Strictly ballroom
Ballroom dancing has students of all ages step onto the dance floor.
by Valerie Marino
It's Friday night, and Carolina Ballroom is bustling with activity.
With music pumping from the studio's sound system, about 20 people are scattered across the dance floor showing off their moves as they do most Friday nights.
"It's basically when our students come practice their dancing in a party atmosphere," said Robert Wright, co-owner and an instructor at Carolina Ballroom. "We try not to teach."
Wright and his wife Mitzi have attracted a variety of clientele since opening the studio last year, from singles to couples and even whole families.
"We have everything from 10-year-olds to 92-year-olds. We have an awesome junior program, a lot of couples just looking for something to do with their time," Mitzi said. "It's great exercise, and it's a great social outlet. People who are tired of the bar scene or don't even like the bar scene, we have big parties every Friday night."
For the Martins, dancing is a family affair.
"We say it's cheap marital therapy," said Jim Martin, laughing. He and his wife Linda started taking lessons after Linda bought him a gift certificate.
"Jim always wanted to try ballroom dance," Linda said.
"When we started here I hadn't danced since square dancing in the fourth-grade," her husband added.
It didn't take long for their kids, Erika, 13, and Josh, 10, to don some dance shoes and join them. "The kids started learning from us," Jim said. "They're good and they're soon going to leave us in the dust."
Erika and Josh have even started competing locally.
"It's been really fun," said Erika, who is learning a waltz for Carolina Ballroom's summer showcase. "I'd like to do some larger competitions."
While they have a variety of clients, Robert Wright did confirm one dancing stereotype.
"Most always, the lady drags her man in," he said. "After the first or second lesson, the guys get into it."
But he emphasizes that for those who are willing, it isn't difficult to learn.
"It's not hard at all," Wright said. "As long as whoever it is wants to learn and has the patience with themselves, I'll teach them a million and five times."
In a private lesson with Daowen Zhang and his wife Jie-lena Sun, Wright went over basic steps, counting out the beat for the couple.
"Quick slow slow, quick slow slow. Now don't forget to rock," Wright said.
Across the room, Susan Redmond and her instructor Sterling Alexander danced animatedly, bouncing across the room to the theme from "Ghostbusters."
The song is one Redmond plans to use for her showcase, a program the Wrights hold twice a year for students to show off what they've learned to their friends, family and other students.
Redmond has been taking lessons for about two years.
"It's just something I always wanted to do," she said. "One of those New Year's resolutions."
A common theme among many students is that dancing is something they've wanted to do for a long time. And when they're ready to step out onto the dance floor, Robert Wright said he is happy to guide them.
"This is my turf, this is what I do," he said. "I make people happy."
