Spanish Language and Spanish Dance

Although it may be difficult to see how learning a Spanish dance style would help you to improve your Spanish, it is possible! Dance in Spain is the closest thing to being a national art of Spain, as there are so many different styles of dance. What better way to immerse yourself in some Spanish culture!

Spanish Dance and the Spanish Language

There are many Spanish dance schools across the globe, although of course, the best ones are to be found in Spain and Latin America. You can also find Spanish dance DVDs online or even online tutoring which is a great way to get your Spanish culture fix when you are not in a Spanish speaking country. With a greater competence in Spanish, you will be able to access many more resources including those in the Spanish language, and as a result your dancing skills will improve as well.

How Can Spanish Dance Help Me?

Dance is an extremely good way to keep fit. It depends on the dance, but the majority of Spanish dances are energetic and require the use of all your muscles. Perhaps interspersing your dance classes with Spanish language courses or sightseeing would be a good balance!

Attending Spanish dance classes is also very sociable and will help you to meet a great deal of new friends. If you travel to Spain in order to study Spanish dance, then you are guaranteed to meet some new friends who are native Spanish speakers who will be excellent help for you to improve your Spanish speaking and listening skills.

How Can Spanish Dance Help My Spanish?

Firstly, taking up some Spanish dance classes in any part of the world will introduce you to the Spanish culture and some of the Spanish vocabulary. Many dance steps from Spanish dances don't have any translation into English. Practising saying these words will also help you to improve your Spanish pronunciation.

The music you dance to will also tend to be Spanish, and as many of the Spanish dances are often accompanied by a singer or a song, this will be great for your listening skills. To really fully understand the true sentiments behind such powerful and soulful songs as are used to accompany the Flamenco dance, it is necessary to understand the words in Spanish.

However, the best way to learn a Spanish dance is in the place of origin of the dance - Spain! In Spain you can find many dance schools that offer classes in a variety of Spanish dance styles. Yet if you want to learn Spanish in Spain at the same time as learning to dance, you could always enrol in a Spanish school that offers dance classes alongside Spanish lessons.

Dance is an extremely sociable activity and a good way to practise your Spanish speaking skills. In Spanish dance courses such as this, you will find like-minded people with whom you can chat in Spanish. Furthermore, when you are dancing together, it is vital that you understand the instructions from your teacher and are able to communicate with your partner or other dancers.

You could do a tour of the great cities of Spanish dance in order to experience the dances firsthand. For example, you could visit Seville in order to see the birthplace of the Sevillanas, the region of Aragón to see the homeland of the Jota, or Barcelona to go and join in with a Sardana.

Of course, the best way to improve your Spanish is actually going to live in Spain or another Spanish speaking country in Latin America, and studying the Spanish language with native speakers. You could take a Spanish course, spend time in a Spanish summer camp or even work abroad. Yet, taking a Spanish dance class is most definitely a good place to start, especially if you want to meet native Spanish speakers with whom to practise your Spanish.