Dance is an activity which can take many forms and fill many different needs.

It can be recreation,
entertainment, education, therapy, and religion. In its purest and most basic form, dance is art, the
art of body movement. Dance can also be considered recreational activity that can develop our
physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Dance teaches the importance of movement and
fitness in a variety of ways through a variety of disciplines. As well, dancers learn to coordinate
muscles to move through proper positions. Dancing is a great activity to pursue at almost any age
provided you are in proper health to handle the rigors of dancing for life. Health-related fitness
assessment helps make the link between physical activity and fitness. In this Module, we will
discuss the true meaning of dance from different perspective as well as learn the history of dance to
fully understand its significance to a person. Self-assessment of health-related fitness (HRF) status
will be conducted in order to determine barriers to participation in dance-related activities. At the end
of this module, you will set fitness goals based on training principles and consider dancing to be one
of your recreational activities, combining it with healthy habits to sustain lifelong fitness. Your
involvement in each part of the fitness assessment will give you multiple opportunities to learn self-
assessment procedure. The module is divided into three lessons, namely: • Lesson 1 – Dances from
the Past • Lesson 2 – Dancing toward the 21st Century • Lesson 3 – Health-Related Fitness and FITT
Principles After going through this module, you are expected to: 1. discuss the true meaning of
dance from different perspective; 2. self-assess health-related fitness (HRF) status, barriers to
physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet; and 3. set FITT goals based on training
principles to achieve and/or maintain HRF.