Ballroom dancing classes at SU see spark in enrollment
The clicking of shoes and dancers spinning and sashaying around in pairs across the Women’s Building dance floor is not as rare a sight as it was in years past.
It may not be an everyday sport, but ballroom dancing classes at SU have seen a recent increase in the number of students participating.
Compared to last fall, the beginner ballroom dancing class taken for credit has seen a large jump in enrollment numbers. In the fall of 2008, 64 people took a basic ballroom dance course, while this semester the number has risen to 112 people. The number of students in the intermediate class from the fall of 2008 to this semester has also risen from 17 students to 44.
Even from just last semester, the number of students taking beginner ballroom dance and intermediate ballroom dance has risen from 99 and 31, respectively, to 112 and 44. Syracuse University offers four ballroom dancing courses. Three of these classes are taken for credit, and one class is open to students wishing to pay to learn new dance moves.
The high turnout can be traced to people looking for a class where they can enjoy themselves, meet new people and learn new dances, said Walter Medicis, who teaches the class with his wife and daughter.
The for-credit class teaches dances such as swing, foxtrot, rumba, tango, the waltz and meringue. Medicis, who has been teaching ballroom dancing at SU for more than 60 years, said that he has seen an increase in the amount of people that take ballroom dancing. The classes have always been popular among students, but after the success of recent shows like ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ Medicis has witnessed an increased interest.
‘It seems that more and more people are interested in ballroom dancing than ever,’ Medicis said. ‘They’re showing more dancing on TV. People see it and want to learn how to do it.’
Medicis said many of the students start out taking the class for fun but move on to higher levels. They also take the class for the social aspect and to learn more about ballroom dancing.
Khalilah Hyde, a freshman biology and foreign modern language major, decided to take the class because of the movie ‘Take the Lead.’
‘It’s a big part of our culture,’ Hyde said. ‘There are a lot of students in the class, but it’s been fun. It’s been living up to my expectations.’
Medicis started the classes as an SU student in 1947, and since, the course selection has grown to include beginning, intermediate and advanced classes.
‘The students come in for enjoyment, but we find a number of them want to go beyond that,’ Medicis said. ‘Many of them are surprised they can do something like this.’
Some of the students take the classes because they know someone else taking it, as the dances are done in pairs. This was the case with sophomore graphic design major Alex Rogers and junior art photography major Meghan Schaetzle.
‘It’s something different,’ Schaetzle said. ‘We thought it’d be fun.’
After being talked into taking the class, Rogers said he can only agree. ‘We just have fun learning the dances.’
Published on March 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu
