The world of competitive ballroom dancing or Dancesport, some might say, more resembles an international, underground culture than a sport. Regular dance events occur every month across the United States and the world. Each event, that occurs almost secretively beyond the view of "the rest of society " is filled with glamour, drama, passion and excitement.
This said, there is no doubt that this is a sport. The International Olympic committee certainly believes so - dancesport is very likely to be introduced as a new Olympic sport by the next games. In fact, there are many parallels that can be drawn between ballroom dancing and other competitive sports like gymnastics or skating, however, ballroom offers an almost impossible blend of characteristics that makes it stand out as a sport for the masses.
Firstly, ballroom dancing can truly be learned at any age: How many sportspeople spend years talking about their "glory days", wishing for only one more day to experience the excitement of their beloved sport. Ballroom dancing does not discriminate - dance competitions make room for all age categories from kids to seniors and they all enjoy the sport equally. Whereas some sports typically offer the smallest, transient windows of opportunity, ballroom dancing is open to anyone that chooses to learn at any age and it is a skill and sport that develops throughout life... an impossibly enjoyable, endless project.
Ballroom dancing offers different categories and styles that allow each individual to find their place in the sport. Some seek out the energy of Latin dance styles (samba, cha-cha, rumba, jive and paso doble), some the sophistication and control of the international standard styles (waltz, vienesse waltz, tango, foxtrot and quick-step), others enjoy the classic, silver-screen appeal of American Smooth and again, others enjoy the versatility of American Rhythm (bolero, mambo, cha cha, rumba and swing.)
Ballroom has significant social benefits: While most serious, sportspeople are forced to commit to a near, monastic life-style that deprives them of regular interaction with people outside of their chosen sport, ballroom dancing delivers almost immediate social benefits to the practitioner. Ballroom dancing is the original exercise in equal rights as man and woman interact on an equal footing in a brilliant and co-operative way. Learning to dance at any age means an enhanced social life and improved chances for meeting and interaction with others. It is rare for you to walk down the hall at a dance competition without hearing at least 3-4 different languages being spoken at once!
Ballroom brings together people from various countries, professions and walks of life. It is a great way to meet others and dance is a lifestyle-enhancing skill that can be enjoyed beyond the boundaries of competition. For example, guys, in case you haven't got it yet, most girls love to dance!
The drama of dance is profound. Each dance tells a passionate story, seeped in history and tradition. Some stories tell of the pains of slavery, others of love's enslavement of the heart, some of the decadence and opulence of old empires and others of the waves of social change and history's meeting of different cultures. Curiously enough, history shows that dance forms often have a habit of rapidly degrading the vast social chasms that gave them birth. As a couple moving through a dance, you walk in the footsteps of countless historic figures, some known and some completely unknown, from different countries and time periods, who expressed the emotional contrasts of their life: light and dark, love and hate, pleasure and pain, suffering and good fortune, romance and love's longing, through the rhythms, dance steps and movements that you share with them for fleeting moments. Your perception of time is somehow altered in a perfect dance and it is as if time does somehow slow down in this space. If you care to ponder it, in this briefest of moments, it is as if through time, one can almost feel the continuity and history of dance that unites and connects us all.
As residents of Scottsdale, AZ, Paradise Valley, AZ and Phoenix, AZ, we are lucky enough to have a number of good ballroom dance studios in the area. As always we urge you to shop around and compare, however, we believe that you will not find a better dance studio in the area than Gainey Dance, for a number of reasons - we would love to show you why! Please look around this site and learn about ballroom dancing before you decide to take your first dance steps.
