Dance instructor Vlad Sirotin and student Stephanie Harris in a ballroom competition (Photo by Oleksandr Kucheriavyi courtesy Fred Astaire Dance Studio)
It’s wedding season, so maybe you’re looking to sign up for dance classes to dazzle the guests, or perhaps you’re searching for a new way to boost your physical and emotional health. If so, ballroom dancing is “a thing” right now, and it’s easy to get started.
“No experience is necessary to begin dancing,” says Eleanor Robertson, owner of Rigby’s Jig Dance Studio on West Broad Street.
In ballroom dance, couples perform prescribed moves and steps that complement the music for different styles of dance, including the waltz, the foxtrot and the tango.
The Richmond area has several studios and programs that teach ballroom dance. Check your local parks and recreation program for listings. There also are professional studios including Rigby’s Jig, Dance Masters Studio on Lakeside Avenue, Arthur Murray Dance Studios Richmond on Deep Rock Road in Henrico, and Fred Astaire Dance Studio in North Chesterfield.
“Life is dancing. Dancing is life,” says 26-year-old Vlad Sirotin, who teaches ballroom at Fred Astaire.
Originally from Ukraine, he learned the art of ballroom dance when he was 6 years old. Sirotin is one of five Ukrainian dance instructors at Fred Astaire. He says it’s a lifestyle and almost like an athletic sport in his home country, where he taught ballroom dance before coming to the United States to be an instructor at Fred Astaire about a year and a half ago.
Richmond Realtor Inna Burroughs, 32, started classes at Fred Astaire about a year and a half ago to give herself some downtime from her professional life. “It gives me a space and freedom to be with myself,” she says.
Besides the emotional uplift that dance provides, Burroughs says, she has lost more than 50 pounds through dancing since May 2021, a transformation that she’s been documenting on Instagram via @innarealtorrva.
Carol Jeter, 91, is another student at Fred Astaire. She started taking ballroom dancing classes after watching her daughter dance at the studio. “It’s a happy time for me,” Jeter says. “No one knows how much time is left, but what time I still have, I want to enjoy.”
Sometimes love blossoms on the dance floor, too. Rigby’s Jig owner Robertson says, “I can count numerous couples who have met dancing and even gotten married. Possibly even more exciting is to see couples who reignite their marriage or relationship after learning how to dance together. You get to hold each other and move around together to the music. Communication is important on the dance floor, which is really important for couples to learn together.”
The Good Foot
For your first class, dress comfortably and wear appropriate footwear. Rigby’s Jig Dance Studio owner Eleanor Robertson recommends leather/suede shoes with smooth soles and no tread that fit well and are secure to the foot (no flip-flops).
