Dapper Dancers
Dimmed lights create a welcoming ambiance. The sounds of both Katy Perry and Frank Sinatra can be heard. Dancers alternate between partners and genres with each song. Every first and third Friday of the month, the Ballroom Performance Group at the University of Georgia hosts a Friday Night Dance.
Dancers, both trained and novice, gather in the New Dance Theater to learn new moves and dance to a variety of music in an array of styles. But BPG does much more than just host dances for the community.
“We do have performance aspects,” said BPG Executive Public Relations Director Anna Kathryn Stanford, “that set us apart from different organizations on campus.” All members of BPG auditioned before being accepted into the group, and go through an apprentice program where they learn the technique behind the dances: waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango, rumba, samba, cha-cha, salsa, mambo, east coast swing, and west coast swing. Each year, a roster of principle dancers is chosen, and they perform at various events throughout the year including Ballroom Magic.
BPG spends most of the year preparing for Ballroom Magic, which takes place in January. They can spend up to nine hours a week prepping for one of the biggest dance productions in Athens, and it requires “preparation both mentally and physically,” said Nathan Palardy, president of the Ballroom Performance Group. Planning for the production begins in the summer when co-directors, Natalie Cox and Mike Fulford, decide on a theme. This year they decided on Broadway and will use songs from some of the most loved musicals, including Phantom of the Opera and Annie Get Your Gun. “It’s great when they already know the music,” Cox said.
The directors choreographed each of the 23 pieces in this year’s show from scratch. Cox choreographs the Latin dances and begins by finding the right song; one she can listen to “a thousand times.” While most of the moves are strictly ballroom, in Latin dancing, Cox explains that she can branch out to other forms of dancing when the music allows. Fulford, who choreographs the smooth dances, also begins by listening to as much music as possible. Most songs that inspire him allow him “to tell stories through dance.”
How did a group of more than 30 college students come to be ballroom dancers? Many became interested after taking the Ballroom Foundations I class offered at UGA, but all came because of a love of dance. As Fulford described it, dance provides “a creative outlet where we can explore and deal with different things through dance.” Dance feeds a part of the soul that few other forms can touch, and ballroom dancing allows everyone to experience the magic while enjoying a hobby that can last a lifetime. “Your hip might give out, but you can still dance a good waltz,” joked Viv Martinez, an apprentice in BPG. While this may not prove to be a completely accurate statement, the presence of many older couples in attendance at Friday Night Dances speaks to the lasting value of social dancing in the lives of anyone who has a desire to dance. In January, this group of diverse college students will transform themselves into performers and dance to the notes of great Broadway hits. They will spin, twinkle, and shimmy, and these graceful dancers might inspire those in the audience to let ballroom into their hearts and maybe inspire them to get out and dance.
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