Dance, Dance, Dance Dance is closer to strength training than I thought…! I realized that when I joined a dance lesson held in Nishiokoppe Village. The instructor who taught us was Toshimasa Miya, a teacher at EOS DANCE STUDIO in Asahikawa City. This was the second time Miya came to Nishiokoppe Village. I couldn’t attend the first lesson, but when I heard a second session would be held, I went to loosen my exercise-starved body. As soon as the lesson began, music started playing. I was surprised and thought, “Are we already dancing?” but we began with stretches set to the music. It seems they teach you to get into the habit of moving to the rhythm from the stretching stage. They say dance isn’t about moving your body as fast or as much as possible; what matters is moving to the rhythm. They also explained that if you get better at moving specific parts of your body, you can express more delicate whole-body movements in dance. The smaller the movements, the more your muscles and mind work. To keep your center steady while making various motions, you also need to strengthen your core. Not being a regular dancer, I moved my arms and legs with all my might and ended up soaked in sweat. It’s hard to move smoothly like the teacher or snap into sharp motions at times, but when you move your body fully and use your limbs the way you imagined, it feels great. While learning dance basics, people from elementary school age to adults enjoyed trying out dance. A dance lesson is scheduled again after the New Year. If you’ve been waiting for a chance to get moving, or if you want to feel soothed watching people move joyfully, come and join the next lesson. #Nishiokoppe Village #Hokkaido #dance #dance lesson #EOS DANCE STUDIO #Asahikawa #winter #exercise