A Riverina group of passionate ballroom students danced their way to the top at a recent competition in Wangaratta.
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Sue Conway, the owner of Foxtrot Dance Studio, said as well as their fantastic individual results they also competed in a 9 Dance Studio Challenge which they won.
“The studio challenge was held at the end of the individual and couple events and it was pretty late,” she said.
“They all pooled together and I don't where they got their energy, but it resulted in their win.
“It did come as a surprise, but they were ecstatic.”
The students are enrolled in weekly classes and work towards competitions every week, with lessons in three main styles.
Modern Ballroom, sometimes called Standard, is the term given to five dances that are danced both socially and in competitions: the quickstep, the slow foxtrot, the tango, the viennese waltz, and the waltz.
The Latin American Dances in ballroom dancing originates chiefly from South and Central America. With a heavy emphasis on the rhythm of the music, Latin dances are dynamic and fun. Competitive dancing consists of the cha cha, the jive, the paso doble, the rumba, and the samba.
New Vogue is an Australian set of sequence dances, meaning everyone dances the same steps at the same time. They originated in the 1930s and have become an important and popular set of dances, both on the competitive and social.
Mrs Conway and her husband took over the studio earlier this year, but have been students since they were young.
“There have been a lot of challenges, but it has been rewarding,” she said.
“We love that the kids and they all get along and they all challenge each other.
“Some students are autistic and some have sensory issues and seeing them build their confidence and join in a class, it gives them something that all other kids have access to. A few of the parents have mentioned how their confidence has skyrocketed.”
Foxtrot Dance Studio hosts classes for adults and children.