Dancing is a great way to get your heart rate up, get rid of extra body fat, and build lean muscle. Because people enjoy doing it the likelihood of adherence is high, which is one of the most important predictors in any given exercise routines ability to help you get fit and stay fit.

     This form of a workout uses a wide variety of motions to engage multiple muscle groups in a dynamic way that uses a significant amount of calories. The exact number burned depends largely on what style you’re doing.

     There are so many different kinds of dance; to name a few of the better known, there is hip hop, salsa, ballet, swing, ballroom, belly dancing, tap, break dancing, folk, Zumba, country or Western, pole dancing, or even something like moshing. Say what you want about them, but they all count as some form of dance, and they all count as a workout.

     Here’s a breakdown of approximate expenditure for each type; all estimation ranges are calculated for individuals weighing between 120-190 lbs. Actual figures will fluctuate according to variables such as weight, muscle mass, gender, and intensity or effort put forth.

Dancing calories burned per hour

Hip Hop – Hip hop involves large movements of the entire body, which places it high on the expenditure scale. It also often involves freestyling, meaning that muscle groups are kept guessing and are less likely to stop responding to the exercise or hit a plateau. In 60 minutes, hip hop will use between 370 (for people of lighter bodyweights) to 610 (for those weighing 180 and up) calories.

Calories burned Salsa dancing – Roughly 405 per 60 minutes for someone weighing 140, or around 480 for a 180 lb person.

Ballet – We estimate that there are 380 to 450 ballet calories burnt per hour. As an added bonus, this form of dance tends to be associated with great posture, a strong core, increased flexibility and very strong legs. It is known for building that long and lean look that women so often strive for, but make no mistake; ballet requires a great deal of strength. For example, pro football players have been known to use ballet training to improve their performances.

Swing – Hurling around your own bodyweight (and possibly your partner’s too) in this moderate to intense cardio workout burns between 300 and 550 cals. Depending on how high impact your style is and how much intensive maneuvering you do of your partner, it could very easily expend even more.

How many calories does ballroom dancing burn? – Slower paced styles will expend between 150 and 220, while quicker types will range between 250 and 320 per hour.

Belly dancing calories burned – Roughly 270-320 for less intense versions, and between 290 and 360 for faster & higher intensity styles.

Tap – This ends up being a full body cardio workout but the legs do the bulk of the work. This one has a high amount of variance in expenditure estimations; between 200 and 700 depending on pace, steps per hour, and the amount of effort required for the moves.

How many calories does break dancing burn? – This kind of dancing can require a great deal of strength and agility, as some of the moves require impressive poses holding one’s own bodyweight. We estimate that break dancing burns 400-650 cals per hour.

Folk – For slower types; 250-330 calories, for faster paced styles, between 310 and 420.

Zumba – Get the rundown on Zumba calories here

Country or Western – Again, the amount of effort put forth and the speed and difficulty of the movements will make a big difference, but generally speaking, this type of workout will use up between 290 and 420 calories.

Pole dancing calories burned – Along with building strength, you can burn between 250 and 350 while partaking in this popular workout trend.

Moshing – This style arguably might require the least amount of skill, but it uses a ton of energy; there are between 400-750 calories burned moshing, potentially.

     Remember, all of these figures are estimates that are influenced by an extensive variety of complex factors.