Strictly Arts Award

An important part of the Arts Award programme is the opportunity for students to step outside the ‘comfort zone’ of their chosen art form and try out new things.  After visiting the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool during the Autumn Expo in order to see how such a prestigious arts venue works, Ellesmere students were keen to experience some ballroom dancing for themselves.  We arranged an afternoon workshop with dance teachers Claire Thompson and Chloe Yeomans, where they were taught the basic steps of the tango and the cha cha cha.  It was great fun!

It is interesting to see this old film of dances at the Tower Ballroom in its heyday in the 1930s.  Hundreds of young people were clearly having a great time, but it is interesting to note the difference in dancing styles from today:  once you have learned the basics of these kinds of dances, then you can dance with anyone, anywhere.  How very different from the kinds of freestyle social dancing people now.  Perhaps learning dances with set steps encourages people to be more confident dancers?  It was also interesting to see how fit and healthy some of the very old dancers in Blackpool were after enjoying ballroom dancing all their lives!