Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | fall 2005

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DANCING IN RHYTHM

Silhouettes of couples dancing in rhythm to latin music are clearly visible this evening through the large, brightly illuminated windows of the second-floor dance studio. The sound of a spanish flute drifts out into the night. Inside, nine couples dance in a loose circle. they smile as they count softly: cha-cha-cha – two – three, cha-cha-cha – two – three. the
dull thump of feet against the hardwood floor is a steady undertone to the music. laughter sporadically breaks out from corners of the room as couples attempt new steps, and frowns of intense concentration occasionally replace smiles.

Iowa State students and Ames community members dance four nights a week through the ISU Ballroom Dance Club and Ballroom Dance Company, two student organizations on campus. And all across
the country, competitive and social ballroom
dancing is becoming increasingly popular as people discover that dancing is great physical exercise, that learning new steps can be fun and challenging, and
that the social opportunities are practically endless.

“Dancing is super fun,” said Stephanie Kadlicko, a junior biology major who began dancing at the age of 12. “Dancing is a very passionate and beautiful way to express yourself. Ballroom dancing allows you to be beautiful in a completely different way than you usually are. It gives you the opportunity to take part in gallantry – and be the pretty one or the strong one.”

Students and community members can take lessons through either ballroom dance organization. Lessons focus on general dance steps for beginning, intermediate, and advanced dancers.

“Ballroom dancing gives me something different to do,” said Samantha Olson, a senior computer engineering major. “I’m an engineer, so dance gives me a nontechnical hobby. I used to dance when
I was younger, and it fills that void for dancing that I miss. Dancing is a physical activity, but it doesn’t have to be strenuous, and it has social aspects, too. I like meeting all kinds of different people.”

The Ballroom Dance Company’s “cabinet” members and other advanced students assist with lessons, particularly at the beginners’ sessions. This way, beginners receive the attention they need, and
advanced members share their expertise.

“You always know you can better yourself and perfect something,” Kadlicko said. “There’s always something you don’t know. When you practice with better people, you get better. When practicing
with lower-level dancers, you can help them and become more aware of your own dance steps. Focusing on their mistake forces you to improve yourself.”

***

On an evening last spring, 60 people crowd the dance floor for the beginner lesson in the Forker Building, on the east side of campus. Many had joined the company after trying a lesson with a group from their residence hall floor. Some were intrigued after watching “Shall We Dance” and other dance-themed
movies. Several came to lessons hoping to meet someone.

Now the dancers face each other in two lines – women in one, men in the other. Most are casually dressed in sweatpants or jeans and socks. The
strappy dancing heels worn by some of the females single them out as advanced dancers. The instructor for the Ballroom Dance Company, Jennifer Malcolm, walks between the lines of dancers, reviewing
basic swing steps. First she demonstrates the ladies’ part, then the men’s. Then she calls on an advanced male dancer to demonstrate with her how the steps
should look with a partner.

Malcolm flips a switch on the portable sound system, and “Johnny B. Goode” erupts from the speakers. The couples laugh and smile and begin to sweat visibly as they dance around the room. One man checks to see that the windows are open as wide as they can go on this warm April evening.

These beginners have improved considerably since the start of the semester. They are especially confident with this particular swing dance, because they have covered these steps twice before. Everyone is relaxed and eager to try out more complicated moves. Laughter breaks out as a couple misses a step. Malcolm and the advanced dancers
lead the less experienced dancers through the steps, teaching them as they dance. Go, go, go Johnny go!
Go, go, Johnny B. Goode…

“Right now, the most fun for me is helping the younger people – the beginner stuff,” Keith Dahlby, a senior in computer engineering, said during a break between dances. “It’s my fifth time through this lesson, and it’s nice to teach people and get to know people. It’s fun to work with someone for three minutes and watch them go from having no idea
how to do a step to completely understanding it.”

Intermediate lessons – held in the same location immediately following the beginners’ class – take on a slightly different style from the beginner lessons. Instead of dancing in place with a partner, couples
learn to move gracefully across the floor as they dance. Tonight, 38 students are learning the Viennese Waltz. Several students jokingly refer to the waltz as “the princess dance.” Malcolm slowly reviews the waltz, and the couples form three columns at the far end of the room. Malcolm
demonstrates again, dancing across the length of the room as she counts aloud: “Quick, quick, slooow – quick, quick,slooow; forward, side, croooss – back,
side, clooose; quick, quick, slooow – quick, quick, slooow…”

Then couples begin dancing across the room, some more gracefully than others. Every few counts, another set of couples starts across the studio. Most couples struggle the first time across, trying
frantically to move fast enough so the next couple won’t trample them. However, as they continue to practice, most couples’ faces change from looks of discomfort to smiles of satisfaction as they grow more adept at the dance.

When the advanced class meets later that night, there is a marked increase in the proficiency of the dancers’ steps and more fluid, graceful moves. Dancers move in a loose oval around the room, revolving as they complete complex steps and turns.

It is hard to imagine anyone dancing better than these young men and women – until you attend the Advanced II class. This class produces Collegiate National Champions. Each dancer is intensely
aware of his or her partner at all times. Though they appear relaxed, making the difficult dance look simple, the slight expressions of concentration on their
faces make it clear that they are working. Even this group can still be challenged. As the instructor demonstrates a particularly complex step, one of the members pleads, “Oh, just stop! Don’t confuse us anymore!”

Though they are superior ballroom dancers, they are still college students, which means they like to have fun. Members of the Dance Company head out to area dance clubs to practice funky rhythm dances, or drive to Lake Robbins Ballroom in Woodward, Iowa, to dance to live big band music. There, in the 74-yearold ballroom that boasts “the finest dance floor in Iowa,” students mingle with older dancers who favor the foxtrot. The Dance Company also hosts a social each Friday night with the Ballroom Dance Club and
attends a variety of social events, such as the “Funky Formal” held at the end of each spring semester at Lake Robbins.

At social events and at lessons, Iowa State students and community members come together to dance and have a great time. It is clear that they have discovered that ballroom dancing can be a lifelong
activity for learning, exercise, and enjoyment.

“Dancing is in my blood,” said Malcolm. “It’s something I’ll probably never stop doing until the day I die. I love it because you never stop learning.”

About the Writer | Michelle Kalkhoff is a junior journalism and mass communicaiton major from Spirit Lake, Iowa.