Ballroom Dance: A Success for Parks & Recreation

By Mike Pastore | Parks and Recreation Department at March 23, 2012 | 9:45 am | Print

Eight Wednesdays ago, the main room of Whinstone Tavern at Stanley Golf Course was a roof full of nervous strangers. This past Wednesday it was a room filled with the lively laughter of old friends. The catalyst for this change was New Britain Parks and Recreation Department?s new program ?Ballroom Dance & Dine at Whinstone Tavern?.

Every Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. fifteen people, some of them couples, some of them singles, assembled at Whinstone to learn the basics of ballroom.

The instructor, Lisa Evans of Hartford Ballroom, who has been dancing since she was five, taught with an ease and energy that relaxed participants, and freed them of their insecurities and inhibitions on the dance floor. One tactic she employed to foster comradery among the participants, who ranged in age from sixteen to sixty-six, was to have them change partners several times per night.

Class member Hedi Minow-Pike said of the class, ?it was a wonderful experience?. Of Evans she said, ?She is a fantastic instructor who doesn?t overwhelm you with too many new dance steps in one class?.

In addition to instruction on dances like the Fox Trot, Tango, and Cha Cha, each evening the one-hour long class was followed with a mouth-watering assortment of appetizers off Whinstone?s extensive menu. During this time, participants and instructor could unwind and discuss that evening?s lesson. Over the mild winter, dance?s confidence and newly formed friendships bloomed. The final class ended with a special celebratory dinner. All food for the participants was included in the $99 program fee.

?Dance & Dine? is the Parks and Recreation Department?s first offering of Ballroom instruction in over twenty years and was declared a success by all involved.

Participant Lois Schmidt, who baked a cake in honor of the final class, echoed the sentiments her classmates when she said, ?I look forward to more of these classes?.

The Parks and Recreation Department is in fact planning beginner and intermediate versions of ?Dance and Dine? for next the fall and winter at Whinstone Tavern.

For more information on Dance Instructor Lisa Evans or Hartford Ballroom visit HartfordBallroom.com or call 860-655-5731. For more information on ?Dance & Dine? or any of the New Britain Parks and Recreation Department?s exciting programs and events visit NewBritainCT.gov/RecNPark or call 860-826-3360. You can also friend the New Britain Parks and Recreation Department on facebook for up to the minute program information.

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Source: http://nbcityjournal.com/archives/4321

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