Alicia Wooding navigates the Vancouver ballroom dancing scene.
Everybody Dance! 4603 Main Street. Small group lessons $13.50/hour. Dance parties $6.50. Private lessons $75/hour.
My first attempt at ballroom dancing was at Everybody Dance! on Main St. I arrived at the studio via the back entrance and was let into a small waiting room with a leather seat. A well dressed middle aged couple sat changing their shoes so I whipped off my Vans and put on my cleaned brogues. Six more people arrived and congregated on the dance floor, lining up men versus women.
I was beginning to think that I could get away with just observing when the instructor Elaine Carson shouted across to me “Are you Alicia? Come and join in” so I did. I took my place at the end of the women’s line opposite a small, lean senior man. As Elaine proceeded to describe the foxtrot step, my gentleman partner took me into the dance position and showed me the moves. He must have known I was a complete novice.
Everyone was very patient with me and other newcomers, I never felt that I was doing it all wrong and they insisted that everyone starts off clumsy. We practised the dance over with different partners; this variety allows you to dance with each of the leaders (males) who each offered their own tips and advice. Even if you attend without a partner, you’ll always have someone to dance with. Elaine sidled around the room giving compliments and suggestions for improvement. I picked up a few tips about good posture that are useful outside of the dance hall.
After the one hour lesson there was a party until midnight. More regulars arrived from other classes. The lights were dimmed and a disco ball lit up the room. I sat at a table on the sideline, planning to spend the night talking to students about their experiences but kept being pulled up to dance. This was a laugh as I didn’t know most of the dances but even though I dance with the grace of a teenage boy, no one made me feel awkward. I even learned a few new moves from experienced dancers. Some of the men I danced with were in their 70s, but they had the same elegance and fluidity of the younger guys. They asked me to dance so politely and thanked me at the end. I felt like I had drifted back in time to when dance halls were regular social haunts.
The people I talked to during the party made the class quite special. There was a range of ages from 17 to 81 and I was informed that a mix of all generations attend the classes regularly. I was surprised how old some people were; they were such an active bunch. A Serbian lady and her husband (who met through tango lessons!) showed me their specialty — the Argentinean tango. The kicks involved were impressive, I can’t bend like that even at 40 years their junior.
Then there was an 81 year old Scottish man, I could have chatted to him all night — and I nearly did. He has been attending for just over a year and decided to start when he lost his wife. His friends told him to start doing something fun and liked the idea of dancing. Now he is hooked and makes time in his busy schedule to attend regularly.
There were some young faces too; Elaine’s two assistants were very lovely 18 year olds. They had been dancing for roughly two years and executed the moves beautifully. I also got a chance to chat with owner and instructor Elaine who performed at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (as well as over 500 other performances). She used to suffer from back problems until she took up dancing and claims that the regular exercise improved her posture and strengthened her back muscles to the point of alleviating the pain. She stressed how good ballroom dancing is for seniors because initially the movements are as easy as walking and you gradually build up the cardio and stretches. “Keeping moving is the key to being healthy”. I’d highly recommend Everybody Dance! for anyone wanting to learn the ballroom moves, meet new people or have a fun night planned once a week to keep fit and healthy. The first class (and party) is free too so there’s nothing to lose.
Mr. Dance Astorino’s Hall 1739 Venables. $10 entrance fee
Both weekly Sunday and Tuesday classes are attended mostly by seniors. The owners are also seniors – Michael is 67 and Elsie is 80. They have owned Mr Dance for 20 years
I attended the Sunday ballroom dancing class. The studio was easy to find as it was directly opposite the bus stop. Inside there was a foyer area to hang coats and pay your $10 entrance fee.
There was a communication breakdown between the person I had contacted about reviewing the studio and the lady on the door — she questioned my motives, saying, “If your story is true then you may go in, if not then I will have to find you for the money.” I said I could sit at the side if that was preferable and she agreed. I wasn’t invited to dance so I set up with my notebook in one of the chairs lining the room. Astorino Hall is a wood-panelled ballroom (though one wall has been substitute for tiles) with eight chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Everybody congregated in the middle of the dance floor then separated into two groups of men and women.
The instructor stood in the middle of the crowd with a headset and directed the groups through the steps for the slow waltz. She was paired with a male partner (I was informed that this was her husband) and demonstrated the dance in full. The leader steps, then the follower’s moves. I began scrawling notes. When I looked up, a snaking line of people were dancing towards me, holding their arms out in support of an invisible partner. After a few practises by themselves, people paired up with a real partner and danced to the instructor chanting “one-two-three-four.”
What I found strange was that “left over” women didn’t pair up with each other with one adopting the lead role — they just danced the steps alone or sat down. For this reason I would recommend taking a partner. After a few corrections for timing and repeating the steps, the music finally came on and people danced more naturally.
I spoke to one of the helpers who was a senior lady and she said that the crowd was usually 40+ with the occasional youth attending for a couple of lessons before moving to another dance hall with more youths. I’d recommend attending if you have a partner and want to learn how to dance in a traditional way.
Like at Everybody Dance! there was a dance party afterwards, but I didn’t stay for that. As I made my exit a senior man stopped me at the door to ask why I was there as I “look like a student” We started talking about how Ballroom dancing has died out in youth culture compared to 50 years ago and he said that girls nowadays should get into dancing because “they certainly can’t cook or clean.”
Vancouver Academy of Ballroom Dance 1125 Howe Street, Suite 280. Four-class series for $45. Drop-in $13/class
The studio shares its space with the Rhodes Wellness College (you buzz that number from outside) but has its own room with a polished floor and sound system. I peeked in, confused by the dual use area, and one of the two students inside shouted “Hi! Come and sit down”. I took a seat nearby and listened in on their conversation about practising steps. Presently instructor Dale Neale danced into the room, flicked on the sound system and started shaking down to Beyoncé. I wrote down the words “relaxed but energetic.”
I had accidentally arrived at the fourthh class out of four sessions on the West Coast swing. Despite this, I was still encouraged to dance. Dale told me to sign the cross and wing it. There were four students at this class and they all danced very naturally and free. It was hard to believe it was a beginner’s class. The steps were too complex for me to pick up that late in the game, so I eventually gave up and sat out. From my spectator point of view I could see how the class was maintained. Even though it was the fourth class, they initially talked through the steps. Then everyone paired up to practice. I noticed that people were always smiling, even when the moves went wrong it was still fun. As the class progressed and everyone relaxed into it, Dale skirted the edges of the dance floor and observed. He helped by dancing with one of the pair, guiding the other through how the dance should flow, step by step. He was very patient and if someone didn’t get how it should be done, he would adjust his way of describing. “You could always do this … but that’s a bit ‘80s,” he would say.
Moves learned included the Sugar Push, The Whip and triple step. The music was more modern than you would expect (Duffy’s Mercy was the main beat). An advantage of pop music is that most people are familiar with the rhythm so it’s easy to pick up the moves. Everyone was slightly flushed but they didn’tlook tired. At the end of the session the lights were dimmed and bluesy music was turned on. The students practised the moves in full swing. When the class was over, Dale took one student’s email address to send her the steps to practise at home. None of the students at this lesson were seniors, but the next session — the Ballroom Mixer — saw the arrival of one senior gentleman. He was a man of few words but did mention that the class was less full than usual and that he had been to four lessons so far and really enjoyed it. Once he had changed his shoes he was soon swaying to the music. The ballroom mixer teaches five traditional ballroom dances over ten weeks and is very popular.
As the mixer began I spoke to the owner who said that their aim was to put the joy back into dance. They’re trying to make dancing fun and to introduce American ballroom to Vancouver. The studio is relatively new (less than a year at the current location) but the instructors are very talented. Dale is three-times Canadian ballroom champion and coaches students to become dance teachers themselves. I was told that each class builds on the previous and steps are groomed to perfection. The dance evolves into a full swinging collection of steps. They also host a “Ballroom Bliss session” one Friday a month. This promises entertainment with professional dance shows and a free beginner lesson to dance the night away. Put on your dancing shoes and head over.
Visit Alicia Wooding at her blog,http://insideoutsidevancouver.blogspot.com/.
