If your New Year's resolution includes being more active, or socializing more, I have a great idea for you... ballroom dancing.  Ballroom dance generally refers to any dance style that two people do together.   The Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Swing are just a few.  And according to Freddie Ciampi, the owner of and lead instructor at Social Graces dance studio, the benefits are tremendous.

"Ballroom dancing encompasses a lot of different things. There is the social aspect, you talk with the person you are dancing with. There is an etiquette involved, there's a rule involved. You go to a typical dance club today and it is hard to find the rules whether you are a teen or an adult, so this will teach you those etiquette rules as well. It's a light physical activity, so it's something you can do without warming up, but it also can be more intense for those who want it to be," said Ciampi.

Rene and Rob Pettit started lessons five weeks ago.  They are amazed by how much they have already learned and how much more comfortable they are dancing in public.  And the time they get to spend together as a couple is invaluable.  "It's fantastic. It's fun, it's something that's just for us, that doesn't involve the kids. So much of our lives revolves around our children, which is fine, but this is something special that is just for us," said Rene

Ciampi says that there is a fun, systematic way that he teaches the dance steps. A way that even the "sports guy" would appreciate. And there is even research to show that it helps to ward off degenerative diseases.

"Like chess and crossword puzzles, for the male brain ballroom dancing stimulates the correct parts of the brain that help keep it young, so to speak. As far as the body goes, your muscles get a work out. You get a cardio workout if you do this for three or four hours, so there are lots and lots of benefits," said Ciampi

 

The Winchester Star  02/14/2005
Players in Arts Nonprofit Have ‘Good Karma’
New Corporation Buys Roller Rink For Blue Ridge Studio Expansion
by Val Van Meter

BERRYVILLE — Todd Carlisle has sold the Berryville Roller Rink and its companion business, Berryville Sport and Health, to Good Karma, L.L.C., a new corporation formed by operators of Blue Ridge Studio for the Performing Arts. Principals of Good Karma — Blue Ridge Studio’s founder, Nela Niemann; her partner, Gaye Dorsey; music director Sherman Sumner; and ballroom dance teacher Frederick Ciampi — plan to keep the health and fitness part of Carlisle’s business in operation. “I’m passing the fitness torch to another generation,” said Carlisle, who already signed on for a membership. Good Karma will lease the former roller rink, which had been in Carlisle’s family for three generations, to the Berryville-based Blue Ridge Studio. The lease deal, Niemann said, will allow the nonprofit dance and music school to expand. The 13,000-square-foot roller rink will be remodeled to house the dance studios and make them bigger than the ones Blue Ridge Studio has now on the second floor of a building at 4 E. Main St., known by locals as the old Berryville Hotel. “The smallest studio there will be bigger than the biggest studio we have here,” Niemann said. “We’re very chopped up, up here. We’ve got to give the kids room to move.” The studio’s location on Va. 7 Business, west of Berryville, is close to D.G. Cooley Elementary School and Clarke County High School, making it a more convenient location for students. The 2-acre site also provides ample parking. Blue Ridge Studio, now in its 13th year of operation, has almost 500 students and five part-time instructors who teach music, ballet, jazz, tap, ballroom, and modern dance. With nonprofit status, Blue Ridge Studio can raise money for student scholarships, Niemann said, but can’t purchase real estate. Forming Good Karma L.L.C., made it possible to buy the building — an $816,000 purchase — so Blue Ridge Studio could have access to the former roller rink. Niemann said the group had been looking for a space to meet their needs since last spring and wanted to stay in Berryville. “There were limited places we could look,” she said. Carlisle said he sold the rink and fitness center because his job in the city kept him from putting time into the business. ”I was burnt out,” Carlisle said, “And the market had changed.” There’s more for young people to do in the area now, he said, adding it was a different world when his grandfather and parents ran the roller rink. In those days, Carlisle and Niemann both skated there. “You expected to see everybody at church on Sunday and at the roller rink on Friday night,” Carlisle said. “It’s a different market now.” In addition to dance studios, Niemann said remodeling of the rink area will include a waiting room, snack bar, and smaller spaces for music practice. Sumner has already moved his students to the rink, and Ciampi’s ballroom dancers will glide across the floor beginning this week. But, Niemann said walls must be built and mirrors installed before the dance classes can be scheduled there. Parents of students and family members of the new owners are rallying around to help with the renovation. “We have the most amazing group of parents,” Niemann said. Blue Ridge Studio will have an open house from 1- 4 p.m. on March 5. The band Caydence, comprised of music students who take lessons at Blue Ridge Studio, will perform, and dance students will hold demonstrations. Dorsey said the studio also plans an invitation-only gala that evening, featuring local artists, dinner, and dancing, along with a live and silent auction, to raise funds for the renovation. Niemann said she expects to expand the offerings at the health center with Pilates, yoga, and aerobics. “We want to make it more accessible to non-members,” she said. Dorsey said the extra space will also allow the studio to hold a performing arts camp as a way of expanding the studio’s summer offerings.

The Winchester Star 09/22/2004
Clarke High School Kicks Off Ballroom Dance Club
by Val Van Meter
 

BERRYVILLE — Sometimes, mothers do know best. Miles Ross, 15, and Mark Mihacsi, 19, can attest to that. Both agreed to take ballroom dance lessons at their mothers’ suggestion. “At first, I really didn’t want to do this,” Miles said.  Now, Miles is starting a social dancing club at Clarke County High School. “It’s a lot of fun,” Miles said of the dances, including the waltz, cha cha, and tango. “It builds confidence. You learn to dance with all kinds of people.”

“The guys,” he said, “are a lot harder to convince.”