Ballet v ballroom dancing


Ballet: It may look delicate, but ballet develops long, lean, strong muscles. Achieving positions such as an arabesque (stand on one leg with the other extended behind you and to the side) requires great muscular strength.5 stars

Ballroom dancing: Maintaining the classic ballroom pose - arms high, back slightly arched, neck long, shoulders down - builds strength in the upper body and core. Your legs get a great workout and become toned and strong.4 stars


Ballet: Develops great cardiovascular fitness, especially in combinations that involve jumps, although classes may be a little less upbeat than in ballroom. A 63.5kg (10st) person would burn about 330 calories an hour.4 stars

Ballroom dancing: The quickstep and Latin American samba will get your heart pumping and build fitness faster than a slow waltz. A 63.5kg (10st) person would burn about 380 calories an hour doing faster dances.4 stars


Ballet: Learning ballet as an adult is a tougher challenge than it would be for a flexible six-year-old, but your strength and agility will dramatically improve over time.4 stars

Ballroom dancing: The learning curve in ballroom will be steeper, and you'll be putting steps together to perform complex dances earlier than in ballet.5 stars


Ballet: There aren't many disciplines that develop the same flexibility as ballet. The positions require suppleness in your joints, especially hips, knees and ankles. Emphasis is placed on lengthening the muscles.5 stars

Ballroom dancing: How flexible you become depends on which dances you perform most often, but ballroom will generally develop good flexibility, especially in the hips and legs, and the spine (from back bends).4 stars

Avoiding injury

Ballet: Ballet injuries (sprains, strains and overuse injuries such as tendonitis) are quite common. However, this tends to happen more among professional dancers, rather than among average enthusiasts.3 stars

Ballroom dancing: Injuries - mainly back pain and twisted ankles - tend to occur from bad technique or lack of fitness, so take it slowly at first. Women are more at risk because they typically wear high heels.4 stars
