Far beyond the choreographies that go viral on social media, Fit Dance transforms music hits into a physical activity capable of improving conditioning, coordination and caloric expenditure in a fun way. It was exactly this experience that I had during a special class promoted by Nescau, led by professor Allan Ramirez, one of the main names in the sport.
Created in Brazil, Fit Dance mixes different dance styles in choreography designed to be accessible even for those who have never danced. The movements are built progressively, with a lot of repetition, facilitating learning and encouraging students to remain in movement throughout the class.
The proposal is simple: transform exercise into a fun experience, where the focus is not on perfecting the steps, but on enjoying the music and keeping the body active.
Benefits of Fit Dance for the body
Like other types of dance, Fit Dance is an aerobic activity that contributes to cardiovascular fitness and calorie expenditure.
Furthermore, the practice improves motor coordination, rhythm, balance and body awareness. As choreography requires displacements, changes of direction and simultaneous movements between arms and legs, the entire body participates in the activity.
Another benefit is muscle strengthening, especially in the legs, glutes and core, which are constantly activated during the sequences.
But perhaps the biggest difference lies in adherence to the practice. By turning training into a moment of leisure, many people are able to maintain an exercise routine more easily.
“For me, the biggest motivator is people’s smiles. Seeing everyone happy when they hear a song they know and like”, commented Allan Ramírez, in an interview with Good Form during the Clan House.
How was the class in practice?
The class started with a quick warm-up to prepare the body before the choreography. Then, the teacher began teaching the first movements of Now or nevernew release by Pedro Sampaio and Ana Castela.
One of the things that caught my attention the most was the way the choreography is constructed. Instead of teaching an entire sequence at once, Allan broke the dance into small blocks, repeating the movements a few times before adding new steps.
This repetition makes all the difference. The movements usually occur on both sides of the body and appear more than once throughout the song. Little by little, without realizing it, I was already dancing entire sections of the choreography.
The Fit Dance proposal also helps a lot with this. The choreographies are designed to accompany songs that are already part of people’s daily lives and, therefore, end up being more intuitive. You recognize the music, get into the rhythm naturally and, when you realize it, you’re more concerned about enjoying the class than remembering what the next step is.
The environment also contributes greatly to this experience. The class’s energy was high from beginning to end, and Allan himself encouraged everyone to leave their shame aside. On several occasions, he remembered that the most important thing was not to execute each movement perfectly, but to have fun while dancing.
This ends up taking away a weight that many people associate with dance classes.
At the end, participants were divided into groups of five people to present the learned choreography. Despite the butterflies in your stomach from dancing in front of others, the atmosphere was so light that it ended up being one of the most fun parts of the class.
I left with the feeling that Fit Dance manages to do something that not all physical activity does: transform training into a moment of leisure. The class is intense, it makes the body work all the time, but the impression is that the 50 minutes pass much faster because you are focused on the music and choreography, and not on the effort.
