Photo by Sam Irwin
A Dance, A Dip, A Deux: Having a ball in the ballroom
Unlike other art forms, dance did not leave artifacts behind, so there is no real way to determine when la danse became part of human culture. However, my completely unscientific assertion is that dance, like poetry, is an essential part of wooing women. Case in point, I met my wife on the Cajun dance floor.
A side effect of dancing is that it’s loads of fun especially if you become practiced at dancing like no one is watching. But let’s say that you have mastered all the rudiments of dance and you are having fun and can attract anyone onto the dance floor with your artistic prowess.
What’s next? What’s the next level?
You go pro.
For 52-year-old Bill Anderson of New Orleans, that transformation came very quickly. He entered the professional ranks after taking three Arthur Murray Studio dance lessons three decades ago with a high school girlfriend.
“I won an art scholarship and was all set to go to art school when a girl I met asked me to take dance lessons with her,” Anderson said. “The instructor saw potential in me and asked if I would think about pursuing a career in teaching dance.”
A month of training has turned into a fabulous, creative and fun calling for Anderson.
“You only need to know two or three steps to teach a beginner,” Anderson said. “But it was a creative opportunity and it opened my eyes to a totally different genre of art.”
While some visual artists struggle for years to make a living from their art, it took Anderson only two years to develop a clientele large enough to support him. With both feet planted firmly in a new dance world, Anderson took dance class every day and progressed. The next step was dance competition, another realm of dance. But if you’re going to be a dance instructor, you’ve got to dance where the best dance. His first competition was nerve wracking.
“I had anxiety,” Anderson said. “I thought I was going to throw up. I had a tremendous amount of fear and a whole lot of emotion.”
Did any of that happen?
“No,” Anderson said, and since that first competition, he has danced in hundreds of contests, exhibitions and showcases with partners like Lane Barry of Baton Rouge.
Barry, in a quest for something different and fun, wandered into a ballroom dance studio in 1997 and hasn’t left yet.
“Ballroom dancing is fun and very social,” she said. “Then there are those that love the competition.”
Barry is competitive and was soon dancing for the first time in front of a judging panel. The only problem? She found her dress to be, well, plain. “There are vendors at the competitions with the dresses, the jewelry and the shoes,” Barry marveled. In other words, if the shoe fits, buy it and dance.
Now that she is a seasoned dance competitor, she has a closet full of glitzy dresses, costume jewelry and shoes. Each costume bears its own set of special memories for Barry.
“Only women in their twenties dance in four inch heels,” she said. “The older you are, the lower the heel.”
Barry said the male role in ballroom dancing is the most important part.
“All the lady has to do is react to what the man does,” Barry said. “The man is the driver.” The reason Barry sought out Anderson is that he is a very good driver.
“Bill is a BMW,” she said.
Anderson, modest about the comparison to superior engineering, agrees that the man has the most difficult step in the dance.
“Absolutely,” Anderson said. “It takes the man longer to learn the steps. The man is the driver and the lady has to follow.”
One doesn’t have to enter into competition to enjoy ballroom dancing. Anderson said he has dance students in their eighties that have taken dance lessons from him for years.
“If people knew what they were missing, they would flock to the dance studio,” Barry said. “Dancing is great exercise. It teaches you etiquette, socialization and how to treat a woman. It can be genteel or it can be wild and crazy.”
Let’s get back to the part about how to teach a woman. Anderson summed it up nicely. “Ladies love to dance and the quickest way to win a lady over is to show her some steps.”
Details.Details.Details.
Ready to put on something glittery and kick up your heels? Here are some local resources:
TC Dance Club International 3335 Government Street Baton Rouge, La. 225-346-8232 www.TCDance.com Gumboofballroom.org USABallroomGumbo.org SaturdayNightBallroom.com
