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Editorial Review
New York’s largest dance studio and one of the highest grossing studios in the world, DanceSport has long been Manhattan’s Mecca of dance. With over 20 years in the same Broadway location, Paul Pellicoro and his partner Eleny Fortinos have built DanceSport into a widely acclaimed, three-story studio. Today, it’s the first place to go if you want to learn just about any style from Swing to Salsa. Do the Hustle? So do they. Walk like an Egyptian? Well, I’m not so sure they can help you with that (in fact, you might want to consult your physician), but they do boast some of the finest dance instructors from around the globe. With some of the top competitive dancers in the world, their experienced trainers bring a combination of local and international flavors to traditional and authentic dance styles. And if you’re as hot on finding an authentic Argentine Tango class as I am, this is the place to find it.
Really you’ll find anything you could want, as DanceSport offers a variety of private and group lessons for all levels. Even unfortunate souls like myself, who were born with two left feet, will enjoy the beginner classes. It’s okay if you don’t pick it up right away, because everybody is there to learn. And that’s one of the great things about dance—it’s a social activity. Learning to laugh with your mistakes and smile when things start to click is just a part of the process.
But if things aren’t clicking right away, it’s not a lost cause. Private lessons allow for individual attention with some amazing professional dancers who will quite literally make sure you start out on the right foot (unless, of course, the dance calls for you to start out on your left, and two, and three, and four). My first lesson was with Lori Ann Greenhouse, the World Hustle Champion, which you would expect to be extremely intimidating for a beginner like myself. Not even a problem. We had an absolute ball. After more than a few missteps on my part, I picked up a few moves, broke a decent sweat, and smiled the whole time. I was so excited, I was dancing in the mirror when I woke up the next day.
Group classes are more than just a great way to learn, they’re an even better way to meet new people. By constantly shifting your partners, the instructors allow you to learn the proper steps, while learning to communicate with and adapt to the styles of different people. Single people. In-shape, single people looking to dance with other single people. This is just one of the ways DanceSport helps to foster the tightest-knit dance community in Manhattan.
If you’re looking to get a bit closer to the community, you can check out one of their nightly dance parties. Each night, DanceSport opens their doors to their students and dance enthusiasts from all over the metro-area (non-students pay a small cover charge). After my Hustle lesson, I hung around to check out the Hustle practice party, and to my surprise, I had a blast. Within an hour, there were at least 100 people in the room, and about 80 of them were dancing at any given time. The vibe was absolutely amazing. Who knew that anything like this happened in Manhattan? Tons of singles from all walks of life, everyone having fun, everybody dancing with everybody else—even Paul Pellicoro was grabbing students and heating up the dance floor. No rejection. No fear. No awkward silence, or failed pick-up lines, or drunken fumblings. One attractive young woman remarked, “Every Monday night, this 75-year-old man just wears me out on the dance floor. He’s got the best energy in the room. I love it.”
You can tell that Paul and his instructors don’t view dance as a business. They dance because they love it. You see that passion in their instruction, and you see the smiles on their face as they dance at the nightly parties. But they’re not the only ones smiling. The students are hooked. One student of several months claimed that dancing was “better than therapy.” Another had been coming to the Monday night Hustle party and the Tuesday night Salsa party every week for three years. There’s even a woman from Texas who flies to New York for six weeks a year just to visit the studio. One student says that her and group of about six girls she met at the Salsa parties now hang out every weekend. “It’s given me the confidence to go out, walk right up to anybody, and start talking,” she says. “Dancing has been great for me. Now, if I can’t find anyone to hang out with, I can even go out by myself and have fun.”
So it helps with your social life, and it gives you more confidence, but is dancing really physical fitness? Of course it is. You’re on your feet; you’re working on coordination, often at a quick pace; you’re balancing through controlled muscle movements—or in my case, completely uncontrolled toe-stepping movements. I definitely broke a sweat on the dance floor, and I love to tell people that I’m in great shape. Of course, I’m one of those people who think pears have a very nice shape to them. But don’t take it from me. If you still don’t believe dance can be just as physical as any other sport, just ask Jerry Rice, future NFL Hall of Famer and one of the best athletes in the world, who lost 12 pounds while practicing his routines for Dancing With the Stars.
But you don’t have to be dancing with the stars to be dancing like them. Although if you’re Foxtrotting through DanceSport, you just might make Friends with Jennifer Aniston, or catch the Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino—just a few of the many celebrity clients that have trained at DanceSport. Though I try not to live my life in the pages of the tabloids (damn paparazzi always waiting outside my apartment), checking out the celebrity clientele of a business is often a good way to measure its quality. After all, if the movie stars are coming to DanceSport to learn how to dance well, you’re pretty sure you’ve struck gold. And that’s what you’ve got with DanceSport, solid gold—the best of the best.
For more information on classes, schedules, instructors, and DanceSport's new location, check out
DanceSport.com.
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Fitness Center Information
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Ballet
Ballroom
Dance
Jazz/Hip-Hop
Latin
Salsa
Swing
Tango
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DanceSport
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