Crash Course

Feet, don’t fail me now

By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, December 23, 2009

New Year’s Eve is the ultimate date night. If you’ve got a significant other to smooch at midnight—or are hoping to hit a swanky soiree in search of one—it’s an evening that can sparkle like a billion shimmering Christmas lights.

But wait—what’s that? You just found out that, in addition to dressing up in your holiday finery and posing as fancy arm candy for the big night out, you’ll also be expected to make merry on the dance floor?

Whatever you do, don’t freak out. Don’t pretend to come down with the swine flu and cancel the outing. Don’t cry. There’s a simple solution: learn how to dance. 

At the Blue Moon Ballroom, the savvy instructors are well aware that not everybody spends their lives pursuing the same passion for dance that they do. For the second year, they’re offering up three “crash courses” that will enable even those who think they have two left feet to enter into the New Year’s Eve event of their choosing with confidence (and maybe even some rhythm).

Starting Mon., Dec. 28 with waltz and foxtrot lessons, the tutorials will continue Tuesday with East Coast Swing and Nightclub 2 Step, and end Wednesday night with the passionate Cha Cha and Rumba on the roster. Sign up for one night, or show up through the week for a serious serving of movement-based sessions.

“The classes are for those last minute, ‘Oh, god, please teach me to dance’ kind of thing,” says Blue Moon Ballroom owner and instructor Molly Adams. “It’s low pressure, and for total beginners.”

To further lessen the stress of learning how to shake and glide amid a class of newbies, Adams notes it’s not necessary to show up with a partner, and points out that pretty much everybody’s going to start out on the same page—learning how to get comfortable moving around on a dance floor. If you mess up, she says, it’s quite likely nobody’s even going to notice.

“It’s not that serious,” Adams says, “it’s just dancing. We take a very casual, friendly approach to dancing. We did it last year, and the classes turned out really well. This year we’ve paired up two dances per night. If you’re going to a formal party, which is typical for New Year’s Eve, you probably want to sign up for the ballroom class. You can tailor what you need to learn to where you’re going.”

Because they’ve already got one season of crash courses under their belts, and have noticed some trends, Adams says it’s likely some who show up for a one-nighter will find themselves wanting more, and will make dance part of their social life. Heck, showing up at the Blue Moon on a regular basis might even integrate itself into your New Year’s resolutions.

“We had a lot of people make friends in the classes last year,” Adams says. “Lots stayed and kept coming. It’s a really great way to meet new people—not necessarily in a dating sense—and it’s something you can do for fun.”