Salsa Classes In Charlotte North Carolina - Sit Out A Dance?

Sit Out a Dance? Not if They Can Help It

By DAVID WINZELBERG

Published: April 22, 2001 - New York Times original

HUNDREDS of dancers, dressed to the nines, will be gliding over the floor at a Plainview nightclub today at the sixth annual Stardust Ball. With a total of 1,500 entries from contestants as young as 6 and as old as 80, it is Long Island's largest ballroom dance competition. At stake are trophies and a prize purse totaling $10,000.

The Stardust Ball is part of a growing revival in competitive ballroom dancing, now known as dancesport. It's starting to appeal to a younger crowd, said Michael Rodriguez, an instructor and partner in Long Island DanceSport, a studio in Levittown. ''When I first started in the business, most of the people who came for lessons were in their 50's, 60's and up. In the last few years the amount of young people coming has been phenomenal.'' The trend is the same nationwide. We have definitely seen a resurgence in ballroom dancing and dancesport, said Ken Richards, a spokesman for the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association. Young people want to learn how to swing dance like the people in the Gap commercial on television.

While the younger generation may not be lining up to learn the waltz or fox trot, they are interested in Latin dances like the salsa and mambo, in addition to swing, several instructors said. The Latin influence in music, with stars like Ricky Martin, Mark Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, is very popular right now, and a lot of younger single people want to know how to dance to it in clubs, said Sandra Coelho, the manager of the Arthur Murray studio in Plainview.

The industry's last boomlet came during the 1970's disco era, when a rush of new students tried to learn to dance like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Back then, at the height of platform shoes and polyester shirts, Michael Camanelli's parents owned five Fred Astaire dance studios on Long Island. Now the Camanelli dance empire has dwindled to a a single Astaire franchise, the only one remaining on Long Island, with a 2,500-square-foot dance floor and three ballrooms above the CompUSA near Roosevelt Field.

We get a lot of couples from their early 20's and up, Mr. Camanelli said. It's usually the woman's idea to take lessons, but now a lot of guys are stepping up to the plate. Mr. Camanelli said that 95 percent of his students come to learn how to dance for social reasons, perhaps to prepare for a wedding or bar mitzvah, and only a handful have any interest in entering dance contests. But some schools put more emphasis on competition, like Dance Obsession in Farmingdale, where the owners, Barney and Deborah Aquilino, have taught a couple of national champions. In fact, the Aquilinos, who are two of the organizers of the Stardust Ball, are national champs themselves: they won the Rising Star American Rhythm championship in 1983.

This year's Stardust Ball attracted about 250 more entries than last year's, when 1,250 entries were received. Last year's contest was held at the Sheraton in Smithtown, but this year, their ballroom was too small to hold us, Mr. Aquilino said. That's not to say that all Island dancing schools will be represented. Students and instructors from the Arthur Murray studio in Plainview won't be there because they are preparing for the chain's Northeast regional contest on May 5 in Stamford, Conn., which is expected to draw 4,000 to 5,000 entries.

Long Island DanceSport will send several students to the Stardust Ball, including 11-year-old Walter Wylie and his mother, Donna Wylie, of Bayville. Walter will compete in International Latin, and his mom in American rhythm. It's just fun to do, said Walter, a fifth grader at Bayville Intermediate School who spent a recent Saturday night at the studio's weekly social. He has won three dancesport trophies and a bunch of medals, he said, and in November, he is planning to fly to Cancun for a contest.

Ms. Wylie spent six years on the country-and-western dance circuit before switching to ballroom last year. For a person who can't sing, you can give a musical interpretation with your body, she said. That same evening at DanceSport, Rita Chiusano of Cold Spring Harbor looked at little winded as she left the dance floor after she and Mr. Rodriguez had given a bolero exhibition.

This is the best form of physical exercise, said Ms. Chiusano, a lithesome 51. ''It makes you more focused. You're paying attention not only to the steps, but how you look and the whole presentation.'' Ms. Chiusano plans to compete as an amateur in several intermediate events today. Serious dance competitors have to train just like athletes in other sports. You are up at 6 and in the gym for weight training and cardio, said Mr. Rodriguez, 35. ''Then it's into the studio to practice routines for a few hours. After work, it's another two or three hours going through a round of dances. You have to be physically fit and build up endurance to be successful.'' Dancesport competitions are usually separated into two divisions, American and International, and arranged in groups of four and five dances. The American smooth round comprises the fox trot, waltz, Viennese waltz and tango. The American rhythm round consists of the cha-cha, rhumba, bolero, mambo and swing.

The International Latin round has the rhumba, cha-cha, samba, paso doble and jive. Most of the competitors are amateurs who dance with their instructors when they compete. But regardless of experience, everyone is dressed in some version of formal wear, often custom-tailored to move with the dancer. Men's tail coats are constructed so the shoulders don't rise, and they are fitted around the waist to allow for more leg movement. Women can spend several thousand dollars on their dresses, so many seek out the active second-hand market for their costumes.

The cost of dance lessons varies, and they are sometimes sold as a package of private and group sessions. At Arthur Murray in Plainview, a beginner's package of four private lessons, three group lessons and three practice parties costs $398. At Long Island DanceSport, three private lessons, two group lessons and one open social goes for $180. A single private lesson ranges from about $50 to $100, depending on the skill of the student and the instructor. Long Island DanceSport offers free group lessons for children to encourage their involvement, and many schools hold regular social dances to give students the opportunity to try out what they have learned in class. And so, however briefly, the world is a different, more mannered place. With all the bad things that go on, Mr. Aquilino said, ''it's an escape from the ugliness. It's a pleasant experience.''

The Stardust Ball will be held the Vanderbilt, 1600 Round Swamp Road, just south of the Long Island Expressway, in Plainview. The competition will begin at 9:30 and is expected to continue well into the night. Spectator tickets are $25.

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