DANCES OF A LIFETIME.Byline: - Nicole Sunkes Seventeen-year-old Mark Perryman prefers the ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. to the ball park. The Agoura High School Agoura High School is a four-year high school, freshman-senior, in Agoura Hills, California, United States. It is the largest high school in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. senior began swing dancing seven years ago as a way to loosen up socially. Since then, he's competed in the prestigious National Cotillions, winning gold in 2001 and silver in 2002. ``It's so awesome,'' Perryman said. ``It's not like any other sport. I learn to communicate with people a lot more - especially with the opposite sex.'' Perryman is a teacher's assistant for his dance team and helps a new generation learn about rumba, fox trot fox trot n. 1. a. A ballroom dance in 4/4 time, encompassing a variety of slow and fast steps. b. The music for this dance. 2. A slow broken gait of a horse, between a trot and a walk. and the cha-cha. Recently, he was elected secretary of the Ventura County chapter of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, one of the youngest persons to sit in such a prominent position within the organization. ``I can represent the youth of the area. I'm trying to raise awareness to the community about ballroom dancing.'' Arthur Greycloud, the 70-year-old president of the club, agrees that more young people should be swinging to the big-band sounds he reveres. ``If we can get them in high school, we'll make lifetime members out of them,'' he says, adding that he recalls a time when schools taught dancing as part of the arts curriculum. ``It was a requirement in my high school if you wanted to be social.'' The club hosts a dance the fourth Sunday of each month at the Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. Adult Center, and for August, the dance is at the Hillcrest hill·crest n. The summit line of a hill. Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . Lessons are offered one hour before the first dance kicks off, each time spotlighting a new dance to the rhythm of a live band. Lessons begin at 2 p.m. and the dancing starts at 3 p.m. Admission is $6 for U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association members and $9 for nonmembers. The center's address is 3900 Avenida Simi, Simi Valley. The Hillcrest Center for the Arts is at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. For more information, call (805) 488-4310 or (818) 865-9463. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Al Feliciano, 80, and Sheila Fuhrman, 65, kick up their heels to a live band at the Simi Valley Adult Center. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News |
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