Club members dancing to the music of Wild Ride at the January dance (photo by Jane Gromelski)
Jane Gromelski
SaddleBrooke Partners Western Dance Club has a lot of dancing opportunities during the winter months. We will have a monthly dance with Wild Ride band playing for us, and we will have classes in Texas 2 Step, Arizona 2 Step, Western Waltz, and East Coast Swing. We have a great group of dancers who bring the most fun for every event! Even our classes are fun, because dancing itself is fun! Why else would we do it?!
We will start a new series of classes at the end of February. On Thursday nights we will teach Arizona 2 Step at 6 and 7 p.m. in the Vermilion Room in the SaddleBrooke clubhouse. This is the most widely danced 2 Step in the Tucson venues. It is also called the Rhythm 2 Step. The beginners class will be at 6 p.m., and the intermediate class will be at 7 p.m.
In addition, as a special class, we will teach East Coast Swing at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in the Vermilion Room. This is the dance we did in high school, or rock ‘n’ roll. At any dance, you can do Swing in the center of the dance floor, since it is stationary and doesn’t progress. If you have some “moves,” we can add to them. This is a fun class.
Mondays we will continue our Partner Pattern classes. These are similar to line dances. The pattern is a series of steps that are repeated. You dance with your partner beside you in the sweetheart position. Some are very easy, like the 10 Step, and others are more challenging. These classes will be in the MountainView ballroom at 6:30 p.m. for the easiest dances and 7:30 p.m. for the more challenging patterns.
Our teaching philosophy is not just to show you steps, leaving it up to you to pick them up, but we analyze the steps—the best way to teach them—review, and review again. I have several sidekick couples who are there to help students learn individually. We want our students to learn the dances so they can get on the dance floor and enjoy dancing! We have been teaching here in SaddleBrooke for 17 years.
Our SaddleBrooke Partners Western Dance Club has dances scheduled with the band Wild Ride on Feb. 25 and March 23. They will be held in the MountainView ballroom. We will also have informal DJ dances. Our group has a ground-pounding, boot-stomping good time at all of these! Wild Ride is a great band. Come and listen to them as a concert or come and dance to their music. For more information and to sign up for classes and the club, please email me at [email protected]. It is necessary to register before classes, as the venue may change.
We are fortunate to be able to attend different dance venues and dance to various bands, old favorites and new. In the past, we had the Lariat, then the Oracle Inn. But they are kaput. Whisky Roads is a longer drive, etc. The Ranch, MountainView, and Rancho Vistoso are closer! Let’s dance everywhere we can, while we can!
Yee Haw!