Issue date: 2/24/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Carrie Hollis Amanda Brockman, sophomore English major, and Joey Reyes, freshman psychology major, listen to instructions for the waltz during ballroom dancing class Tuesday night in the dance studio at the Campus Recreation Center.

Music flowed from the aerobics room in the Student Recreation Center last night as dancers swung their partners around and glided across the dance floor.

Eastern faculty members, students and community members waltzed, tangoed and twirled from partner to partner.

The Ballroom Dance Society class started this fall in the SRC, is offered to anyone who wants to come, and is free of charge. The society currently consists of about seven couples. The purpose of the class is to show people a social type of dance.

"They see a whole new aspect of dance," said Lisa Chavich, president of the Ballroom Dance Society.

Three simple words, "quick, quick, slow," were chanted among the group as a learning technique for mastering the two step dance.

Some students mastered the dance moves taught in the class while others who have never learned these styles of dance before struggled.

"You don't have to feel uncomfortable around anyone," said Judith Ofcarcik, junior communication disorders and sciences and music performance major. "Everyone is trying to do the same thing."

Chavich, who has been dancing since she was five, is one of many instructors of this class. She took lessons at the Judy Foresburg Studio of Dance and took a dance class here at Eastern.

"I liked the whole aspect of ballroom dance and thought it would be interesting to lead it," Chavich said.

The waltz, tango, salsa and the cha-cha are just a few of the many styles of dance taught in the class, though some other styles may be introduced in the future.

"Ideally, we would like to do competitions," said Peter Kern, vice president of the Ballroom Dance Society.

Right now the class is still learning how to dance, so there's no competition, Chavich said.

The size of the class is increasing, Kern said. Some students attend this class to improve their paired dancing skills.

"I want to go to the Regent in Champaign and know what I'm doing with the guys," Ofcarcik said.

This dance class gives students something to do rather than partying all the time, Chavich said.

"It's something different to do," she said. "College students like the salsa and the cha-cha. I want people to build their confidence, social aspect and change their attitude about dance."

The Ballroom Dance Society meets from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday in the 1918 Aerobics Room in the SRC.

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