Weight loss, improved physical fitness and stamina, better coordination, improved flexibility, feeling liberated, learning a new discipline, having fun and enjoying yourself. These are just a few of the many benefits associated with dancing. Some of the lesser-known benefits associated with dancing, however, also including socializing, meeting new people, and making new friends.

Since the dawn of time, well, for at least 30,000 years, human beings have been dancing in some form or another, though its exact origins remain shrouded in mystery. While it is believed to have originally been performed for ritualistic purposes, there is also evidence to suggest that it has happy connotations associated with it as well. Historians and anthropologists for example, believe that cavemen would perform primitive dances to celebrate a successful hunt.

Of course, civilization as a whole, has changed enormously since then, and so, it seems, has dance. There’s a fantastic social element to dancing, which is why it’s a great way to meet new people, and make new friends. For those looking to do precisely that, the following should prove very useful.

Here’s a look at the best social dances for meeting new people and making new friends.

Swing

Starting off with one of the most enjoyable, laid back, invigorating dance styles ever created, we have Swing. Now, before we go any further, it’s worth remembering that Swing is a blanket term used to describe a variety of different styles of dance. You have the Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, and West Coast Swing to name but a few.

Though they share many similarities with one another, there are also several key differences. Swing is a great dance for meeting new people and making new friends as it is upbeat, happy, positive, laidback, and not too technical. There’s a great deal of improv associated with Swing, which is why those taking part find it so empowering and invigorating. It also makes it fantastic for beginners and those with little, if any, dance experience.

East Coast Swing is a particularly good starting point, as it features a simple six-step count that is easy to follow and remember. Considered a hybrid of the Foxtrot and Lindy Hop, it features a simple back rock, followed by two sets of triple steps. The turns are basic, with single and double turns, and there isn’t a great deal of footwork or hip movement required. Swing Dancing can also accompany a wide range of different music genres, performed at different tempos.

As Swing is so lively and energetic, it’s a great way to improve your fitness and get some exercise. Because of its simple, laid-back nature however, it’s also a whole lot of fun and is a great way to socialize, meet new people, and make new friends in a relaxed environment.

Salsa

Up next, we have one of the most recognizable and iconic Latin dances in the world today. Salsa.

Salsa is a lively, fiery, passionate, sexy, methodical, fast-paced dance offering up plenty of showmanship, despite being deceptively easy to learn. Basic Salsa for example, features small side steps which are performed on the third and seventh count. There are also small twists and turns, hip movements, and cross body motions for more advanced sessions.

Known for its rhythmic movements, its fiery Latin passion, and its energetic nature, Salsa is fantastic for beginners and experienced dancers alike. Salsa is typically danced to energetic Latin-inspired music. The energetic nature of the music makes the beat very simple to follow. Despite being easy to follow along to, the steps and turns associated with Salsa are flamboyant and extravagant.

Salsa is one of the most invigorating, empowering, and sensual dances ever created. For those looking to meet like-minded individuals who share the same passions and interests as yourselves, Salsa dance classes are fantastic starting points.

Cha Cha

Up next, we have another fiery, passionate, flirtatious dance with Cuban origins. Despite being so popular all over the globe, the Cha Cha is actually one of the newer dance styles we’re going to be exploring today, as it has only been around since the 1950s.

Originating in Cuba, it was discovered by Cuban composer and musician Enrique Jorrin. Jorrin noticed how some of the lesser experienced dancers at the same, struggled with the complex steps and rhythms associated with Mambo. He decided he wanted to find a way to make the dance more accessible, and easier for dancers. He composed slower-paced songs and had his musicians perform it at dance halls. Dancers taking part would improvise their own steps, coming up with a basic triple step in time with the beat. To this day, that triple-step is synonymous with the Cha Cha, also known as the Cha-Cha-Cha.

Because the dance was more accessible, and easy to perform, it became enormously popular across South America, North America, and many parts of Europe.

The dance is usually performed to music set to a 4/4, and a tempo of roughly 30 – 32 beats per minute. It features plenty of Latin passion, and is characterized by heaps of sensual hip movements, which have been dubbed ‘Cuban Motion’. Interestingly, the dance gets its name from the sound that the dancer’s feet would make on the floor during that iconic triple-set.

Although ballroom Cha Cha is very popular, for those looking to perform the dance to socialize, social Cha Cha styles are far more beneficial. This is less refined, more relaxed and playful, and again features more improvisation. It can be danced to a variety of different music styles and genres, including Latin, Jazz, Pop, or Club music.

Hustle

Up next, you may wish to break out your biggest platform heels, throw on your best flares, and polish your disco balls as we’re heading back to the 1970s to discover more about a popular social disco dance style known as Hustle.

Hustle is energetic, fast-paced, lively, and charismatic. It is a dance characterized by 4 x 4 sets of steps consisting of 4 backwards, 4 to the front, 4 to the left, and 4 to the right. It also typically features a now-iconic 8-count movement where dancers point their index fingers up into the air, and gyrate their hips in a side-to-side motion. This has affectionately been dubbed ‘The Travolta’ as it was made famous by John Travolta in the hit 1977 movie ‘Saturday Night Fever’.

Hustle dancing can be performed solo or with a partner, and features thrusting hips, flailing arms, fast turns, and exaggerated footwork. Hustle performed with a partner has more of a Latin theme and feel to it and features footwork danced in 4/4 timing with simple back, forth, and walking steps. It is actually a “spot” dance as partners will remain fixed in one location on the floor, rather than travelling around the dancefloor.

Rumba

Finally, we have another romantic dance which also happens to have originated in Cuba.

Known as the ‘Dance of Love’ the Rumba is slow, romantic, and precise in every sense. It is known for its playful, flirty, sexy style, incorporating continual side-to-side hip movements, which, you may remember from earlier, is known affectionately as ‘Cuban Motion’.

The Rumba has Afro-Caribbean roots and is a perfect mishmash of African and Latin street music and dance. Danced in a 4/4 time signature with a slow-quick-quick step pattern. Rumba is less expressive than the other dances on our list today, and is instead more controlled and methodical. It is also very lower body dominant as the torso remains rigid while the hips and feet do much of the dancing.

For dancers looking to enjoy a more flirtatious experience, or even potentially meet a new romantic partner and find true love, Rumba dance classes are most certainly the way to go