To some, step is a stair, salsa is a dip, swing is a piece of playground equipment, foxtrot is an animal walking and cha cha is a foreign word.
With those people in mind, Debra Selzler has helped create Discover Dance: A program made to let beginners sample a variety of dances that will be taught in upcoming four week sessions, before actually committing to an entire season.
“Discover Dance isn’t meant (for people) to learn a bunch of dances in one day,” said Selzler, co-owner of Danceworx.
“It’s to get an idea of what the dances are like, so they are better able to decide if they want to continue with a dance.”
This past Saturday, the second ever Discover Dance session was held at the German Canadian Club.
“We started it last September and we run three of them a year: One in January, one in April and one in September.”
Selzler said that the Discover Dance days are strategically scheduled at the beginning of new dance seasons so that people can see what they’d like to try out in the coming months.
Some novice dancers came for one or two different dance sessions on Saturday and others stayed for the whole day. Overall, Selzler was very pleased with the turnout, and the dancers’ performances.
“They have been doing so well. It’s like a marathon of dances really. It’s a lot of information to throw at them all in one day.”
According to Selzler, beginners try out Discover Dance for a variety of reasons.
Some have never danced before and have no idea where to start. Others have taken a few classes but haven’t practiced and need a refresher. And a few have a special event in mind that they’d like to know a few dance moves for to impress others.
After learning moves from a number of different dances—including east coast swing, west coast swing, step, cha cha, foxtrot, etc.—participants are invited back for an evening social.
“The doors open at 8:15 p.m. and there is another beginner lesson at 8:30 p.m. Then we play a mixed genre of music from 9 to 11 p.m. Then we have a west coast swing component at 11 p.m.
“West coast swing people are generally late night people. We play it until they get tired.”
The next Discover Dance program is April 21.wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
