballroom Dance Can Strengthen Your Relationship

"One of the most unique and fun ways a couple can become closer." – Jen Belcher

By Jen Belcher
Jersey City Ballroom
Started in 2009
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Introduction

Several decades ago, much of the romantic culture centered around dance. Oftentimes young love was found at the community dance, courtship occurred as two people waltzed around the room, and couples continued to bond over a foxtrot well into the later years of their marriage. While ballroom dancing is much less prevalent as a pastime in today’s society, it still serves as one of the most unique and fun ways a couple can become closer.

Having been in a ballroom dance studio for over 11 years and danced with partners myself, I have seen firsthand how beneficial dance can be to a couple. Whether a newly engaged couple is looking to master their footwork for their first dance or a couple is looking for something new and exciting to try together, dance offers some incredible benefits to any partnership. Check out these 5 ways learning to ballroom dance together can help strengthen your relationship.

Tips

➊ Building Communication

Ballroom dancing is the ultimate partner dance in which two people master their communication skills. While there will be times when talking occurs, the unique thing about a dancing partnership is that most of the communication is non-verbal.

In a dance partnership, there is always a leader and a follower. The leader conveys information to the follower through an energy transfer made possible by a connection between the two dancers. To have a follower make an underarm turn or take a step backward, the leader does not simply jerk his or her arm up or push their partner backward.

A good connection between two people in dance is actually firm but subtle. It requires both the leader and follower to be willing to give and receive energy. If one or both partners are too rigid, the dancing will feel more like a pushing and shoving contest. Conversely, if the connection is too loose and without energy, the nonverbal cues and messages will be missed.

Ballroom dancing provides a unique opportunity for a couple to build communication skills through body language, eye contact, and touch. Developing another way to share thoughts, ideas, and messages between two individuals in a relationship helps strengthen a couples’ overall communication skills.

➋ Developing Shared Interests

One of the most enjoyable benefits of dancing together is developing a shared hobby and activity. As a couple embarks on their dancing adventure together, they are learning together, failing together, laughing together, and ultimately dancing together.

Having a group dance class or private lesson gives the couple something to look forward to in their daily schedule. It can serve as a sacred time, set aside for the partnership and an opportunity for the couple to grow and develop together. Additionally, having a hobby such as dance ultimately leads to some fun moments! Knowing how to dance is such a useful skill in social settings. Going to weddings, parties, and other events and being able to show off your skills on the dance floor is not only incredibly fun, but it gives you a sense of pride as a couple and is extremely rewarding.

Learning to ballroom dance is the ultimate couple’s project that gives the partnership new and fun goals and something to work on together.

➌ Fostering Physical Connection

Studies have shown that couples who exercise together experience great benefits. Not only are you spending time together, but you are sweating together and releasing endorphins. Even if one person is frustrated over a new step, ultimately your happiness levels are higher and you leave the dance floor with a sense of accomplishment.

Unlike many other forms of shared exercise, ballroom dancing also allows you to physically connect with one another. Remember those ever-lasting moments at our high school dances with our special someone? Dancing together as a couple allows you to recreate those moments in which you’re holding each other and staring into each other’s eyes while great music is playing. As cheesy as it sounds, those moments together are so needed in today’s fast-paced world.

➍ Increasing Trust

Not only does dancing together help strengthen your overall communication skills, but it also requires a level of trust. Each partner has to trust the other to send or receive the non-verbal cue, execute the steps, and allow the other person the space necessary to achieve what they’re trying to do.

In an even more literal sense, you have to trust the other person to not drop you in a dip, not elbow you accidentally during a turn, or to not dance you into another couple on the floor. In most steps, one partner is always moving backward while the other progresses forward. This requires you to follow and trust the other person blindly.

When you enter a dance partnership with another person, you’re essentially becoming vulnerable and giving into the couple and the experience together.

➎ Helping with Conflict Resolution

Even the most professional and highly skilled ballroom dancers in the world will face obstacles and bumps in the road along their dance journey. The connection, trust, and communication can all be strong, but there will still be things to work out. Sometimes steps just don’t work, the choreography is forgotten, or other problems arise.

Dance provides plenty of opportunities for couples to work through issues and problem solve why something might not be working. This is great practice which strengthens this skill set for a couple and transfers over in other parts of the couple’s lives and relationship.

Summary

If you’re looking to build communication as a couple, ballroom dancing is one of the most unique and fun ways you can become closer together. It is a unique opportunity to build communication skills while sharing thoughts, ideas, and messages, ultimately strengthening a couples’ overall communication skills while having fun learning together.

Excited to explore the benefits of dance with your partner sooner rather than later? Jersey City is lucky to be home to just the place for you to learn partner dancing skills with your loved one. Jersey City Ballroom offers group and private lessons in event/wedding dances, social dancing, ballroom and Latin dances, and competitive dancing. Jersey City Ballroom is offering a special Valentine’s Day Couples package on Friday, Feb 14th, 2020 at one of our three sessions (6:30, 7:30, or 8:30) – join us to learn the rumba and tango with your love!