Dancing is good for general health, weight loss and mental relaxation. Everyone loves to dance, including those people who are blind, deaf, limbless or confined to a wheelchair. Many groups have formed classes to teach these people ballroom dancing, line dancing, jazz ballet and anything else they might want to learn. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Malta Wheelchair Dancesport Association is one such group. Wheelchair dancing has been practiced in some parts of the world since the 1970s, but in Malta it was only introduced in 1999. The group holds classes to teach dance to disabled people using a format very similar to that used to teach to non-disabled people. Classes are open to people who simply want to learn to dance and to those who want to dance competitively. When it comes to competitive dancing there are two groups, Combi (one partner is in a wheelchair, the other is not) or Duo (both parties are in wheelchairs). They learn all the standard ballroom dances and Latin American dances. For those who are only interested in social dancing they offer line and solo dancing courses. Wheelchair dancers use their upper body and arms to perform the same movements in the same way as non-disabled dancers. Also, not unlike non-disabled dancers, some are good and some are not, but they all dance because they love it. Dance lessons have the added benefit of teaching both wheelchair users and their helpers better and better use of the chairs, encouraging them to become more independent. The Gallaudet Dance Company is made up of approximately 15 students, all of whom are deaf or hard of hearing. Gallaudet is the world's only accredited liberal arts university for the deaf. Dancers rely on many things using their vision and sign language to communicate. For years, hearing people believed the theory that deaf people “heard” by feeling vibrations through the floor. While this might work while standing still on a vibration-conducting surface, it wouldn't be very useful when you're moving, jumping, or standing on a concrete floor. Gallaudet dancers practice for hours on end to develop an internal sense of the timing of each dance. This is achieved in part by watching an instructor count the rhythm of the dance. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The instructor will give a mark for each step much in the same way hearing dancers will receive a voice count from their instructor. The work of the deaf and hard of hearing dance students had to remain “in time” with or without music. The most important things for teaching these students to dance are visual counting, high-quality sound systems and the use of sign language. Hundreds of viewers watched in fascination as Heather Mills competed for several weeks on Dancing with the Stars with a prosthetic leg. Not only was it difficult to tell which leg was which most of the time, but he performed some high-difficulty moves that other dancers hadn't even attempted.!