What Ballet Dancers Need to Understand About Weight Loss and Calories

To gain weight is still the nightmare of serious dance students, even as they work out hard a few days a week. It doesn't make sense, except in the light of what has become the staple industrialized-nation diet. Too many fats, nutrition-free carbohydrates, and factory made cheeses dominate the fast food landscape. Sugar (if you're lucky) or high fructose corn syrup in every mayonnaise, tomato sauce or BBQ sauce on those sandwiches or hamburgers. Even in salad dressings.

Your body doesn't count calories the way you do. It sorts them out in order to provide you with the energy you need, and to manage your blood sugar levels efficiently. This can seem a little complicated, but just know that when you eat carbohydrates, proteins and fats, your body has a sorting system, not a counting system. Regardless of the number of calories you eat in any given meal, your body behaves in a certain way.

Whether you get a 300 calorie burger or a 1200 calorie burger, the sorting, energy burning and fat storing process is the same.

For example, if you grab a sandwich or burger for lunch, or after school on your way to ballet or some other dance class:

** insulin messages your body (liver, muscles and fat cells) to absorb those carbohydrate calories (a bun, crackers, or slice of bread),as glucose.

** and also messages your body to store any excess as fat.

** and worst of all if you do not want to gain weight, to then stop using fat as an energy source. And to store it instead.

Insulin is like a computerized track switch in a train yard. It routes the carbohydrates, and fats to specific places. You train it to do what it does, by repeatedly eating in a certain way.

The fats consumed in the same meal, healthy or otherwise, will get stored, not used as energy.

Calories from protein foods (meats, fish, eggs, dairy) send a different message to your body. Those calories tell your body "everything is okay". Why? Because your body, which cannot manufacture proteins, can manufacture many things it needs from proteins. Now your body will SWITCH TRACKS.

The BURN FAT button gets pushed! Your body starts running on the protein stores you are giving it and to be more efficient, your body starts getting rid of fat.

Growing children and young adults usually do not need to worry about any of this. But, if they are dancers, I know that they do.

If you're grabbing fast food any day, grab a burger wrapped in lettuce. It's a little messy to eat, and it's way high in sodium. But the proteins and vitamins and minerals and fats will get the front seat for energy burning. Even though the sauces will probably have some high fructose corn syrup in them.... not so much as a bun, and carbs from the fries.

You will digest the proteins, fats, and tiny amount of salad/vegetable better without any carbs. Because it is two different sets of digestion processes anyway.

Thinking outside the bun does not mean add a flour or corn based wrap. Just lose it!

Bringing chopped vegetables and a couple of cubes of real cheese or a handful of walnuts with you from the house.....okay, dream on. But you could.

If you're a dancer and want to know more about dancing, go to The Ballet Store.

Do That Salsa Thing Now!

Salsa's flaming hot dance moves gives surprises. Each sways, turns, and hip swings are flaming hot benefits of contagious flaming hot sensation. Since 1950's, sexy and hot salsa is burning the dance floor around the world. Many people loved the sensational sexy dance steps that suggest beautiful sensuality. So unleash your dancing spirit as the beat makes your body moving in the sexy rhythm of salsa.

A dance is a traditional form of socialization. Since then, people or groups of people are using it to make acquaintances and socialize with their friends and colleagues. While dancing, a person communicates through its body. It creates message depending on the emotions and mood of the rhythm and the idea the dancer wants to communicate. Indeed, it is a great place to develop social skills. Amazingly, it can connect dancers together, through sound of music and beats, and body swings and turns.

Salsa dancing can keep disintegrating body intact and fit. Proven effective, tedious dance practices and rehearsals can shape natural healthy and sexy looking bodies. It can yield best-looking shape out of your body. Many consider salsa as a complete exercise. It involves all parts of the body including the mind in every dance moves it execute. Considering the health benefits of Salsa dance, studies show that it can help altering health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer's disease for aged people.

Salsa dancing gives so many benefits. It can develop further different relevant life skills. Physical activities provide grace and coordination for movements, and proper posture for the body. The execution of moves builds dexterity, while further developing agility. Also, as dancers create improvise and reconfigure dance moves, they are utilizing their creativity. Consequently, we can consider Salsa as a complete physical and mental workout recommended for dance enthusiast.

Moreover, aside from skills, Salsa builds discipline and eliminates bad habits. It can absorb negative energy with its dynamic beat patterns and music. People often use salsa as diversion of their own depression from love, career, and others. Better than, other vices, salsa is the right place to go. In fact, salsa dance can cause body to release endorphins, the happy hormones that can keep you smiling all day.

While dancing and body position is a communication, salsa dancing is a signification of beautiful and passionate body signs and symbols. It communicates through souls in high emotion and passion, leaving two bodies burning in hot sensation. How salsa dancing explored the boundaries of communication is superbly admirable.

Today, salsa dance is continuously gaining popularity all over the world. It is considered as one of the most celebrated hybrid dances of Latin America. Everywhere, salsa dance is gaining appreciation. Why not, it is a dance driven my human emotions: love, passion, desire, and others - emotions all humans do experience.

Learning salsa need not be expensive. You can learn right inside your own home with available dance videos. By simply following the steps, you can execute the right salsa moves as convenient as watching TV.

Opening The Doors To The Wonderful World Of Ballet

Ballet often offers long lasting benefits to kids that can stay with them for a lifetime. Even if your child does not continue their interest in ballet they will typically still continue to enjoy some of the benefits they have gained from this form of dance.

Ballet teaches many things like poise, grace, agility, flexibility and strength. Ballet can also teach them to be better disciplined and more determined to succeed with its enjoyable but tough regime. In fact, this is also an advantage to you.

There is usually no shortage of ballet classes, particularly if you live in a city, as there are a number of dance studios which will be able to teach ballet and other dance forms. You may even want to select a school that specializes in ballet.

It may be wise to bring your child to help you select the right ballet school for them. When you do this they will be able to help you to select the school that is best for them. This will depend on curriculum, pupils and instructors. After selecting the best one you can then check on the correct attire and shoes that your child will need for their ballet class.

It is wise to consider accompanying your kid to their first day of ballet class, especially if they are still young. It is rather like a first day at a regular school for them and they may feel overwhelmed by being with so many people that they do not know. It can be very reassuring to your child to know that you are there. It will not be too long a wait as beginner classes usually only take an hour. It can be a wonderful experience to see your child take his or her very first steps in ballet.

It will not take long for your child to get familiar with everything and they will then enjoy learning with their new found friends and teacher. When you enroll your child in ballet lessons they can benefit by enjoying themselves and making new friends, plus they will learn better discipline.

Learn To Dance Salsa

More and more people are getting into salsa and for good reason. Salsa is one of the hottest, most scintillating dances ever created and if you want to learn it, there are a few things you need to have first.

For starters, you should have the right attitude in order to learn to dance salsa. It is not for the faint heart or the meek spirit. If you want to really experience the art of dancing salsa, you should have that spunky attitude that would make you fit for the dance floor.

Learn to Dance Salsa the Old Fashioned Way When it comes to dancing, you can read all you want about the steps, rhythm, and style but you will never actually acquire the skill unless you brave the dance floor. The easiest and most effective way to learn to dance salsa is to practice.

You have to start from the very beginning which is mastering the basic steps and then move on to dancing with music and costumes as well.

Learn to Dance Salsa Online Not everyone has the time to commit to a full time dance program which means that you have to look for ways to learn salsa such as taking online lessons. There are instructional videos and manuals that you can find on the internet which will further your knowledge on the art of dancing salsa.

The best part about having instructional materials from online resources is that you can go over them repeatedly until such time that you get the right movements down.

Salsa with a Great Partner Like most ballroom dances, salsa needs to be performed with a seasoned partner. If you are a beginner trying to learn the basics, you will need a strong lead in order for you to see how it is really done. You would benefit greatly from having a competent dance partner and even more so, a great dance coach who will not only teach you but also critique your moves.