April Social Dance

Poster VBDS Spring Fling social dance April 20th 20204

 

Come join us for our “Spring Fling” social dance on April 20th, as we celebrate the end of another West Coast winter with a return to longer days, warmer weather and blossoms everywhere!

We will have special guest instructor, Adam Hanna, providing a Rumba workshop, a great way to get everyone in the mood and dancing together!  We’ll keep the dancing going with a great mix of ballroom music sure to put a “spring” in your step.

So grab your dancing shoes and let’s swing into the season together!

When: Saturday, April 20th – doors open 5:45 pm, workshop @ 6:00 pm and general dancing 6:45–8:45 pm

Where: Cedar Hill Rec Centre – enter from the lobby only – the side doors will remain closed.

Ticket Information:  Secure your spot now and be part of this fun evening!  Tickets are available online (sign in then scroll down) and at the door. VBDS members $10 per person, $12 for non-members.

VBDS members can register & pay here

Non-members can register & pay here

Classes & workshops – March & April 2024

Winter/Spring Session 4 classes and workshops have been posted to our website.

Level 2 Newcomer Part 1

Newcomer Part 1 starts April 18th and runs on Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 at Centennial United Church. Five classes will run from April 18th to May 16th. More info can be found here.

Level 2 Newcomer Part 2

Newcomer Part 2 starts April 8th and runs on Monday evenings from 7:00-8:30 at Centennial United Church. Six, 90-minute classes will run from April 8th to May 13th. More info can be found here.

Level 4 Pre-Bronze Part 1

Following the current Level 3, Intermediate Part 2, we will be running Pre-Bronze classes on Thursdays from 7:30-9:00 at Centennial United Church from April 18th to May 16th. More info can be found here.

Newcomer Level Competition Preparation Workshops – Latin and Standard

In the before times, each year a few novice dancers would take the plunge and try competing. For some it was a one-and-done, for others it was the start of a new passion. For all of them, competing was something totally not on their radar when they first started dancing. Covid and the long climb out seemed to squelch that annual migration of a few dancers to the competition realm. Victor and your dance committee want to change that. Our idea is to host a series of workshops to teach you routines (Cha Cha and Waltz) and teach you everything you need to know about competing: marshalling, entrance, set-up, dancing of course, what to do if you get bumped, presenting your partner at the end of the dance and how to exit the floor. The Island Fantasy Ball competition runs on June 1st and 2nd and they make it super easy for Newcomers – one Latin dance: Cha Cha and one standard dance: Waltz. Our goal is to create a team and use that camaraderie to support and encourage each other as we dip our toes into what appears dark and cold but is actually quite warm and inviting. More info on the workshops can be found here.

Other Dancing Opportunities

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Dance Competition Update

Canadian Closed Championships

The 66th year of Canadian Closed Championships will be held in Toronto, Ontario on April 19th and 20th, 2024. Visit their website for more information and for competitor registration: https://dancesport.ca/page22.php

 

Island Fantasy Ball 2024

Image Island Fantasy Ball 2024 promo

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Island Fantasy Ball, hosted as always by Nanaimo Ballroom Dance Society. This two-day event will be held on June 1st and 2nd at Beban Park Social Centre, Nanaimo, BC – The only ballroom competition on the island. More event and registration information can be found here: https://www.islandfantasyball.com/

 

Sunday Funday – Summer 2024

The organizers of VCC/Sunday Funday have just announced the date for this one-day Vancouver event – June 23rd, 2024! More details to follow as they are made available. Check their website for updates: https://sundayfunday.dance/

 

Classes for January, February and March are up!

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VBDS LIbrary of Instructional DVDs

Our library of instructional DVDs at all levels is now available. The titles and contact info for our Video Librarian have been posted under “Membership” in the main menu, and are available HERE.

Dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain!

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Click on the image to open up in Youtube.

Worried About Memory Loss? Pick up your Dancing Shoes!
Dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain.

Physical exercise has an anti-aging effect on the hippocampus region of the brain — an area that controls memory, learning and balance. A recent study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience has found dance classes can prevent and reverse some signs of aging in the brain!

The 18- month study looked at seniors with an average age of 68 and placed them in either a group challenged with dance routines or a group challenged with repetitive endurance exercise such as cycling.

The dance routines contained many challenges and changes every session including changes in steps, arm patterns, speeds, choreograph and genres.

The older adults who participated dance exercise experienced an increase in the hippocampus volume as well as an improvement in their balance. This is very significant because the hippocampus is the earliest and most severely affected brain structure in individuals with dementia. It is a brain area that is responsible for not only memory and learning but also for keeping one’s balance.

This study has since generated a lot of popular articles and videos over the past 12 months, but there is one particular video available on YouTube is that is of special interest, since, along with dancers from all over the world, it includes a short clip of some VBDS Members of long-standing. The brief footage of VBDS Members in the YouTube video was taken a number of years ago, in the downstairs Dance Studio at Saanich Commonwealth Place, as part of a pilot for a TV series.

We hope you can share this with your family and friends and spread the good word!
It’s never too late to pick up those dancing shoes!

Volunteers! You’re Our Fuel!

You’re Our Fuel!!

Your Victoria Ballroom Dance Society runs on the energy and dedication of Volunteers… people just like you, people who love to dance and who bring other skills from the rest of their lives. Frankly, we’re a fun bunch!!  Here are a couple of opportunities; come join us!!!

If we’re lucky enough to get your help with our Membership Committee, you’ll be advising your board on ways to enhance the membership’s experience with VBDS. Some of the ways we’ll do that include but are not limited to:

  • Assisting with Class Registrations and Ballroom Introductions
  • Devising FUN ways to improve membership retention year to year
  • Updating and maintaining our Membership and contact information list

Interested? You can contact our membership committee at: membership@vbds.org

If you choose to volunteer for the Dance Committee, you’ll be an important part of advising the board on matters relating to FUN!… also known as: dances sponsored by VBDS. As a part of a team, you will have the opportunity to share your ideas and use your creative talents to:

  • help organize the Monthly Dances
  • coordinate the music, and 
  • help organize the next New Year’s Dance

Interested? You can contact our dance committee at: dance@vbds.org

Our Dance Syllabus

Elegant Standard: The Foxtrot

Because of its smoothness, it is often referred to as the Rolls Royce of the standard dances. It is what Fred and Ginger used to do so well. “The object of smooth dances is to move or travel smoothly around the room, covering as much of the dance floor as possible. The couple should be streamlined, two people moving as one, gliding fluidly and forcefully around the dance floor. Imagine a room filled with stiff whipped cream. The dancers’ goal is to move smoothly and powerfully through the cream, charting a clean path without disrupting any of the cream around them.” This is one of the best descriptions of our goal in smooth dancing. It is from the book, “ABC’s of Ballroom Dance”.

It is generally believed that a Vaudeville star by the name of Harry Fox began what today we call the Foxtrot. In the summer of 1914 Harry and his company of “American Beauties” put on a dancing act in the New York Theater. As part of his act, he was doing trotting steps to ragtime music, and people referred to this dance as “Fox’s Trot”. When the British dance masters imported this American ballroom dance to England, they smoothed away the trotting, hops and kicks to a much smoother version which has endured over the years.

Our Dance Syllabus

Sizzling Latin: The Paso Doble

The origin of the Spanish-styled Paso Doble dance represents a bullfight, where the lead takes the role of the bullfighter, while the follow takes on the flare of the red cape of the toreador and not the bull, as often assumed. Together, the lead and follow move dramatically, often changing roles as they move around the imaginary bull, while they present flamenco elements and feature arena fights with stylized figures.

Its present form was created in France and since 1959 it has been one of the five dances of the Latin American program of international ballroom competition. In terms of its usefulness in your dance development, it is probably the best dance for your development of a strong and stylistic frame, one of the great challenges beyond learning your footwork.