Dancing with the Stars: ND Style

Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne coined the phrase, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The Ballroom Dance Club has taken a unique approach to his words, donning a similar version, “When the going gets tough, the tough go dancing,” on its club t-shirts.

The Notre Dame Ballroom Club president and fourth year architecture major Aimee Sunny remembers this phrase from her first year with the club. Many students are involved with the club because they believe that dancing is refreshing and uplifting.

The social club, which has been active at the University for more than 15 years, meets every Thursday from 7-8 p.m. in the Rockne Memorial. It grants students, faculty and staff the opportunity to learn an expressive art form while making friends and easing the day’s tensions.

“I love spending time with my friends in the club, improving my dancing and getting exercise. It’s a great stress reliever and it’s a lot of fun,” co-vice president Emily Lyons says.

Advisor Ramzi Bualuan, a computer science and engineering professor who has been a member of the club since he was a graduate student, demonstrates how the passion of dance unites all. As a dancer, instructor, judge and master of ceremonies (MC), he is involved in all expressions of dance — from the joy of dancing, to the impartiality of judging, to the fun of being the MC.

The club meets weekly to learn dances such as the cha-cha, waltz, rumba, tango and swing. It typically takes a semester to gain the basic skills for such dances, with a new dance taught every two weeks.

During a typical class, dancers are first separated into leaders (men) and followers (women). The basic dance pattern is then demonstrated in slow motion. Once the leaders and followers understand their parts, they are placed together, combining their individual steps with the music. With experienced instructors present to assist, mistakes are mitigated, preventing bad habits and ensuring solid technique.

Although the dancers are challenged, many say that ballroom dancing is a useful and fun learning experience. 

“I enjoy attending the social nights because it is great way to learn more about the timeless art of dancing rather than sticking to the random dancing gyrations of today,” sophomore classics major Caitlin Carlin says.

The club currently boasts a membership of about 60 people. No previous dance experience is required to join the group. (About 95 percent of the club members have never participated in ballroom dance before.) Membership is set at $35 a semester, or $4 a session.

The social club extends into a competition team of about 20-25 students.

These dancers put on their dancing shoes anywhere from two and a half to 10 hours a week to prepare for competitions, which consist of opportunities to advance one’s personal and competitive edge. Competitions are “fast-paced and exciting,” as social club and American competition instructor Clay Berkley says.

Typically, the competitors begin the weekend with a social dance. The following day, the competition extends from about 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., running in rounds by skill level with single elimination.

Dancers can compete in the beginner, bronze, silver, gold, novice, pre-champ and champ levels. Depending on their intensity and commitment to mastering the ballroom technique and steps, dancers rise in competition level every one to two years.

“Like anything of a competitive nature, winning can put you on top of the world and coming up short can leave you really down. What I try to emphasize to the dancers is that preparing for competition means working toward a goal that will push them to improve their dancing,” Berkley says. “They should seek better and better performance from one competition to the next, quite apart from how well they place.”

Lyons says, “Competitions are a great time to show off what you’ve learned, see some awesome upper-level dancing, and spend the day with friends.”

On April 3 and 4, the ND Ballroom Dancing Club hosted the Irish Dancesport Gala at the South Bend Century Center, with 19 other schools in attendance. The event consisted of a four dance final with two smooth/standard dances, such as the waltz and tango, and two Latin/rhythm dances, such as the cha-cha and merengue. 

“The team did pretty well,” Bualuan says. “The team’s improvement was apparent in their success at the intercollegiate competition.”

Because the number of women exceeds the number of men in the club, co-vice president Alex Stuckey says there is extra incentive for men to join. “Dancing is a great social skill, and it is really impressive if a guy knows how to dance.”

The Ballroom Dance Club prides itself on welcoming dancers of all levels and abilities; the only requirement is a desire to have fun. “All are welcome. People of all skill levels come together to learn how to dance, so don’t be intimidated if you’ve never danced before,” Lyons says.

 

Reprinted with permission from Scholastic.