Printed on: March 6th, 2025

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Dance for health

Dance for health

From the rhythmic movements of ancient tribes to the vibrant expressions of modern communities, dance is deeply ingrained in human culture. Today, this age-old practice is being reimagined as a powerful tool for improving health and wellbeing. Let’s Dance! is a new initiative, backed by Angela Rippon, the UK’s Chief Medical Officers and leading dance organisations, aiming to integrate dance into healthcare to promote healthier, happier lives.

• Wide-ranging benefits: dance improves cardiovascular fitness, mental health, cognitive function and social connections, while addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and depression.
• Decline in dance participation: only 2% of UK adults report dancing regularly, and participation drops significantly with age, highlighting a need for targeted promotion (Sport England Active Lives 2023).
• Economic impact: programmes such as Dance to Health reduce fall risks, potentially saving the NHS £158 million annually (Public health 2021;198:17).
• Call to action: The Let’s Dance! campaign encourages healthcare professionals to promote dance, host events and refer patients to dance activities to harness its transformative health benefits.

This article was written in January 2025.

Well, the list is long! From ballet to belly dancing, Morris to nightclub dancing (which, for me, is a form of awkward swaying): it is the rhythmical movement of our body, or at least an attempt at it!

Dance movement therapy is a formally regulated activity by the UK Council of Psychotherapy, and is a psychotherapeutic technique that uses movement to improve a person's emotional, social, cognitive and physical health.

Unlike many physical activities, dance taps into creativity, coordination and joy, engaging almost all brain areas, while fostering social cohesion. It is inclusive, accessible and cost-effective, making it ideal for diverse populations.

But, despite this (Sport England Active Lives 2023):

• Only 2% of UK adults reported dancing ≥2 times in the past month (3% of women, 0.7% of men).
• Uptake of dancing has declined over the past 2 decades.
• Uptake is higher among young people, but this drops off significantly into adulthood.
• There has been a 50% drop in GCSE/A-level dance qualifications since 2008.
• 30% of adults currently do not meet the Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines. Dancing is fun, liberating and exciting – offering a more accessible and motivating way to support those who struggle to engage with traditional forms of exercise.

• Dance enhances cardiovascular fitness, musculoskeletal strength and balance.
• Programmes such as Dance to Health reduce fall risks significantly (58%), with estimated NHS savings of £158 million annually (Public health 2021;198:17 Aesop. 2020 Dance to health: Phase 1 roll-out ‘test and learn’ evaluation report).
• The same study found that:
  • Participants showed significant improvement in the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, with average times reducing by 16% (2.08 seconds) after 26 weeks, and by 20% (2.40 seconds) after a further 30-week maintenance phase.
  • Taking >12 seconds to complete the TUG test indicates impaired mobility and an increased risk of falls, and a reduction in time taken indicates an improvement in mobility. We have included details on how to complete a TUG test in our article Frailty annual review: the comprehensive geriatric assessment.
  • There was a statistically significant reduction in participants’ fear of falling by the end of the initial phase of the Dance for Health programme (measured on the Short Falls Efficacy Scale International).
  • 96% of participants reported they felt more physically active during the programme, and had improved mental wellbeing.
  • The Patient Activation Measure (PAM, a standardised measurement of patient knowledge and capability in managing their own health, used across NHS England) improved, indicating that patients felt more confidence in taking care of their wellbeing after participating in the programme.

• Dance reduces depression and anxiety across all age groups (Front. Psychol. 2019;10:936).
• A 30-minute dance session significantly reduced symptoms of severe depression in one hospital study (Arts Psychother. 2007;43:340).
• Adolescents in an online hip-hop programme during the pandemic reported improved wellbeing and optimism (Front. Public Health 2024;12:1431062).

• Dance promotes cognitive function and brain health by combining movement with creativity, coordination and social interaction.
• Regular dance increases hippocampal size, enhances memory and strengthens executive function (Front. Ageing Neurosci. 2022;14:771413).

Work done by the Campaign to End Loneliness found that:

• Dance combats isolation, fostering a sense of community and belonging.
• Older adults in community dance sessions often form lasting social bonds.
• Programmes such as Conscious Clubbing provide young people with inclusive, substance-free social opportunities (Qual. Health Res. 2022;32:1721).

Music and dance are intertwined:

• There is a natural desire to move in response to rhythmic music, making dancing more engaging than traditional exercise.
• Fun and creativity, often overlooked in health interventions, play a crucial role in fostering participation and sustained engagement.
• Music is often designed to promote dance. One way this is done is by creating short gaps or weaker beats, which encourage participants to ‘fill in the gaps’ through movement, deepening engagement (Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023:150:105197).

Dance can be a fantastic way to support many of our patients. Social prescribing dance initiatives are present, but patchy. The National Academy of Social Prescribing (NASP) lists a number of successful examples, but here are some specific ones:

• Dance Network Association: runs a ‘dance on prescription’ initiative to promote health through community dance.
• Dance to Health: reduces falls and enhances wellbeing.
• Central Basildon Primary Care Network – dance on prescription.
• Care to Dance: aims to improve the wellbeing of care-experienced young people through dance, and to build inclusive communities where they feel safe, supported and can express themselves freely.

“Dance is a medium to enable young people to heal and release emotion through movement when it’s too difficult to communicate verbally. To express themselves freely without fear of judgement, and to be accepted exactly as they are. Dance can build inclusive communities that provide a sense of belonging, make them feel safe and develop their mental resilience. A space where they can feel joy, laugh and be amongst friends they trust and who have been through similar experiences to them.” Beth Vecchione CEO and founder, Care to Dance.

"When I dance, it makes me forget everything – it’s like a new world where I can just be free and no one can judge me.” Care to Dance service user.

Some medical school training programmes now include training on arts-based prescriptions, encouraging future healthcare professionals to integrate dance into patient care (Arts Enterprise and Social Purpose: accessed January 2025).

The Let's Dance! campaign, led by Angela Rippon CBE, is a nationwide initiative scheduled for 2 March 2025, aiming to promote the physical and mental health benefits of dance across the UK.

• Raise awareness of dance's benefits for mental and physical health.
• Facilitate access to dance activities for all fitness levels, ages and experiences.
• Foster social connections through dance.

• Host dance events to engage new participants.
  • In my primary care network, we have recently launched a dance group for our Parkinson’s patients and their carers. Our local community centre has provided the space, and we received funding from our active partnership and local council.  
• Collaborate with dance instructors to offer sessions for our patients.
  • The RCGP active practice charter encourages practices and networks/clusters to collaborate with local physical activity providers. Let’s Dance can be your way to achieve this status.
• Signpost or refer patients to local groups.
  • Do you know what is on offer locally? If not, consider who is well placed to find out – your social prescriber or your regional active partnership?
• Promote the campaign within your community.
• Let’s Dance has a communications guide with promotional materials to share with your patients.

Considering the growing body of evidence supporting the physical, mental and social health benefits of dancing, it's time for healthcare professionals to embrace its potential as an empowering tool for patient wellbeing. By recommending dance as a form of physical activity, you can help patients find joy, improve fitness and build meaningful connections—all of which contribute to better health outcomes. Let’s step up and integrate dancing into our conversations about health, empowering patients to move, thrive and lead healthier lives.

“Dance is as much a physical activity as an emotional activity. It makes me feel very mindful as I concentrate not only on moving my body but on expressing myself and my creativity through movement, rhythm and music.” Ana Sanchez, dancer.

But, just as importantly, let’s dance ourselves!

	Dance for health Dance as health: the Let's Dance initiative, backed by Angela Rippon and leading organisations, aims to integrate dance into healthcare to promote happier, healthier lives. Wide-ranging benefits: dance improves cardiovascular fitness, mental health, cognitive function and social connections, while addressing conditions such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and depression. Decline in dance participation: only 2% of UK adults report dancing regularly, and participation drops significantly with age, highlighting a need for targeted promotion. Economic impact: programmes such as Dance to Health reduce fall risks, potentially saving the NHS £158 million annually. Call to action: the Let’s Dance! campaign encourages healthcare professionals to promote dance, host events and refer patients to dance activities to harness its transformative health benefits.
	Are you aware of what is on offer locally to support patients with long-term conditions? Consider reaching out to your regional active partnership or social prescribers to help map this. How can you support the Let’s Dance campaign to get your patients grooving?
	Useful resources: Websites (all resources are hyperlinked for ease of use in Red Whale Knowledge) Age UK - physical activity locator (including dance) Dancing case studies: National Academy of Social Prescribers – mood boosting dance class Central Basildon Primary Care Network – Dance on Prescription Active Norfolk – Dance for Health We are Undefeatable - dancing Economic impact: Sheffield Hallam University - cost-effectiveness evaluation of Dance to Health Let’s Dance - communication toolkit