Dancing with the students; N.Y.U. team one of the ... - Lawrence Lerner

14 November 24 - 30, 2006
Coach Jennifer McCalla leads mirror exercises with N.Y.U. ballroom dance team members at her studio, Chelsea Dance, on Monday.
Chelsea Now photo by Lawrence Lerner
Dancing with the students; N.Y.U. team one of best
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She and others attribute the growing
popularity of competitive ballroom and
Latin dancing in this country in part to
ABC’s prime-time reality show “Dancing
With the Stars,” which began airing in June
2005. The show pairs celebrities with professional
dancers, pitting couples against
one another in formal competition before a
panel of seasoned judges.
But it is also the result of college teams
like N.Y.U.’s, which predate the show,
according to McCalla.
“When Stanley and I were at the world
championships at age 25, we’d been dancing
for only five years, while our international
competitors had been at it for 15,”
she said. “But junior dancing — 16 and
under — is growing, and the 18-and-over
segment is growing even faster because
of all of the college ballroom teams. Now,
you don’t have to wait until age 23 to get
serious.”
If anyone knows the dance world, it
is McCalla, whose Fred Astaire Dance
Studio was located near N.Y.U.’s main
Washington Square campus before relocating
to 127 W. 25th St. in 2001 and undergoing
a name change more in line with its
new environs.
She and her husband were U.S. Amateur
International-Style champions from 1983
to 1987 and represented the U.S. at four
world dance championships. They turned
pro in 1987 and, two years later, won the
first People’s Choice Award for international
dancing at the Ohio Star Ball, which airs
on PBS and is the largest televised ballroom
dancing championship in North America.
From 1990 to 1997, they toured the
world with the American Theater Ballroom
Company, directed by Pierre Dulaine,
and were also the Fred Astaire National
Professional American-Style Champions in
1996 and 1997, retiring shortly thereafter
to teach privately and work with college
ballroom and Latin dance teams, beginning
with N.Y.U.’s in 1998. (Stanley began
coaching the Columbia University team
five years ago as well.) The couple also
runs three-day workshops for college teams
throughout the country, while judging competitions
twice a month.
“What a reward it is to work with college
students, and my N.Y.U. kids. These
guys aren’t encumbered by life yet. They
have no homes, families or mortgages, so
they can give a lot to the ballroom scene,”
said McCalla. “And dance, like any art
form, needs long-term work. Knowing we
have a long-term foundation with these
kids — we can work with them for four
to six years, which means we can really
develop them as dancers.”
On Sunday, the N.Y.U. team had just
returned from Ohio, where the group competed
against 140 couples in the National
Collegiate Dancesport Championships,
managing to reach the finals and semifinals
of many divisions, which range from beginner
to championship level.
And among schools in the northeast, the
N.Y.U. team remains atop the heap.
“We’re known as, if not the best, then
one of the best in the region,” said Jamie
Schiffer, the N.Y.U. team captain. “People
know us as a force and look up to us. In
fact, a few weeks ago, someone at Cornell
told me that we’re models for them, which
feels really good.”
That is all the more remarkable, given
that team N.Y.U. is 30 members strong,
while many of their competitors have
upwards of 70 people. And many of the
N.Y.U. students enter the team with little
or no experience.
“We work with many levels of kids
and have the privilege of helping them
develop,” said McCalla.
For the most dedicated dancers, the
team can be a significant time commitment.
The McCallas offer two lessons a week
at Dance Chelsea, while the team holds
an additional two-hour weekly practice at
N.Y.U., where experienced team members
mentor newcomers. Then there are the
competitions — four or five per semester
— sometimes requiring car travel to colleges
throughout the Northeast. On top of
all of this, many team members take up the
McCallas up on their offer for unlimited
practice at the studio, and many end up
taking discounted private lessons with their
coaches as well.
But attendance is ultimately optional,
and given the students’ busy academic
schedules, such built-in flexibility is welcomed
by members.
“We’re a really easygoing, stress-free,
relaxed team. We welcome people when
they come, and when they have to leave,
we don’t say a word,” said Schiffer. “That’s
one of the reasons it’s good to be on this
team.”
N.Y.U. graduate student David
Hammon, who has been with the group
for three years, is happy to be a part of this
fast-growing sport.
“At first I thought it would just be a
nice way to meet new people. But after a
while, I really enjoyed it more,” he said
after Monday’s group lesson at Dance
Chelsea. “It’s kind of like learning to play
an instrument. At the beginning, nobody’s
very good, but if you put in some time and
effort, you can learn how to do some things
that really look great, even if you’ve only
been doing it for six months.
“And sometimes, while I’m, say, waiting
for the subway, I find myself taking
small steps and creating patterns on the
platform,” he said. “The neat thing is, no
one knows I’m practicing but me.”