"A recent study by the Albert Einstein Center in the Bronx, NY, found dancing to be the only regular physical activity associated with a significant drop in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.  In the research, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, subjects who danced three or four times a week showed 76% less incidence of dementia than those who only danced once a week or not at all."  Source:
Toronto Globe and Mail, Dec 4, 2003, Page A26

USE IT OR LOSE IT
Dancing and other leisure activities lowered dementia
risk in elderly
by Joe Verghese, M.D. et al

Described as ³the most comprehensive study to examine
the benefits of challenging intellectual activity among
the elderly,² researchers found that participating in
leisure activities that stimulate the mind, such as
playing chess, bridge, or a musical instrument,
significantly lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer¹s
disease or other forms of dementia...
Overall, participants who played board games had a 74%
lower risk of developing dementia, those who played an
instrument had a 69% lower risk, and those who did
crossword puzzles had a 38% lower risk. Although most
physical activities did not reduce dementia risk,
dancing -- which the researchers say ³involved the most
mental effort² -- resulted in a risk reduction of 76%.

See the full story at:
http://www.imakenews.com/ebmsolutions/e_000034156000038435.cfm?x=a1QMNf4,a18fLPwy
For Those Who Dance the Health Benefits are Obivious
I praise the dance, for it frees people from the heaviness of matter and binds the isolated to community. I praise the dance, which demands everything: health and a clear spirit and a buoyant soul. Dance is a transformation of space, of time, of people, who are in constant danger of becoming all brain, will, or feeling. Dancing demands a whole person, one who is firmly anchored in the center of his life, who is not obsessed by lust for people and things  and the demon of isolation in his own ego. Dancing demands a freed person, one who vibrates with the equipoise of all his powers. I praise the dance. O man, learn to dance, or else the angels in heaven will not know what to do with you.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                  --Saint Augustine (A.D. 354--430)