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Have you always wanted to try Ballroom dancing or are you an experienced dancer? The Ballroom dance club has something for everyone! Join us at our April dance that will be held on Fri., April 12 in Abravanel Hall from 7 to 9:15 pm. Get some exercise, have fun, and make new social connections. Dress is casual. We will dance to the music of the popular Music Station Duo. The cost will be $15/member or $20/nonmember. Checks will be due by Fri., April 5. The club sponsors weekly ballroom dance lessons each Wednesday in Abravanel Hall from 2 to 3:45 pm. • 2 – 2:45 pm: Beginner Class • 2:45 – 3 pm: Dance Tips and Techniques for both Beginners and Intermediates • 3 – 3:45 pm: Intermediate Class The cost for the Beginner or Intermediate class is $10/person per class for both members and nonmembers. Pay at the door (no reservations required, just come). The Dance Tips and Techniques discussion is open at no charge to both Beginner and Intermediate dancers. Carrie Kloss, a champion dancer, and professional instructor provides the dance instruction. She has many years of experience of providing dance instruction to all levels of dancers from beginners to dance instructors. The dance being taught changes each month. The class schedule through July this year are: April, West Coast Swing; May, Waltz; June, Rumba; and July, Night Club Two Step. The dance being taught in April is West Coast Swing (WCS). It is a style of swing dance that is danced to contemporary pop, blues, funk, country western, and R&B music that have slower tempos than East Coast Swing music. WCS is known for its smooth, slotted style, where the dancers move back and forth along a narrow rectangular area on the dance floor referred to as the "slot." One of the greatest parts about WCS is that the dance is highly personalized. There is no "one way" to dance WCS, and dancers are encouraged to develop their own style within the basic framework of the dance. Dancers can vary the timing, footwork, and styling to suit the music being played. Lesson Review and Practice Sessions are held in Abravanel Hall from 2 to 4 pm each week on Mondays. Marvin and Lynn Wheeler, who are very experienced dancers, review Wednesday's lessons and provide help upon request. After the review, you can practice your dancing to a variety of ballroom music. The event is FREE, just drop in. These sessions are open to all residents of OHCC and guests of members. The annual membership dues for the Ballroom Dance Club are $10 per person. With this membership you will receive regular emails describing club activities as well as discounts for dances. To join, just drop your check off at the front desk. Indicate your email address(s) on the check. For further information, please call Marv Todd at (978) 239-5440 or email at mtodd941@gmail.com. Written by: Marv Todd 14 | OHCC LIVING | APRIL 2024 | Ballroom Dance The line dancing we do these days could be called modern dancing even though we do "country line dancing," we dance to all different types of music. We dance to cha-cha, waltz, and whatever is popular on social media and the radio. Line dancing is a group dance. Dancers form a line and do a repeated set of steps that is choreographed. While everyone is in a line or row, there is no physical contact with the other dancers, but you do dance together following the repeated steps at the same time. Because line dancing involves low-impact cardiovascular exercise while remembering steps and the need to think, it is a workout for the brain as much as the body. If you can get up off the chair and on a line dance floor, you are moving. And if you are moving, you are exercising. And in choreography for line dancing, you have to actually remember a set of steps, and once you're working your brain all the way to your feet, you're having great fun exercising at the same time. Line Dance class schedule: Beginner (1): Tuesday, 10:30 – 11:30 am, $5 Improver (2): Monday, 12:30 – 2 pm, $7 Intermediate (3): Tuesday, 12 – 1:30 pm, $10 Want to try it out? Come on by. You do not have to be a Line Dance Club member; however you will be expected to pay for the class, which pays the instructor. After a trial, you will need to join the club. New for 2024? Dues have been reduced to $5/ year. If you are interested in participating in our activities and are not sure who to reach out to for further information, please call Sunny Griffin (970) 708-0443. Also, please visit our website, https://ohccvillagelinedan.wixsite. com/linedancing. Written by: Chris Sanderson Line Dancers

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