Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:29 AM CDT
Life's a ball
Students, faculty and community members find fun, friendship in ballroom dancing
By KATE HENDERSON, Staff Writer
khenderson@jg-tc.com
Foxtrot, swing, waltz, cha cha.
Not typically dances associated with college students, but lately with popularity of shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” more students are ditching the club scene in favor of something a little more traditional.
One particular group at Eastern Illinois University is bringing ballroom dance to the floor every Tuesday. The Panther Ballroom Dance Society meets Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in room 1918 of Lantz. Usually about 20 people — students, faculty, staff and community members — are in attendance.
Brian LeVanti, an EIU student and the group’s president, said he was skeptical of the traditional-type dancing at first.
“I started coming and realized ‘this is fun and I’m learning something new,’” LeVanti said. “I was hooked.”
Heather Carnahan, EIU student and vice president for the society, said she joined because she was always interested in dance.
“You wouldn’t think a lot of people our age would be interested, but they are,” Carnahan said. “I’m shocked, but glad.”
Carnahan said the group dances to modern music like “Lady Marmalade,” which is a cha cha and others mixed in with some traditional ballroom music. She guaranteed there’s something for everyone.
“When people come for the first time we’ll teach them what they want to learn,” Carnahan said. “We always take the time to teach and it’s tailored to everyone’s needs.”
Pat Hemmet, who taught ballroom dance at Lake Land College for 10 years, said ballroom has become “fun for people to watch.”
Hemmet said many get interested because they also see it as a way for them to learn new skills.
“Some people look at it as ‘this is an opportunity for me to take a class with my spouse, with my partner’,” Hemmet said. “And maybe they don’t have many things they do together and this would be an opportunity to bring them together.”
Hemmet and the EIU Ballroom Society agreed that classes or clubs like theirs are great opportunities to meet other people. LeVanti said the dance can also have practical applications to everyday life.
“It can help in the future like the first dance at your wedding,” LeVanti said. “It also helps people socialize.”
Cathy Sowa and her husband, Brian, can vouch for that.
“We were having a Disney-themed wedding and I always wanted to waltz for my first dance,” Cathy said.
Cathy said she and her husband started to come before they were married to the Panther Ballroom Society meetings just for that purpose, but loved it so much they kept coming.
“The nice thing is the friendship that grows and the bonds that develop,” she said.
Another type of dance making the college radar is on the other end of the spectrum. Fitness that incorporates dance is something many college students are starting to look for.
Lisa Shumard-Shelton, media specialist at Lake Land, said she will be teaching a dance cardio and strengthening course this summer on Tuesdays starting June 5 from 6 to 7 p.m.
“I’ll include a combination of dance styles like jazz, hip-hop and even some ballet,” Shumard-Shelton said.
She said the non-credit course developed from a high demand from students and faculty.
“Men and women love to dance and it’s a fun way to get a really good cardio workout,” she said. “It can also broaden people’s ideas about different cultures that use dancing.”
Shumard-Shelton said the class teaches a certain amount of social interaction and etiquette as ballroom would, but offers different dance styles.
Shumard-Shelton said no matter what kind of dance one chooses, they all allow for a certain type of expression.
“It builds self-confidence and allows for artistic expression,” she said.
Contact Kate Henderson at khenderson@jg-tc.com or 238-6858
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CLICK TO ENLARGE
 Ken Trevarthan (JG/T-C)
Panther Ballroom Dance Society president Brian LeVanti and vice-president Heather Carnahan spin across the floor as they swing dance Tuesday night at the Lantz Arena dance studio in Charleston.
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anne henderson wrote on Apr 30, 2007 11:38 AM: