Takin' on the Ritz
By Carrie Seidman , Herald-Tribune
/ Sunday, July 28, 2013
While you've been sitting on the couch watching "So You Think You Can Dance," a bunch of Sarasota's serious amateur ballroom dancers have been hard at work preparing for the annual Florida State Dancesport Championships at the Sarasota Ritz-Carlton.
The ballroom competition, which begins Tuesday and runs through Saturday, features both professional and pro-am (teacher/student) contests. Below, four local amateur competitors talk about what drives them to and on the dance floor.
Dancer: Nancy Wheeler
Nancy Wheeler and Rastio Sida / Photo courtesy Nancy Wheeler
Age: "C Division" (55 and up)
Occupation: Owner, Steppin' Out Dance shoes (ballroom dance shoe store) at Saradance studio.
Instructor: Rastio Sida, independent
Dancing for: 12 years
Lessons per week: 2 to 3 private lessons
Competing in: American Smooth (waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz)
Favorite dance: Tango
Why compete?: "Really, dancing is an art form and you need a venue to be able to express it; that's what makes the competition floor more enticing."
Payoff: "Simply when my coach smiles and says, 'Good job.'"
Why I dance: "I do it for the joy of dancing. That's the only real explanation."
Dancer: Tom Harris
Tom Harris and Sofya Sokolenko / Photo courtesy Tom Harris
Occupation: Personal injury attorney ("Courtrooms and ballrooms ... that's my life.")
Instructor: Sofya Sokolenko, Empire Ballroom Studios
Dancing for: 18 months
Lessons per week: 3 private lessons, 2 to 3 groups and weekend social dancing
Competing in: Latin
Favorite dance: Bachata, Salsa
Payoff: "Dancing keeps me feeling like I'm 30. And socially it's created more friends than I ever imagined I could meet."
Why I dance: "I grew up the son of a former Boston Celtics basketball player (Bob Harris) and he taught me how to use my body in basketball very much the way I'm now learning to use my body in dance. So this reminds me of my childhood; it's almost like re-living it. I view it as a sport and I wish I'd grown up with it."
Dancer: Susan Jones
Susan Jones and Sid Pocius / Photo courtesy Susan Jones
Occupation: Human resources executive of a chemical company; volunteer and charity work
Instructor: Sid Pocius, Empire Ballroom Studios
Dancing for: 4 1/2 years
Lessons per week: "I dance 6 to 10 hours a week depending on my schedule. If it were up to me, I would dance every day."
Competing in: American Rhythm (rumba, cha cha, swing, bolero, mambo) and American Smooth (waltz, tango, foxtrot, Viennese waltz)
Favorite dance: "I think finding the beauty in all of them is what dancing is truly about."
Payoff: "The greatest accolade is when a judge or professional personally compliments me on how I've performed."
Why I dance: "I dance because being on the floor gives me great joy! Not only does it keep your body fit, you must also be mentally present. You have to push all of the other stuff that is going on in your world out and concentrate on this one thing. In today's overstimulated world, I think it is a rare gift to have something that affords you that escapism."
Dancer: Meredith Kaplan
Meredith Kaplan and Steven Sieg / Photo courtesy Meredith Kaplan
Occupation: Yoga instructor
Instructor: Stephen Sieg, The Ballroom of Sarasota
Competing in: American Rhythm and American Smooth, Open and Championship divisions (no syllabus restrictions)
Favorite dance: "It depends on the day and what I'm working on."
Payoff: "It's a lot of things. As I've been doing it, different rewards unexpectedly come up. Meeting the mental and physical challenge, comments from other people, rising to meet the challenge of a competition. Working on having it feel more natural and being able to be more expressive."
Why I dance: "I love it; I love the movement, I love the music, I love the choreography. I like the partnership, working with another person to create a dance. It just makes me feel good. Every day there's a reward in it — learning something new, improving your technique, mastering new steps, making more of something."
FLORIDA STATE DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS, July 30 - August 4, Ritz-Carlton Sarasota. Amateur and professional ballroom competition and exhbitions, day and evening sessions. $20-$135. 753-7940, 309-2000 (on site); www.flstatedance.com
Carrie Seidman
Carrie Seidman has been a newspaper features writer, columnist and reviewer for 30 years...and a dancer for longer than that. She has a master's degree from Columbia University Journalism School and is a former competitive ballroom dancer. Contact her via email, or at (941) 361-4834. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.