The Circulatory System
As you dance, your breathing quickens and as a result, your arterioles (blood vessels) dilate which then causes your heart rate to increase. Your resting heart rate is usually somewhere around 70 beats/min. Your maximum heart rate is estimated roughly at 220 - your age. The more you exercise your heart, the lower your steady-state heart rate will be (the point at which your heart rate plateaus). Dancers generally have a lower steady-state heart rate, as they will need to condition their bodies to be able to dance for long periods at a time. During centre exercises such as sautes and across the floor exercises, the body is having to continually start and stop. If your class is fast paced and not too big, this is ideal, as your body will not have a chance to rest as long and you will be exercising your heart for a longer time. Since your body needs rich, oxygenated blood and nutrients to survive and function properly, and the amount of blow flow to the body dramatically increases from 20% at rest, to around 85% during exercise, it goes without saying that the more exercise we get, the more efficiently your body will function.
For more information about the circulatory system (and a pretty fantastic song to create a dance to) check out this video!
For more information about the circulatory system (and a pretty fantastic song to create a dance to) check out this video!