American Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio

American Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio

Trish Camera, the owner of American Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio, partners with instructor Josh Perry to walk students through the steps of the waltz. PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER

Shrewsbury - Looking to get in shape or learn to tango like the stars? American Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio off ers a wide variety of classes to do just that. With dancers ranging in age from children to adults and ability ranging from novice to professionals, owner Trish Camera believes that there is a dancer in everyone.

 

"My mentor, Steve Montuori, guided me towards a career as a dance instructor when I was only a dancer. He taught me that dance is a learned skill and that everyone can dance. It is this legacy that I have adopted and carry on here at the studio," Camera said.

Off ering a variety of adult, teen and youth classes Monday through Saturday, as well as dance parties the first and third Friday of every month, the studio runs daily classes in American & International Ballroom and Latin & Club dances.

"Dancing is an athletic and physical activity. People are beginning to realize this, thanks to the recent television hits 'So You Think You Can Dance' and 'Dancing with the Stars,'" Camera said. "Dancing, whether it is for fun or competition, can be an athletic hobby."

Adult classes, which run in six-week sessions and cost $50 per session, feature something for everyone. Some of the dances taught include the Foxtrot, Tango, Cha Cha, Samba, Salsa and Swing.

"I have adults who compete, couples looking to learn to dance for their wedding, young professionals looking to have fun and empty-nesters getting to know each other again," she said. "It is so exciting to watch our collegiate students compete against other colleges or watch the gradual progression of my social dance students transition into dancers who can now walk onto the floor with grace and confidence and complete a song that ends with a dip."

Camera trains junior and teen students interested in dancing, whether for fun or competition, both during weekly after-school and Saturday classes.

"When I was a child, I just knew I had to dance," she said. "As an adult watching what dance brings to children I have worked with both in the studio and in local public schools, it is so amazing to see the excitement in the children as their confidence grows."

Dance, she said, is a great opportunity for children to learn valuable life skills such as goal setting and team building while preparing for a recital.

"Learning to partner dance, you need to work with partners as a team and it takes time. The children spend weeks practicing, getting costumes together to prepare for the end result of the performance," she said.

Happy that the recent television shows has begun to challenge gender stereotypes that "American men do not dance," Camera said she is beginning to see an increase in male attendance in both the adult and junior/teen classes.

"Dancing is athletic," she said. "It is great for male athletes looking to improve their footwork in sports like tennis or soccer or athletes needing a great center of balance like in martial arts, football or wrestling."

Located at 52 S. Quinsigamond Avenue, Marion Park, in Shrewsbury, the 2,500-square -foot studio also holds regular Zumba and belly-dancing classes. For more information, drop in for a session, call 508-925-4537 or visit www.americanballroomlatin.com.

Editor's Note: the preceding is not an endorsement and is presented for informational purposes only.