How does the art of dancing develop a person physically spiritually mentally and emotionally?

Answer

Any physical activity or discipline that elevates physical movement to the level of "art" is going to be very difficult to excel at. Assuming a person is serious in their approach, disciplined in their training and are instructed by a very high level teacher the amount of time and energy that must be devoted to such a goal requires many things from the practitioner. For the sake of this question I assume that dance refers to classical ballet training and performance.
First they must be disciplined since they will have to attend daily workouts/practices/classes, even when they don't really feel like it,or they are tired, etc. That requires dedication and lots of self-discipline.
If they are physically talented and capable of reaching this level, then the consistent prepration and training has short and long-term effects on the body. mind and spirit.
Physically they will become very strong, balanced and highly coordinated in order to make very difficult moves in the air and on the ground look easy to the uninitiated observer and expert like. No easy task. The flexibility required of dancers is approaches the absurd.
This level of physical preparation rivals that of an international level gymnast. Their body awareness and spatial awareness will also approach that level, minus the saltos of course. The amount of training it takes to create poise and grace in movement is monumental even for talented individuals.
All this physical training has other effects. From consistent high-level sessions the body and mind often learn to operate as one. The experience of being in the zone is relavent in this context. Such athletes, and they are athletes are usually perfectionistic but also tend to be much relaxed physically and emotionally, since the two are interrelated. Mental relaxation can result from becoming physically relaxed and the reverse is also true. A relaxed state of mind is important for mental health. Relaxed individuals are better able to deal effectively with stressful situations than type A individuals and this contributes to a well adjusted outlook.
The health of such a high level dancer would be well above average, which is another contributing factor to mental and emotoional well-being.
Dance can become a life-style and the rewards of this type of pursuit are proportionate to the demands.
Spirituality on the other hand is another issue. If an individual is spiritual to begin with then this life-style will lend itself to the sort of outlook that reinforces one's spiritual belief system. All in all, dance has much to offer in the way of benefits for the person whose performance level approaches being interpreted as artistic. Artistic gymnasts have to be incredible athletes in order to elevate a perforance to an artistic interpretation. The physical and mental self-control that one gains alone would make it a worthwhile pursuit.

First answer by JohnBoyW. Last edit by JohnBoyW. Contributor trust: 57 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 19 [recommend question]