Ballroom has many dances and showcases planned throughout the school year and are very excited to show the students here at Bingham what they have prepared. Their first showcase is in January and they plan on dancing two different dances, The Lindy Hop and the Swing, as well as many other swing related dances.

Ballroom is taught by Ms. Terrell who also coaches Dance Company, and even though they are all dance classes, there are some differences between Ballroom and the other dance teams. Number one is that Ballroom has completely different choreography because they dance not only groups, but the majority of the time they obviously dance in partners that involve both boys and girls. They have to use different techniques and have different formations and different styles of dance; Ballroom dances are more specific, like the Cha-cha, Waltz, and the Salsa. While Dance Co. have more freedom and give a small idea of what they are performing like contemporary, lyrical and hip hop. Wesley Gerber on the Ballroom team says “The Minerettes and Dance Co. focus a lot on dancing all together, when (in) ballroom we have to dance all together but with a dance partner at the same time… a lot of the steps are different, and a lot of the formations are different because we are partnering off,  as well as trying to stay together”

Ballroom requires mores strength than what meets the eye, not only trying to keep up with footwork in high heels for the girls, but also constant lifting of the girls for the guys. Michael Milkovich says that it requires a lot of upper body strength and it that it “definitely keeps you in good shape”.

If you are even slightly interested in joining ballroom, everyone on the ballroom team would definitely recommend it, because not only to you get to meet new people have a larger circle of friends, but also, according to Michael Milkovich, it’s helped him “[Learn] and grow throughout [the] process [of] being able to do dances with a partner it [has helped me] to grow to love it and it’s so fun…  It’s definitely challenging with learning new techniques and as well as keeping yourself physically fit enough to do it.”

Ballroom isn’t like most dance teams here at Bingham, they don’t have competitions or a state championship, it’s mostly just for fun. When they do perform, they are just showcases, and it’s to entertain the audience.  Ms. Terrell wants the students in Ballroom “to be able to learn all the different styles of dances, and have them dance together… to be able to have them choreograph their own routines and to just have fun and to learn new things”. She also wants people to know that Ballroom is a very social environment, she says ” It’s awesome!…it’s a good way to socially interact with people, because people have a hard time talking to the opposite sex, especially in high school, and it’s hard to get to know new people. In ballroom it’s really easy [to meet new people] because we constantly switch partners… it’s just a really good way for student to open up to other students. It’s a very social class; you make a lot of new friends”

If you are interested in taking Ballroom next year, Ms. Terrell is having auditions later in the school year in March and the beginning of April, and is excited to welcome new students into her class.

Make sure to support Ballroom in their showcases throughout the year, especially their spring showcase where they will be choreographing their own dances and routines.