Vivian Herman and Bob Osborn (photo by Wanda Ross)
Hot August Nights/Cool Dancing
Vivian Herman
The SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club (SBDC) has some very cool events planned to shake up those hot August nights.
Salsa! A vibrant and energetic form of dance that originated in the Caribbean with strong influences from Latin American cultures. Characterized by its lively and rhythmic movements, salsa incorporates a fusion of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and African musical and dance traditions. Salsa is not only a popular social dance worldwide, but also a form of physical exercise that can enhance coordination, flexibility, and cardiovascular health. Salsa, the triple threat—good for the mind, good for the body, good for the soul. Classes, taught by Bob Osborn and Vivian Herman, start Aug. 4 and are held on Sundays from 3 to 4 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. for beginners and 4 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. for intermediates in the MountainView ballroom. The Vermilion Room in the SaddleBrooke One clubhouse is available on Mondays and Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. for practice. Then, show off your salsa savvy and all your terpsichorean talents at our Aug. 16 Dance Party. As always, please check our website sbballroomdance.com for up-to-date information and to register for classes and events.
Western Partners Review
Harry and Dottie Adams start the weekend off with a review of several western partner dances. It’s boot-stomping fun every Saturday morning in the Vermilion Room from 10 a.m. to noon.
Novice Program
Not ready for primetime? Just testing the waters? Check out our Novice Program, run by our resident professional dancers Dale and Ann Pizzitola. In these classes you will learn the basic steps to several partner dances. This program is an enormous success, and hundreds of SaddleBrooke residents are now enjoying the fruits of their labors on the dance floor. Best of all, it is free. SBDC membership is not required. Foxtrot and Swing are on the calendar for Aug. 7, and Tango and Rumba are on Aug. 14, with a Practice Party on Aug. 28. Check our website sbballroomdance.com for updates. The SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club is where the learning continues and the fun never ends.
Ann and Dale Pizzitola
Dancers in the Spotlight
Tom Marshall
Members of the SaddleBrooke Ballroom Dance Club know that having Dale and Ann Pizzitola as teachers is equivalent to winning the “dance lottery.” In 2004 Ann and Dale created their own dance studio in a Milwaukee suburb. Professional dance competitors flew in to be coached, and couples learned to dance for their wedding. Their studio also became the place for young men to “pop the question” to their dance partners.
After selling their studio, they retired to SaddleBrooke and joined the Ballroom Dance Club where they now serve as the directors of dance instruction. When you watch Dale and Ann on the dance floor today, you can tell they still love to dance, and they still love to teach dance to anyone who gives it their best effort.
“After I saw Saturday Night Fever, I knew I wanted to teach dance.” At the age of 21, Dale Pizzitola knew he had a “calling.” Ann had a similar experience when she moved to Milwaukee at the age of 22 and began taking dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studios and soon found herself performing in showcases. Along the way, Dale rapidly learned the International style of dance, honing his skills in Chicago and becoming a dance teacher. To up his game, Dale purchased his first “tails” from a top London designer of formal dance wear. Dale explained that there were “special panels under the arms of the jacket so that when I raised my arms in dance position, the jacket wouldn’t roll up.” Ann, who also quickly sharpened her skills, but in the American dance style, began sewing elaborate costumes for her dance instructors to pay for her lessons.
What did their parents think about all of this? “My mother was always quick to add, ‘Ann also has a regular job.’” And Dale laughs about coming home and his dad asking, “When are you going professional so you can start earning some serious money?”
Ann and Dale met at a competition and began their dance partnership with great enthusiasm. Since they lived about 90 miles apart, they took turns driving to each other’s city for three-hour practice sessions every day and five hours on the weekend. Eventually, Dale moved to Milwaukee where they could continue to develop their competitive routines. Within an incredibly short 10 years, Dale and Ann were competing at the professional level and won the Rising Star Award out of a field of 45 couples. “One of the fiercest competitive couples would dance us into a corner and then stop. We had nowhere to go except to step around and through them,” Ann laughed.
Ann and Dale oversee the instruction for the club, providing dancers with the opportunity to partake in free novice, beginner, or intermediate level classes each week, along with dance practice sessions, some of which are coached. Their philosophy of dance: “If you go out and have fun and you’re still learning and improving, that’s what it’s all about!”