I can’t help it, I just have to talk about my own passion once in a while: dancing. I feel it’s my duty to infected you with the bug to boogie. Anything remotely danceable hooks my feet into action. I’ve tried the alone kind —tap, jazz, and belly — but my heart is in twirling around the dance floor with a partner. Here I’m doing an impromptu waltz with a dance friend while the band played at the farmer’s market. Dancing among the veggies? See what I mean.

Incorporating dance into your life is not a simple tweak. But opening your mind to it is. I make my case: Music of any kind lifts your mood… and eventually your life. Once you start moving your body around the dance floor, calories start to burn and smiles start to happen. I’ve occasionally forced myself go dancing when I really wanted to stay home and nurse a very poopie mood, and I’m always glad I did. That “mood maker” works every time and I leave a different person. Dancing is a great stress releaser , good for your health in so many ways!

I know there’s the intimidation factor. Most women perk up when I talk about dancing, but wouldn’t think of going without the security of a partner. Showing up alone or asking someone to dance seems foreign at first, but like any new habit, it just takes getting used to. Times have changed and asking is reciprocal. Men have a different barrier; they’re afraid of looking foolish. They don’t want to dance unless they know how to dance, but that doesn’t make sense. How are they going to learn without lessons? We all have to start somewhere, and in a beginning class nobody knows what the heck they’re doing. Laughing is a requirement.

The hardest part is taking the first step, showing up. Just a few lessons takes the fear away so you can join in the fun that everyone else is having. You don’t need a partner, and you get to know other dancers so you have someone swing with when an actual dance rolls around. Waltz, Swing, Salsa, ChaCha, Foxtrot, Two Step… it’s all great fun, and easier than you think. My dance instructor says it best, “If you can walk, you can dance.”