Photo by HATSUE
Kirsten Kramer’s knees needed a break. After years of long-distance running, she needed to find something low impact that would keep her moving. She decided to check out a few different dance groups around Cincinnati through the MeetUp app.
After trying a few different dance styles , she discovered ballroom and was intrigued by the focus on technique and body mechanics, something she says made the dance stand out.
“When I first got into ballroom, I swore I’d never compete,” says Kramer. “That quickly faded, because competing is actually really fun.”
Kramer was 43 years old when she first stepped into the world of competitive ballroom, otherwise known as DanceSport. Competitions are structured so dancers compete against others their own age and skill level whether they’re 6 or 80.
“It’s unlike any other competition I can think of,” says Leigh Bradshaw, co-owner of Cincinnati Ballroom Company. “Any age can do it. You are never too old to start—ballroom is very encouraging about that.”
Bradshaw started as an ice skater but after seeing a competitive ballroom performance, she fell in love. Every dollar she had went into training, and she opened her own studio in 2009. Since then, her love for the sport has deepened her teaching.
“[Ballroom] made me reconnect to my own self,” says Bradshaw. “You will find a new part of you that you didn’t know existed, and that is a guarantee.” In addition to building connections between partners, Bradshaw emphasizes that ballroom is great for those with brain injuries and Parkinson’s. “It fires up all parts of the brain,” she says.
The fusion of the dancing is what attracted Bonita Brockert to ballroom. With an extensive dance background, she immediately recognized what makes the dance style unique.
“It looked like all forms of dance wrapped up into one picture,” she says. “It pulled all elements of dance into one art form. That’s why I liked it.” Brockert is now a private ballroom dance instructor and a competition judge with years of experience.
So, how do you start? Just do it. Take a group class, watch a competition, or schedule a lesson with an instructor.
“For someone like me who is a little shy and introverted, it’s allowed me to get out there and connect with someone without having to have witty conversation skills,” says Kramer. Just start. Your future self (and knees) will thank you.
The Breakdown
Competitive ballroom dancing is divided into four styles: International Latin, International Standard, American Rhythm, and American Smooth.
Each style contains multiple dances—for example, International Standard, the oldest form, includes the Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, and Quickstep.
The Competition
Ballroom dancing competitions are long, yet fast-paced. Typically taking three to four days, (the largest in the area, Ohio Star Ball in Columbus, is nearly a full week) the competitions must cover all the styles.
Most couples compete Pro-Am, where one of the duo is the professional instructor of the other dancer, their amateur student. Couples can also compete Am-Am if two amateurs want to dance together.
Competition begins with dancers doing single dance heats, where they perform and are judged on one style of dance (like the foxtrot).
Following the single dance heats come the multi-dance and scholarship heats. This is where the four style categories come back into play, and dancers are judged in totality based on the style they are competing in. All dance styles follow a syllabus that professionals teach their students and judges will follow.
The Costuming
Bright colors. Swarovski Crystals. Slicked back, perfect hair. We’ve all seen the intense and beautiful costuming that is iconic to ballroom dancers. Every element of the outfit has a reasoning behind it, and it’s all about drawing attention to and making the female dancer look her best.
Top-of-the-line dresses can cost thousands of dollars, and are custom-made to fit the dancer’s body. They will have features that highlight the parts of the dance the judges want to see (tassels and fringe for a dance with sharp hip movements, for example). The crystals are there to attract light and catch the judge’s eye.
The dancer’s hair must stay in place and out of her face, and heaps of gel and hairspray are used to achieve this. “Your hair is basically a hard helmet when you get home,” says Kramer. Stage makeup is applied to bring out the dancer’s expression, so a heavy eyelid and dark lip are commonly seen.
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