Heart rates of elementary physical education students during the dancing classrooms program

We examined how different types of dance activities, along with their duration, influenced heart rate responses among fifth-grade physical education students (N = 96) who participated in the Dancing Classrooms program. Results indicated that the overall Dancing Classrooms program elicits a moderate cardiovascular heart rate response (M = 124.4 bpm), in which 47% of class time was spent above a 60% maximal heart rate threshold. The swing dance in particular (M = 143.4 bpm) stimulated a much higher heart rate level than all other dances in the program, with a mean heart rate change of 52.6 bpm. Girls (127.3 bpm) achieved marginally higher heart rates (p = .059) than boys (121.1 bpm).