West Philly YMCA offers fitness and fun with Soul Line dancing

 Alina Patterson, Darlene Booker-Jones, Tracey Abney

April 23,2010 thru May 02,2010 was designated as National Dance week. People that like to dance don't often think of it as a form of exercise and fitness, but done on a regular basis, it is a great way to lose excess weight, exercise with friends, and get in shape.

Wikipedia defines line dancing in general, to be a repeated sequence of choreographed steps, in which a group of people dance in one or more lines, or rows, all facing the same direction and executing the same dance steps, at the same time, without coming in contact with each other.

Philadelphians have defined their own niche in line dancing called Soul Line dancing. Soul Line dancing is a set of structured, choreographed dance routines, using repetitive dance steps, and freestyle ad-lib movements performed to various music selections such as: R&B, Contemporary jazz, Hip-hop, Funk, Philly Soul, Old School, and Disco beats.

Doesn't this sound like a great way to shed extra pounds, and lose those "love handles"? Well, if it does, stop by the West Philadelphia YMCA, at 52nd & Chestnut Streets in West Philly, on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm - 8:00pm. For the past five years, a Soul Line dance class has been movin', groovin', jammin', and helping 'Y' members to lose weight, get fit and have some fun all at the same time.

Soul Line dance instructor Tracey Abney has been teaching Soul Line routines since 1983, and co-instructors Darlene Booker-Jones and Alina Patterson have been involved since 1999. These ladies know their steps and can teach you how to strut your stuff. The motto for their class is: Mentally Stimulating, Physically Motivating. According to Abney, the dynamic trio's belief is, "line dance stimulates your mind by remembering the steps/routines, and the music motivates you to move".

Losing weight and getting fit can't get any easier than that. Worried that you can't dance, don't know how to line dance, or afraid of looking dumb? Not a problem. Abney, Booker-Jones, and Patterson welcome all levels to their classes. They work separately with beginners and more experienced dancers when necessary, to make sure everyone is getting full benefit from the dance workout.

Each class starts off with a low-impact warm up, that incorporates lessons and steps that will be used later in the session. All ninety minutes, include a warm up, medium-impact cardio dancing and a high-impact faster moving dance sequence.

Abney says, "There is something for everyone, no matter what your dance or exercise level. Most times we (the dance instructors) have more than one group going, we go step-by-step so beginners, intermediates and experienced line dancers get the full benefit of learning the dance routines, working off the weight, having fun and getting fit."

Mentally Stimulating, Physically Motivating. Check out this Soul Line dancing class at the West Philadelphia YMCA. Classes are free for YMCA members. Non-members interested in the class should inquire at the Y's front desk, or call 215-476-1361.

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