At Longwood, there are a number of creative and educational extracurricular activities that one could enjoy. Many times, these manifest in the form of events like Spring Weekend or trips like those to Arizona or Mardi Gras. However, there is also much to be found loved and learned with Longwood's many clubs and student organizations. One of these is Longwood's Ballroom Dancing Club, represented by its President Danielle Hebert. While relaxing in Longwood's Java City, Hebert discussed the club's activities and history with evident enthusiasm and the wish to have it grow even more.
Hosting classes in Curry Commons on Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00 p.m. and meetings in Jeffers Auditorium on Thursdays at 7 p.m., the Ballroom Dancing Club is composed of eight to ten active members and a few more that contribute in other ways. Lessons are $5 per person and $3 with a large enough group. Faculty is likewise invited to attend. Interested parties can pay in advance with Treasurer Cameron Wright or advisor Sarah Hobgood in the Academic and Career Advising Center on the Monday before the lesson.
Preceded by a failed Swing Club, the Ballroom Dancing Club was founded by Hebert and graduated former president Katie Hedgepeth in spring 2010. Hebert, a liberal arts major with a psychology concentration, and Hedgepeth, a English major minoring in business, had no experience with ballroom dancing and were inspired by the show "Dancing with the Stars." Agreeing that it was a good idea to start the organization, Hebert and Hedgepeth hired a dance instructor and began to attract interested parties also allured by the idea of dancing like the show's contestants.
In addition, to her involvement in the Ballroom Dancing Club, Hebert is also a belly dancer at Longwood. She said, "I like ballroom dancing because every week I go to ballroom dancing and it gives me a way to completely de-stress, exercise and meet new people." Hebert has also learned how diverse and "modernized" it is and that anyone can learn to ballroom dance.
The Ballroom Dancing Club will also be performing for Spring Weekend with a "Passport to Farmville" theme, an emphasis on Spain. The performance will largely feature Spanish ballroom dancing styles.
As one of the many expanding and fun organizations that populate the campus landscape, the Ballroom Dancing Club serves to improve the student's quality of life. Just as older professionals look for ways to cool off from their daily schedules and responsibilities, the Longwood student should go out and relax by some activity, some motion of the body that does not involve trekking from class to class or diving into paper after paper. Longwood's Ballroom Dancing Club promises to deliver this healthy distraction in spades.
