Dance is popular in New Zealand

Dance one of the most popular recreation activities for New Zealanders

The SPARC 2007/08 Active New Zealand Survey has disclosed that dance is the 8th most favored physical activity among New Zealanders. Among those aged 16 and over, 16.8% included dance as one of their sport and recreation activities. Notably, for women, dance ranks fifth, surpassing cycling, jogging/running, and pilates/yoga, with 22.6% of New Zealand women participating in dance. Dance plays a significant role in Maori, Pacific Island, and other migrant cultures, reflecting core cultural values and identity. It is the 6th most popular activity among Maori and Asian communities, 5th among Pacific Islanders, 8th among NZ Europeans, and 7th among Others, primarily Middle-Eastern, Latin American, and African ethnicities. DANZ collaborated with SPARC to incorporate dance in this research and offered guidance on the dance-related questions.

“The fact that 549,112 adult Kiwis dance is a delightful statistic and comes as no surprise to us…” says Tania Kopytko, Executive Director of DANZ, the national organization for dance. “Dance has always been popular in New Zealand. The report shows that we dance across all ages and cultures.”

Dance has seen significant growth recently. New Zealand hosts some of the largest dance festivals in Australasia, such as the Secondary Schools PolyFest, featuring 8,500 performers and attracting 90,000 spectators. Since 2000, there has been a surge in dance events like hip hop competitions and festivals, and dance was introduced to the New Zealand school arts curriculum five years ago. "Dancing with the Stars" is the highest-rated TV program in New Zealand’s history, with around one million viewers tuning in for each season finale.

Dance is also extremely popular among children, who were not part of this study. Over 90,000 students are enrolled in dance classes nationwide. Dance is the fastest-growing subject in senior secondary schools, and NZQA mentions an ‘explosion’ of dance at the NCEA level. Dance clubs, particularly for hip hop and cultural dance, have been established by students in 80% of New Zealand schools.

International research has demonstrated the positive impact of dance on individual well-being. Regular dancing over eight weeks leads to improvements in cardiovascular function and body composition. Dancing at a moderate intensity can lower blood pressure in women. People often forget they are exercising as they get absorbed in the music, rhythm, social setting, and many other aspects of dance. Dance holds importance for health, well-being, artistry, creativity, recreation, therapy, education, and culture.