Ballroom picks up steam here
BALLROOM dancing can be viewed as a fitness programme where one dances for fun, fitness and confidence, and almost any type of social dancing can be referred to as a recreation. However, with the emergence of dance-sport in modern times, the term has become narrower in scope.
In the past, just the mention of the words ballroom dance or the playing of ‘oldies’ at a party one could immediately tell the age-group such an event was likely to attract, and it usually hovered around the middle-aged or much older folks.
But these days, with the one-man-bands dominating the scene, ‘oldies’ dances in Guyana tend to attract a mixed-bag of clientele whose ages range between 20-plus and middle-age. 
The mere mention of  names such as ‘Blue Ribbon’ and one-man ensembles like ‘Lionel Abel’, ‘Love Connection’ and ‘Busta’, or a combination of any two or three when hosting an ‘oldies’ party will guarantee a sold-out crowd.
It has also been observed that at popular city party venues like Transport Sports Club on Thomas Lands; Critchlow  Labour College and Guyana Teacher’s Union  Hall on Woolford Avenue; the Girl’s Guides Pavilion on Brickdam; and Tropicana on Waterloo Street, ballroom dancing is the going thing of late.
Gone are the days when young men were told that they did not know their left from their right feet; they are now a force to reckon with, and if the older men don’t look sharp, they will soon be an endangered species on the dance floor.
With this development in mind, several dance schools have since mushroomed within the city where young men and women can now be seen outnumbering their older counterparts as they seize the opportunity to learn the art of ballroom dancing.
The dance-form has since transcended from just the traditional waltz and quick-step and cha- cha- cha to now include the line-dance, salsa, and meringue.
This anxiety among the younger folks, in my observation, has been heightened further with the airing of the US television reality show series,  `Dancing With the Stars’, which has reignited the interest in such dances.
I’m  a country girl who grew up with my grandmother and mother, and  I remember well both of them putting me to stand on their feet as they waltzed to oldies played on the then Radio Demerara  or  through the records they played on the old gramophone in the house.
I’ve always had a ‘thing’ for ‘oldies’, and this fascination intensified when I moved to the city in later years to live with an aunt and uncle.
Recently, I was taken aback when a friend who always found an excuse whenever she was invited to an oldies function, became animated with excitement as she talked about attending dance classes held by the Terpsichorean Ballroom Dance School at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) in Queenstown.
Moreover, what further piqued my interest was that this same young lady was taking part in a dance exhibition at the same venue last Sunday night, and even invited  me to watch them at prastice one evening, which I did in the company of three other friends, and was quite impressed with what I saw.
The students ranged in age and even size, with sessions catering for beginners, intermediates and the seasoned professionals.
Lead instructor is Mr. Lawrence Drakes, a qualified dance instructor, a Silver and Bronze medalist in Ballroom and Latin dances and holder of numerous trophies he has earned over the years.
Drakes, who hails from Queenstown, on the Essequibo Coast,  has been integrally involved in ballroom dancing since 1991 when the Terpsichorean Ballroom Dance School  was formed with  about 15 persons at the Wil’Ds Disco on Robb Street, named after his father, Wilfred Drakes.
The few hours I spent observing Drakes take the dancers through their paces as they prepared for last Sunday’s exhibition, I readily realized that the competitive side of ballroom dancing is not a pastime, exercise, or social outlet.
It is a full-fledged commitment to detail, design and diligence, with countless hours of sweat spent in the attempt to get every nuance and step embedded into body, soul, and muscle memory.
It’s also about hearing over and over the commands to ‘extend’, ‘reach’, ‘lift’, ‘lean’, ‘stretch’, ‘bend’, ‘connect’, and in some cases , ‘let me lead’.
Last Sunday’s occasion, which was the school’s Annual Tea Party and Dance Exhibition and featured a total of 24 dancers, was graced briefly by Prime Minister Mr. Sam Hinds.
The dancers, including beginners, showcased their skills in Waltz, Social Rhythm, Cha-Cha- Cha, Fast Oldies, Quick-step, Jive, Salsa , Line Dance and the Merengue.
One could literally feel the energy emanating from them as they melded their bodies into the correct positions and combined sweep and speed with serenity.
As a spectator, I watched intently and found myself feeling curiously excited and bowled over by all the action.
Drakes, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, recalled that among the initial members when the  Dance School was formed in 1991 were himself, brothers Lennox  and Leyland, the latter a former National Ballroom Dancing Champion;  Monica Wong and Sherry Barrow.
As a member of the dance school, he had visited Barbados and Antigua, where his brother Leyland has also established a dance school bearing the same name.
According to him, it was on his first visit to Barbados that he realized the island is by far more advanced in ballroom dancing than Guyana, and that there are numerous reading materials available for use as a guide.
Resulting from an invitation which the local group extended to their counterparts there, a representative delegate visited Guyana in 1997.
The following year, Drakes returned to Barbados and participated in a medal-testing exercise conducted by a six-member team from the International Dance Teachers Association  (IDTA) of England, which saw him earning a silver and bronze medal.
Drakes has, in addition to teaching at the dance school, also imparted his knowledge during a short period to some members of the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) programme.