The country is in a toe-tapping, hip-wiggling frenzy of excitement at the return of ‘proper’ dancing. Hotcourses explores the furor over the nation’s favourite new craze, dance. We even have a go ourselves!

 

Ballroom dancing has traditionally been the proviso of pensioners in community halls and immured professionals in impenetrable dance competitions. The middle ground, where you or I could strut our ballroom stuff, has been sorely lacking. Taking in the UK’s dance scene today, however, it seems that boring ballroom is a thing of the past – now, it’s open to everyone. 

 

Ballroom dancing has been the recipient of many attempts to bring it to the masses – the Baz Luhrmann treatment had us all embracing the paso doble in a colourful haze of Aussie feel-good campness in Strictly Ballroom, Antonio Banderas convinced us that even inner-city hip-hop kids think tango’s the bomb in Take the Lead, and as for the Richard Gere/J-Lo ballroom bonanza that was Shall We Dance… well, come on, this dance revolution was never going to be a cool-fest across the board.

 

Ballroom movies are all very well, but the dance form’s new-found popularity in the UK can obviously be mostly attributed to a certain television programmes. Despite the doddering host’s tumbleweed jokes, Strictly Come Dancing has revamped ballroom’s fuddy-duddy image, showering it with fake tan, glitter and soapstars - encouraging everyone to try their hand at the tango or give the waltz a whirl. 

 

Strictly it always seems to kick off with a flurry of controversy. From viewers being up in arms about the judges' comments to Cowell and co bemoaning the X-Factor scheduling clash. Plus, the dubious ‘celebrity’ status of some of the dancers always seems to be debated. The fact that the show’s professional dancers are now more well known than their celebrity partners only goes to show the widespread popularity of the programme. Some members of the public have become quite fanatical about their Strictly adoration, even going so far as to swoon dizzily over ballroom bad boy Brendan Cole.

 

Then there's the other dance extravaganza to hit our screens - the hugely popular US show So You Think You Can Dance on BBC One - with a fantastic judging panel, including ‘Nasty Nigel’ Lithgoe of Popstars fame and (rejoice, Strictly fans) the brutally ousted Arlene Philips.

 

Clearly people everywhere are going bonkers for ballroom and, never wanting to miss out on a craze, we at Hotcourses were determined to discover what all the fuss is about. We armed a ballroom novice with lycra and blister plasters and sent her along to a beginner’s class at the Pineapple studios in Covent Garden. Here’s how she got on….

 

Reviewer: Rachel Wadham

Course: Ballroom dancing for beginners

Teacher: Michael Litke

 

Generally when I put on my dancing shoes my mentality is that what I lack in style and grace I will make up for with enthusiasm.  A limited sense of rhythm and control of my limbs often inevitably leads to the not-so-hot ‘frog dance’ that just involves me hopping in a crouched position, while my friends look on in despair. 

 

Well, with this obvious dancing flair it made perfect sense for me to try and tame the frog into a more stylised form, and when the opportunity came up to attend ballroom dancing classes I hopped at the chance. 

 

Dreams of stardom

I’ve tried a few dance classes in my time, normally because I believe those Hollywood dancing films could be a reality, and that I am in fact an undiscovered world-class dancer just waiting for the chance to expose my hidden talent. Sadly, even though I’ve attempted salsa, Cuban and the Lindy Hop, that talent is remaining as undiscovered as Atlantis. Perhaps ballroom dancing might be the answer. I was optimistic, and wondered whether my fellow classmates were having similar ideas. 

 

As soon as we stepped into the studio, there was a warm and welcoming atmosphere, which was heightened by course leader Michael Litke’s infectious good humour. There was a good mix of people from all age groups, each with their own reasons for deciding to spend their Friday nights learning ballroom dancing. Michael said that within the five years that he had been teaching the course, he has found that people attend for health and fitness, to socialise and meet new people while doing something fun, and as a way to spend quality time with their partners. He explained that ‘people also come as a way to forget their problems. It takes concentration to get the steps rights and it takes your mind off anything other than the dance.’

 

Learning the steps

In our first class of the 12-week course, we learnt the basic steps of the Waltz and the Cha-Cha, the dance that inspired Michael to begin dancing at the age of nine. The course progressed to learning the basic steps for two new dances each week, including the Viennese Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive, as well as time in most classes to review what we’d learnt in previous weeks. 

 

The great thing about the classes is that even from the first session you can see yourself progressing. It amazed me how Michael’s simple and clear instructions could quickly lead to me actually dancing in a civilised way with another person, which was a complete novelty for me. If that can be achieved in just one class, who knows what will happen by the end of the course!

 

Success story

While I will try not to get too excited (although I’m secretly hoping I’ll be getting calls from Hollywood scriptwriters fighting for my story), I am hopeful that my dancing has improved exponentially. With the help of Michael’s fun and inspiring classes, I’m almost sure that the next time I strut my stuff on the dance floor, I’ll be foxtroting rather than frog hopping!

 

 

Not quite au fait with you Latin lingo or Tango terminology? Rachel gives us the ballroom lowdown…

Rumba
The dance of luuuurve... the rumba is the most sensual and romantic of the Latin dances. If you’re learning this, take along an appropriate dance partner!
Difficulty: 4/5

Tango
Tango music and its associated dance forms originated in Argentina and Uruguay. It’s a passionate dance and staccato in style, with definite, sharp movement and lots of drama. Think of the mesmerising and storytelling tango danced in  Moulin Rouge to The Police song Roxanne mixed with the tango classic Tanguera.
Difficulty: 3/5

Waltz
From the old German word ‘walzen’ – to roll, turn, or to glide – the waltz is a smooth and elegant dance where partners move as one. Professional waltz couples wear flowing ball gowns for the women, and tails for the men.
Difficulty 1/5

Samba
The Samba originated in Brazil where it is danced as a party dance during the street festivals and celebrations. The festive style and fun mood of the dance make it one you can use to impress on any dancefloor.
Difficulty 2/5

Quickstep
The Quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of dances including the Foxtrot, Charleston, Peabody, and One Step. It should be a light, bright dance with fast footwork. A good quickstep involves a lot of work on the balls of the feet and plenty of spring.
Difficulty 4/5

Paso Doble
The Paso is based on the bullfight, the man representing the bullfighter, ‘Torero’, and the lady the red cape or ‘cappa’. It’s also the dance where John Sergeant dragged his partner along the floor like a sack of spuds, but don’t let that put you off.
Difficulty 3/5