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Get out and DANCE! - Get Out and DANCE |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Thursday, 11 January 2007 |
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Page 1 of 3
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Photos by Heidi Muller for NEXTnc.
Barb McCune, far left, dances with her partner Jose Jiminez. They teach salsa lessons at Suite 152 in Fort Collins. Middle: dancers work on their steps during the club’s salsa night. Right: Janet Hartman takes a spin with a dance partner at Suite 152.
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I was swept off my feet recently, but not in the romantic way.
I set out to write a story on social dancing in northern Colorado and before I knew it, I was learning how to salsa dance.
“One, two and three. Five, six and seven,” I counted in my head.
I have a background in dance with years of ballet, but I have never experienced the culture of social dancing before. What a rush.
“Social dancing in the not-so-distant past seemed to be a forgotten art,” said Peggy Lyle, co-owner of the Rhythm Company in Fort Collins. “Now it seems people are seeking it out.”
From salsa to tango and swing to ballroom, northern Colorado offers a pretty decent dance scene with a different feeling. It’s not the bump-and-grind club dancing found at a “meat market” or pick-up haven. Sure that’s still out there, but many people are going dancing to actually, well, dance.
As Lyle said, dancing is cool again, especially in the eyes of Gen-Xers.
“Dancing makes ladies feel beautiful and men feel cool, so it’s worth a try,” Lyle said.
You can literally find a place to go dancing every night of the week if you want to.
Newlyweds Sean McRoberts, 25, and Colleen McRoberts, 32, like to go salsa dancing at Suite 152 on Thursday nights.
The Fort Collins couple said it’s something fun they can do together.
“Salsa is extremely sexy,” Colleen said.
Sean said he really enjoys the music and style.
“It’s a fun way to be active,” he said. “It’s probably the most exercise I get.”
Many of their friends also do country line dancing and swing dancing. Many people will make a whole night of it. Avogadro’s and The Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant both offer dancing and lessons, so people can grab a bite to eat and dance afterward.
The Rhythm Company, which puts on the dancing at Avogadro’s Number and The Rio in downtown Fort Collins, as well as at other venues, started hosting dance nights in 1994. Ever since, the company has shifted venues and offered various dancing.
“Our mini lessons are designed to at least teach people the basics,” said co-owner Chris McCullough.
Heidi Brunette, 27, and boyfriend John Rhoades, 23, both of Fort Collins, recently decided to take a swing class at the Colorado Academy of the Arts in Fort Collins.
Brunette took ballet, tap and jazz lessons when she was younger and wanted to get back into dance.
“My grandmother lived in the Flapper era and I always thought that kind of dance was cool,” she said.
Brunette has taken classes from The Rhythm Company before, but it was Rhoades’ first time. Because of the snow, the couple was late to the class and ended up observing.
“I don’t know what to think,” Rhoades said. “I’ve got no rhythm.”
Still, he was willing to give it a try for his girlfriend.
“If I could, I’d dance all the time,” Brunette said.
Andre Volosov, a Fort Collins ballroom dance instructor, said dancing is not only a physical activity, but also an emotional activity.
“Dance is an activity that makes you forget almost everything,” he said.
Once the insecurities are set aside, dancing can be a great way to meet new people. Though by nature many social dances are for partners, singles are just as welcome.
Most classes rotate partners anyway, so the dancers can experience different dancing styles.
“People don’t need to fit the dancer mold or know what they are doing; they just have to have an interest,” Lyle said. “Dancing is for everyone. Just because you don’t know how to do it yet, doesn’t mean you can’t learn.”
As for me, I can’t wait to salsa dance again. After all, I still need to learn how to turn and dip. Maybe I’ll even try to tango, who knows.
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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