Why Dance Belongs Next to Math

So, Sir Ken Robinson once tweeted: “Why Dance Is as Important as Math in Education.” And people lost it. Someone joked, “Isn’t that going to be one of the shortest lectures ever?” Another said, “Dance is not as important as math.” But Robinson wasn’t dragging math — he was just arguing that dance also deserves a real place in school.

As a dancer, I couldn’t agree more. Dance isn’t just movement — it’s emotion, rhythm, connection. “Dance is part of the pulse of humanity,” Robinson said. It’s how cultures express themselves. And get this: it’s good for your brain, too.

One program, Dancing Classrooms, brings ballroom dance into schools. Kids build confidence, empathy, and teamwork — and in one case, test scores actually went up. A principal said, “There are no ifs, ands, or buts about the program’s impact in the academic lives of our children.”

Still, most schools treat dance and theater like extras. Robinson calls them “second-class citizens.” But why? We don’t teach math to make everyone a mathematician — we teach it to grow problem-solvers. Same with the arts. Dance helps us become more well-rounded, expressive humans.

And honestly? It’s fun. That alone should count for something.

Dive Deeper Here:https://blog.ed.ted.com/2018/04/02/why-dance-is-just-as-important-as-math-in-school/