Who are Michelle and James Elders?

Formal qualifications in Sports Psychology, Physical Fitness and Training and Biomechanics, combined with Members, Fellows and Licentiate Degrees in Ballroom, Latin American, New Vogue, American Smooth and Latin Rhythm, plus, Salsa and Argentine Tango and over 45 years combined experience in dance tuition, allows us to teach and coach in a manner that enables our students to feel comfortable with their dancing and to find and develop their own styling and individuality.

-          Members of the Australian Institute of Dancing (AID)

-          Licenced Adjudicator and Examiner                            

-          Accredited DanceSport Coach

Dance Qualifications:

-           Australian Institute of Dancing (AID)

-           United States Imperial Society Teachers of Dance (USISTD)

-           World Professional Dance Masters Association (WPDMA)

-      DanceSport Australia (DSA)

DanceSport:

One of the most exciting and vibrant sports today for the young and young at heart. Competition ranges from the age of six to 70, and this is one sport you can enjoy as a married couple if you wish.

We can provide dance training, coaching and choreography in Ballroom, Latin American and New Vogue for the competitive dancer.

School Classes:

We run programs at a number of schools in the Perth metropolitan area and specialize in teaching young people a variety of dances that may be used and enjoyed at school and at various social functions.

Medalist Examinations:

Private lessons are taken at the Imperial Ballroom in Joondalup WA for those wishing to improve their technical knowledge through the AID Medalist system.

Why Dance?

You burn calories.

15 minutes of fast Latin American ballroom dancing (cha-cha, jive, samba, etc) burns an average of 104 calories. In comparison, running at 5 mph over the same time burns an average of 159 calories, cycling at a leisurely pace burns about 74 and sex burns 79.

You’ll get plenty of cardiovascular exercise. 

Dancing, depending on the tempo and the amount of work you put into it, can raise the heartbeat from 80 to 120 (sometimes even more) beats per minute.

A dance usually lasts about 3-4 minutes and if you “dance one, miss one” over a 45 minute period, these “bursts” will help build both your heart’s strength and endurance.

In fact, the exertion and breathing rates of dancers performing just one high energy dance is, according to The British Dance Council, the same as an Olympic 800 metre runner over a similar period.

Competition dancers who enter a ten dance championship can find themselves repeating this performance up to thirty times so you can imagine the sort of stamina that’s needed for serious competition dancing.

Your muscles will be toned.

Dancing is a wonderful way to improve muscle tone, especially for women, as the mix of isometric (muscle contractions against resistance where the length of muscles remain the same) and isotonic resistance (muscular contraction which the muscle remains under relatively constant tension while its length changes) are perfect for toning without building up muscle mass.

Your bones with become stronger.

Dancing is a weight bearing exercise and as such, will help strengthen your weight bearing bones (tibia, fibula and femur).

This can help prevent, or at least slow down, the loss of bone mass (osteoporosis).

Unlike high impact exercise, such as jogging, running and high impact aerobics, there’s little risk of injury involved in dancing.

You’ll have healthier joints.

According to the American Journal of Medicine, the best way to avoid arthritis or remedy joint discomfort is to use the joints in a controlled manner through regular exercise.

The rotating motions of dance help spread synovial fluid to the connective tissue and joints, which goes a long way towards keeping them healthy.

You don’t even need to do strenuous forms of dance to enjoy these benefits; a slow waltz, when performed properly, is a splendid way of maintaining healthy joints.

You feel better.

Dancing releases endorphins, which are mood enhancers.

Whenever you see dancers returning from the dance floor, they’re almost always smiling.

Humans are, by and large, social creatures. Dancing is a social activity that can help contribute towards improved self-esteem and a more positive outlook on life.

Unlike many forms of exercise, dance doesn’t consist of continuous, repetitive movement.

You’ll need to use your mind to concentrate on steps/movement.

Exercising the mind is good for you, and makes you feel more capable of tackling those everyday mundane duties.

Obviously, the more “strict” the dance is, the more you’ll need to concentrate, but even freestyle dancing demands a certain amount of concentration.

Dancing can bring couples closer together through the intense concentration on their own and their partner’s body movements.

When you’re on that dance floor and you can see that impressed look on the faces of onlookers, it gives you a huge buzz that does wonders for self-confidence.

Although dancing is a very natural form of exercise, as with all exercise, there is some risk involved, depending on the amount of ‘oomph’ you put into it.

If you have heart disease or other serious medical conditions that you believe may be affected by this type of exercise, consult your GP before taking up dance as a new activity…otherwise, keep the following points in mind;

1. Warm up:

Spend a few minutes stretching before you start to dance. Do a few easy dance steps to prepare your muscles for the activity ahead.

2. Ease in gently:

To avoid straining a muscle, begin with a dance that isn’t too demanding – nice easy rhythms, and build up to the more strenuous, faster tempos.

3. Know your own limits:

If you feel tired or short of breath, take a break and sit out the next number or two. Dancing the night away doesn’t have to mean dancing ALL night.

Although some people will argue that they have two left feet, this isn’t entirely true. We all have natural rhythm in our bodies that’s waiting to be released. We won’t all make professional standards, but, does the fact that you’re not a Formula 1 racing driver stop you from using your car?

People of any age or ability can enjoy dancing.