An uplifting, healthy and exciting pastime

FROM the elegance of the waltz to the energy of the cha-cha-cha and the rhythm of the jive, Ballroom Dancing continues to provide a world of escape for many persons while proving that the human body really can do amazing things.

Locally, the Guyana Ballroom Dancers Association (GBDA) is best known for the promotion and practice of the type of dance, even as it competes with other forms of dance popular in the Caribbean.

To best explain the world of ballroom dancing and Guyana’s deep roots in the practice, the Pepperpot Magazine met up with President of the GBDA, Richard Bynoe; Vice President (ag.) Osmand McKend; Secretary, Andrea Edwards; and President of the Terpsichorean Ballroom Dance School, Lawrence Drakes.
The representatives were able to explain that under the umbrella of Ballroom Dancing there are two categories: Standard dancing and Latin dancing and which are differentiated by their style.

Standard Ballroom dancing is mostly stable dancing with limited focus on hip movement while Latin dancing sees dancers travelling around the floor with much hip action, often allowing the woman to take charge.

Latin dances include the cha-cha-cha, samba, rumba, pasodoble and jive while Standard ballroom dances include the waltz, quickstep, foxtrot, tango and Viennese waltz.
According to Andrea Edwards, one can tell a dancer from the way he or she walks. She added that the flare, poise and upright position of the body while dancing are some of the main reasons she enjoys the activity.

Meanwhile, Osmand McKend told the Pepperpot Magazine that dancing, for him, is more than a form of exercise but also a means to impact the development of youths.
“There are so many other health benefits that can be derived from doing ballroom dance,” McKend said, adding: “Ballroom dancing can have a tremendous impact on behavioural changes, especially with our youths today. Ballroom dancing can be an alternative to what the children would normally see on the television, [it] can also help in terms of mannerism, etiquette and target group to discuss challenges in their communities.”

However, despite the many benefits and feelings of satisfaction that can arrive from the practice of dance, there are still challenges which the association says it faces when it comes to changing the way the younger population sees the dance.

“Most people feel, when you talk about ballroom dancing, that this thing if for old people,” Bynoe said. “A lot of individuals, they are still ignorant of ballroom dancing, that is one of the challenges that we are facing. It’s very hard now to convince the youths but I think we’re going to get there sometime soon because of social media and the internet.”

DECADES AGO
What many young and even older folks today may not know is that dating all the way back to the 60s and 70s, before the forming of the association, ballroom dancing competitions were held in Guyana but persons lacked the necessary technique to move beyond the basic training stage.

“We were doing ballroom dancing, we were trying to do everything that we see on paper or see on video but there was a big misconception of what actual ballroom dancing is,” Drakes told the newspaper. “The most important part of Ballroom and Latin dancing wasn’t there. We were just doing what we saw and what we interpreted.”

However, collectively contributing to a compact timeline, the four members gave a brief history of how this all changed along with the formation of the association and the many works it achieved over the years.

GBDA’S REACH
This year, 11 dancers from the GBDA were awarded medals and certificates following their successful completion of the International Dance Teachers’ Association (IDTA) Medal Testing examination conducted in Trinidad and Tobago.

To date, the GBDA has several Dance Schools which come under the association such as Step Right in Linden; Apex in Festival City; New Image in West Ruimveldt; Let’s Dance in Campbellville; Terpsichorean in Robb Street; Exquisite Dance World at the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU); Beterverwagting Uprising in Beterverwagting and Buxton –Haslington in Buxton.

In the past, it hosted a television programme on Safe TV/2 Channel 2 titled, ‘Shall We Dance: Ballroom Style’ but ventures like these were discontinued due to challenges such as insufficient finances and sponsorship.

In addition to these, the association has no official building to accommodate the association and its dance classes, and with little public awareness about what ballroom dancing contributes an average amount of persons take part in the overseas competition.

The self-funded organisation raises its funds through dance shows and other activities while maintaining its objectives to standardise ballroom dancing locally, maintain and improve professional standards and increase public awareness about the association.

FUTURE PLANS
In the near future, the GBDA hopes to prepare enough persons locally to be able to provide the human resources for possibilities in the works, even as ballroom dancing is being considered for the Olympics as a sport.

“From very small I can remember mom and dad dancing and then taking me through the pace by placing me on their feet…it was something that was within our family. So I continued that tradition,” said Drakes to whom dancing is a form of relaxation when coming from a hard day’s work.

Summing it all up in a way that best explains his passion and love for the style of dance, the president of the association, Richard Bynoe remarked: “There is no barrier when it comes to ballroom dancing.”