Learn Something New in the New Year!
Diana Wille
The SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club (SBDC) provides free dance lessons, with a different type of dance every month. These lessons provide fun, socialization, and exercise. What a wonderful way to start the new year!
February classes will be West Coast Swing, taught by Dave Poferl and Dottie Adams. Adams said, “West Coast Swing is a fun dance that can be danced to many styles of music. It has a basic pattern with many variations. Once the basic pattern is learned, it is open to improvisation, interpretation, and various syncopations.”
From the late 1980s through present dance, West Coast Swing has become recognized as one of the most versatile dance forms. Dance events specifically featuring this dance from 1980 to 2000 helped to expose dancers around the country to a dance that can be enjoyed to traditional swing, blues, R&B, some cha cha, some samba, and a lot of popular/contemporary music. Since 2000, the Internet (YouTube) and variety shows such as 30 Seconds to Fame and So You Think You Can Dance have propelled West Coast Swing into the forefront.
Beginning classes are held on Sundays from 3 to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. in the MountainView ballroom, starting Feb. 4.
Intermediate classes are held on Sundays from 4 to 5 p.m. and Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. in the MountainView ballroom, starting Feb. 4.
Registration is required. Please email [email protected] or sign up on the website www.sbballroomdance.com. Dance classes are free for members, and a nonmember may attend one class for free to make sure it’s a fit before joining.
If you have little or no dancing experience, try our Novice Program!
This program is designed for novice dancers who have little or no knowledge of dancing. Our instructors Ann and Dale Pizzitola are professional dance instructors who know how to get you out on the dance floor quickly and easily, and you’ll have fun doing it! These classes are free to all residents of SaddleBrooke. Novice classes are held in the Vermilion Room in SaddleBrooke One from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, and Feb. 19.
Please register on the website www.sbballroomdance.com or email [email protected] with a note of who is attending.
Then save the date for the Novice Practice Party on Feb. 23 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Vermilion Room at SaddleBrooke One. These sessions are designed to provide the novice dancer with a supervised practice environment, focusing on the dances covered in the novice classes.
Dances and Practice Events
SBDC holds multiple dances and practice sessions weekly and monthly. Check all the available options on our website www.sbballroomdance.com. We know that dancing is a terrific way to keep our brains healthy, bodies active, social connections close, and to just plain have fun! Check out our website www.sbballroomdance.com for our events, activities, and classes. Remember, SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club is where the learning continues and the fun never ends.
Signs You’re Aging Well!
Diana Wille
A recent article in HuffPost by Jillian Wilson discussed aging. According to Wilson, to age well, focus on three buckets: physical health, emotional health, and mental health. Below, geriatricians share the indicators that we are aging well:
We learn new things.
Opportunities to learn are limited, so we must seek them. According to Dr. Parul Goyal, a geriatrician at Vanderbilt Health in Nashville, “That will help form new pathways in the brain so that we continue to stay cognitively strong.”
We have a community.
The U.S. Surgeon General has declared an epidemic of isolation and loneliness throughout the country. To combat feelings of loneliness and isolation, it’s important to bolster our social connections.
We prioritize our physical health.
Eating nutritious foods and exercising are important throughout our lives. “I want people to keep moving, exercising,” said Dr. Lee Lindquist of Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. She noted that many of us may be afraid to move around as we get older because of a fear of falling. However, exercising can reduce our fall risk.
We do things we enjoy.
“I love people who are doing activities and enjoying life,” Lindquist said.
SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club (SBDC) provides for all of these buckets! It’s a way to learn new things, form a social community, and get exercise in a fun way!
Here’s what is coming up in February:
February Dance Party with Chuck Moses: Join us on Feb. 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the SaddleBrooke ballroom at the SaddleBrooke TWO clubhouse. Doors open at 5 p.m., dine from 5 to 6 p.m., and dance from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required.
Open practice: Work on your dance steps in the Vermilion Room at the SaddleBrooke One Clubhouse most Mondays and Fridays in the late afternoon and in the Mariposa Room in the DesertView Theatre facility on Wednesdays. Exact times and DJs vary, so check the SBDC website sbballroomdance.com for exact information. No need to sign up—just show up.
Western Partner Dance: Every Saturday in February from 10 a.m. until noon, Dottie and Harry Adams will play Western Partner music and review Western Partner patterns in the Vermilion Room at the SaddleBrooke One Clubhouse. And, again, there is no need to sign up—just join us.
Beginning and Intermediate West Coast Swing classes: Held on Sundays and Tuesdays (registration is required).
Novice Classes, geared to those with little or no dance background, will be held Feb. 5 and 19, with a Dance Party on Feb. 23. These classes will get you up and on the dance floor. Come and join us!
Check out our website sbballroomdance.com for all of our events, activities, classes, and registration information.
We know that dancing is a great way to keep our brains healthy, bodies active, social connections close, and to just plain have fun! Remember, SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club is where the learning continues and the fun never ends.