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Swing, ballroom dancers benefit from exercise, mental challenge

Posted on: June 19, 2017

Claudio Sich’s advice for beginning dancers is simple: don’t give up.

“It’s difficult at the beginning,” said the Glen Ellyn resident.

Any new activity, hobby or venture has its challenges at the start, he said. The trick is to stick with it to gain rewards.

Sich and his wife, Rosa, signed up for Glen Ellyn Park District ballroom dance lessons about a year and a half ago. And though they’ve learned a lot and improved their moves on the dance floor, they’re still at it in the classroom, refining their technique and learning new things.

“It’s another skill. It’s just a challenge to do something different with my wife,” he said.

The class is taught by instructor Diane Smith, who also teaches swing dance lessons through the park district.

“I started it a couple of years ago at the Main Street Recreation Center,” said Smith. “We later moved to the Spring Avenue Recreation Center where the room is nice and large.”

Ballroom dancing, with its sweeping moves, requires a large space.

Young people enroll in ballroom dancing to prepare for a wedding or other major event. Older people often decide to brush up their dancing technique when their children are grown and they have more time to devote to leisure pursuits, she said.

Smith said she teaches her ballroom students how to do the foxtrot and the waltz.

“I usually get couples, however I do open it to singles,” she said.

That’s a real plus because many ballroom dance classes will allow only couples. Smith said she’ll either pair up singles or serve as their dance partner herself.

The Sichs are two of her most loyal students. They also take swing lessons with Smith.

“They have not missed a single class,” she said. “Continuity is sometimes a big factor. If you can keep it going, it’s very rewarding for everybody.”

Swing dance is a popular class, especially with young dancers.

“The younger people are more inclined to take swing,” she said. Young dancers account for about 60 percent of her swing dance students.

“It’s very easy,” she said. “You can dance it anywhere.”

The style Smith teaches does not include lifts, which are part of the Lindy Hop style of swing, but it does include drops where a dancer drops to the floor while holding her partner’s hands.

“This is going to be basic swing. It’s very easy,” she said.

Swing dance is an effective calorie-burning activity. Smith said dancers take 2,000 to 4,000 steps per hour.

It also has the advantage of being a relatively low-impact exercise that is open to singles. Area clubs feature swing dance nights when students can get in a little extra practice and have a fun night out at the same time, she said.

Smith, of Bloomingdale, said she got started as a dancer with line dancing.

“Then I learned country couples dancing,” she said.

She began competing in 2005.

“I compete in West Coast Swing. I just got back from Atlanta Memorial Day weekend,” she said. “I take lessons weekly and I practice daily.”

Smith said students need a willingness to learn dance to be successful.

“If you don’t know how to move to music, I can teach that. I can teach rhythm. If they have two left feet, I can teach that,” she said.

Smith said her ballroom dance students had a party last November in the Lake Ellyn Boathouse. She also held a party for students at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center in the spring.

“It’s nice that they have someplace to practice what they’ve learned,” she said.

She looks forward to teaching her Glen Ellyn Park District classes.

“I really like Glen Ellyn.  I love the room. It’s great,” she said. “It’s just a happy environment. Everybody’s been so supportive.”

Sich said he and his wife also feel supported when they take time out from their busy schedules to learn dance with Smith.

“When I come from my job, I’m very tired,” said Sich.

He said he could choose to spend leisure time doing yard work, chores around the house or just relaxing on the couch, but he feels that reserving time for dance is important, especially now that this father of three grown boys recently turned 60.

“You need to push your brain a little bit harder, to exercise your brain,” he said.

Dance is also a way for the Sichs to strengthen their bond with each other.

“It’s a way to be closer to my wife and my wife to be closer to me,” he said.

 

POSTED: June 19, 2017