Ballroom dancing into summer

Fun times at a dance party.

Wanda Ross

Summer is just around the corner. Snowbirds are starting to leave but we’re still dancing.

On Friday, April 12, more than 40 dancers enjoyed our last Ballroom Dance Dinner Party of the winter/spring dance season. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of pear walnut salad with a choice of chicken marsala, striped sea bass or filet mignon and ended the meal with double chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Our DJ, Bob Osborne, provided plenty of fun dance music so we danced the night away with the theme of Under the Desert Stars.

The SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club holds monthly First Thursday Dine and Dance Parties. We order dinner from the menu at the Vistas Dining Room in SaddleBrooke One then dance in the attached Vermilion Room. Thursdays are Burger Nights so reservations are required if you want to join us for dinner at a seat near the dance floor. Dinner reservations start at 5:00 p.m. To reserve a seat, contact Rick Baumgartner at [email protected].

We usually start dancing about 6:00 p.m. If you prefer not to have dinner with the group, that’s fine. Join us only for dancing. We’ll be dancing to a variety of ballroom dance music provided by one of the club’s DJs.

The next first Thursday Dine and Dance Party is on Thursday, May 2, with Rick and Kaye Baumgartner as our DJs. Additional dates for these events are Thursday, June 6 and Thursday, August 1. We’ll skip July as we’ll be celebrating our country’s independence on July 4.

In addition to these parties, we have more casual Open Dance sessions each week. These are on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the Vermilion Room and on Sundays from 4:00-5:30 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom. These sessions are open to anyone who wants to dance. Music is provided by one of our DJs. This is an excellent opportunity to practice dance steps you are learning or simply to have fun dancing.

Dance lessons will continue also with our popular Ballroom Sampler classes. These classes, which are held on Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. in the Mariposa Room at DesertView, are designed to introduce beginner dancers or newcomers to dancing the most popular ballroom dances: Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha and Swing. Each week’s class focuses on one of the dances and teaches two to three patterns for that dance.

Through April, these classes are being taught by Silke Gsching. From mid-May through June, they will be taught by Dave Poferl. No classes in July but Dave will teach in early August and Silke will teach beginning in late August. No need to sign up in advance, just come to the class. However, if you have questions, contact Silke at [email protected] or Dave at [email protected].

Membership in the SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club is only $15 per year, so join us. For more information about membership, dance classes and more, go to our club website at www.sbballroomdance.com.