Ballroom/social dance is a fun lifelong activity that should be a part of any quality physical education program. The benefits of including dance in your curriculum are many. The complexity of the movements involved in dance, coupled with the potential for moderate to high intensity cardio make this an exceptionally well suited activity for growing brain cells and improving learning and academic performance (for more information check out SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John Ratey).

Some dance forms teach social skills and etiquette, while others focus on learning about different cultures. Social and ballroom dance also teach the skills that are useful in real life "events" such as weddings, birthdays, and other social gatherings. And besides being fun, dance is a part of our national and most states' standards for physical education.

Physical education  teachers are not expected to be professional dancers, nor will their students be. Teachers, however, should not be afraid to try teaching social dance, even if their skills are a little rusty, or they do not know how to follow the exact syllabus of the major “schools” of dance. Our showcased examples may vary from certain “schools” as well, but our intention is to provide teachers with styles and patters that are easy to teach because want children to learn social dance.