MARY STEGMEIR, Courier Staff Writer | Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:00 am
WATERLOO - "Wrap up the 20th century," Newsweek critic Jack Kroll wrote in 1987. "Fred Astaire is gone."
Indeed, the death of the Hollywood legend brought an end to an era. But Astaire's first love - ballroom dancing - is making a comeback thanks to TV shows like ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
That's good news for the Cedar Valley Dance Club. Since the program hit the airwaves in 2005, organization leaders have noticed an uptick of interest in their programs. For that reason, they're expecting a full house at the 13th annual Spring Serenade Charity Ball later this month at Waterloo's Electric Park Ballroom.
"We draw people from all over the region and surrounding states, and every year it just keeps getting bigger," said club president Hilda Ostby, noting that about 200 people attended the 2007 event. "Ballroom dancing is really on the rise."
This year's ball will feature National USA Dance champions Roger and Amy Greenawalt from Indianapolis. The amateur dancers will host workshops prior to the event and will share four of their own routines during one of three scheduled showcases. Local dancers and students from the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University will perform during the other breaks.
Ostby and her husband, Steve, started dancing 13 years ago to stave off empty nest syndrome after four or their five children moved out of their Cedar Falls home. This week the couple will be highlighted in an "American Profile" story about the resurgence of ballroom dancing. The supplement will be available in Tuesday's Courier.
"I have to say, we practically didn't notice the kids were gone," Ostby said. "It was a wonderful filler for us. I've told people recently that I think the years we've been dancing have been the best years of our marriage."
She hopes the upcoming ball will introduce more Cedar Valley residents to the sport.
"Even if they didn't want to dance or couldn't come to the workshops, they should come see the showcases," Ostby said. "That alone is worth the price of admission. These are 'Dancing with the Stars'-caliber dancers."
In the past few years, more and more armchair choreographers have left the comfort of the living room to dabble in the dance world, said Carol Murphy, another member of the Cedar Valley Dance Club.
"Because of the TV shows, people have realized that Latin dancing or the old ballroom dancing is something that they'd like to try," she said. "That's been good for us because our whole goal is to just encourage dancing in general. That brings more people to our organization and more people to our charity ball."
This year's dance will benefit the East Central Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The partnership is especially fitting because dementia can be delayed or prevented by exercising one's mind and body, said regional manger Laura Kann.
Ballroom dancing does both, she said.
"The connection to dancing and its health benefits is something we're happy to promote," Kann said. "And the fact that they chose us is great. It allows us to continue to run programs for people affected now, and then raise money for research so hopefully people won't have to be affected in the future."
Contact Mary Stegmeir at (319) 291-1482 or mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.