Dance Your Way To A Healthier Life

MIAMI (CBS4) – Several times a week more than a dozen baby boomers hit the dance floor at The Bijoux Dance Center in South West Miami-Dade to tango, rumba and cha-cha-chá the stress of the their lives away.

"This is my life," said Teresa Armand, a breast cancer survivor who has been dancing for six years. "I got diagnosed three years ago and when the doctor told me he said 'You must have a million questions' and I said 'No, just one, when can I get back to dancing'."

Armand is just one of many dance lovers who swing and sway for better physical and mental health.

"I don't like to exercise at the gym, so coming here is my workout, it has saved me," said Armand.

Ballroom dancing can be a great cardiovascular exercise, according to June Rawls, the owner of the Bijoux Dance Studio.

"You get on a treadmill for one hour and Latin dancing for one hour, the benefits are the same. You burn calories and feel the endorphins going through your body," said Rawls who has owned studio for the last couple of years.

Rawls told CBS4's Marybel Rodriguez that not only is ballroom dancing beneficial to your body physically; it's also great for the mind.

"You leave the stress outside, you are in another world once you step inside," said Rawls.

Rawls also points to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2003 which found dancing might reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

"You have to memorize steps and that keeps your mind working," said Rawls.

Rawls said for those interested, it's never too late start. Every Tuesday at 8 p.m., she runs the baby boomer ballroom dance class at her studio at 4150 SW 70th Court. For more information call (305) 667-5359.