We’re very fortunate to have Russell Monk as our coach. He is one of the top dance teachers in New England. Russell teaches classes for both the club and team.

Club meets once a week for classes and general dancing. Club classes will focus mostly on step patterns, and will prepare you for social dancing. There are two levels: beginner classes are open to everyone, and intermediate classes are for people who have been dancing for at least one or two semesters.

Team meets several times a week for classes, practices, and tutorials. In team classes, you will learn more dances as well as proper technique for all the dances. In addition, the team prepares you for competitions and performances. Newcomer team is open to everyone: no experience, no partner, no coordination required!

Yes. Most team members end up competing at some point, but if you think competition isn’t for you, you’re still welcome to join the team.

Competitions are divided by level, so newcomers only compete against other newcomers, not advanced dancers. As you progress, you’ll compete at higher levels named:

• Newcomer
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Open Levels
  • Novice
  • Pre-Champ
  • Champ

Competitions are usually 1- or 2-day events held on Saturdays and/or Sundays. They tend to start early in the morning (8 or 9am), and the length depends on the attendance and whether the events are all on one day or spread out over two. We’ll bring coffee and munchkins to wake you up!

The team captains and coach (Russell) decide who will be partnered for competitions. For newcomers, you’ll mostly be matched based on height compatibility. You’ll have different partners for each competition, and the captains will tell you a couple weeks in advance so that you have time to practice together.

Team dues are $40 per semester for students ($80 for Brown affiliates and $120 for community members), which helps to pay for our classes with Russell. Group classes at a private studio usually run $10-$15 per hour, so this is a very good deal. Of course, we don’t want anyone to avoid ballroom due to financial considerations, so please contact the team captains if paying the dues is a difficulty.

The other costs you’re likely to incur are shoes and competition registration. Once you’ve danced for a little while, you’ll likely want to buy a pair of shoes designed for Ballroom and Latin dancing. These shoes are lightweight, flexible, and have suede bottoms. They run $60-$120 depending on the model. See our FAQ page about shoes or Google Maps for more info.

If you participate in competitions, you’ll have to pay registration fees to the schools that run them. Typically the cost is around $30 for students.

There is usually an organized team trip to buy shoes sometime in the first few weeks of the fall semester.

If you’re going on your own, the closest store is LaBrie in Smithfield. There are also stores in the greater Boston area.

Most of all, you should find a shoe you’ll be comfortable dancing in.

For Women

Generally an open toed sandal with a 2-3 inch heel is ideal — you can wear these for both standard/smooth and latin/rhythm. You will also want to get a pair of heel guards so that you don’t damage your shoes — talk to the costume managers to get some. If you’re not comfortable in heels or want a second pair of shoes, you might look into practice shoes, or child sized mens shoes. You’ll want to buy shoes a bit snug because leather and satin both stretch a bit.

For Men

Shoes come in standard (1/2”) and Cuban (1.5”) heels. You want 1/2” for your first pair of shoes. They also come in different styles of leather: matte and patent. The soles are suede. Regular is a safe bet for your first pair (most guys end up getting patent standard shoes and matte Latin shoes). You’ll want to find shoes that are snug, but not painful. You don’t want them to be as roomy as your street shoes, so you may need to get a smaller size.

In ballroom and latin dancing, there are two main categories of dances: International and American.

In the International Ballroom style (called “Standard”), there are five dances:

1. Waltz
2. Tango
3. Viennese Waltz
4. Foxtrot
5. Quickstep

The International Latin style also has five dances:

1. Cha Cha
2. Samba
3. Rumba
4. Paso Doble
5. Jive

The corresponding American styles are called “Smooth” and “Rhythm”. The Smooth dances are:

1. Waltz
2. Tango
3. Foxtrot
4. Viennese Waltz

The Rhythm dances are

1. Cha Cha
2. Rumba
3. Swing
4. Bolero
5. Mambo

The same dance in different styles (eg, International Rumba vs. American Rumba) will have some similarities and some differences in terms of step patterns, technique, and the music you dance to.

Lastly, there are few dances that aren’t part of competition (sometimes called “club dances”); they include:

• Merengue
• Salsa
• Hustle
• West Coast Swing

You’ll be surprised how quickly you learn to dance. After only a year on the team, you’ll know all 19 competitive dances, and you’ll be able to lead or follow with ease on the social dance floor.

Although it is good to dance as much as possible, practice should have some structure. Otherwise, bad habits may be reinforced as opposed to developing new and better ones.

Start each hour with ten minutes of warm up dancing and stretching, followed by 2 songs devoted to rumba walks, and 2 songs to extended ballroom walks. These need to be done with correct poise, paying special attention to straightening legs, brushing, use of foot and foot positioning. If you are competing you need to be at practice on time and at a session your partner is attending. If your partner is not there work on your own, developing muscle memory for your step patterns, timing and dance frame.

Hopefully after the initial warm up there will be time to play 2 songs of each dance being competed at the upcoming competitions, if not play at least 1 song of each. Try to have a specific goal to work on whilst you are practicing and ask for advice from more senior dancers as to how this is progressing. Key elements to work on should be: frame, partnering, timing, footwork and placement, rise and fall, Cuban motion/hips, arm styling, presentation, emotion. Try not to learn new step patterns. At competitions, you are better off dancing one step pattern well, thirty times in a row than than dancing ten patterns badly.

These easy steps help quickly improve your dancing. Attending as many classes as possible is an obvious given. If you have time constraints, you are better off going to a Bronze class instead of a more advanced class regardless of how long you have been dancing.

As a newcomer, you should be able to attend the two hours of newcomer class a week. If you want to dance more that (you will – it’s fun!), there will be 1 hour of newcomer tutorial each week, you can attend beginner club class, and there will be several hours available each week for general team practice, all of which you are welcome and encouraged to attend. (See our calendar for details.)

Brown undergraduates form the majority of the team, though people from the following groups may also join:

• Brown undergraduates
• Brown graduates
• Students at other universities in the area that do not offer a ballroom program
• Community members who
  1. Are advanced ballroom dancers
  2. get special permission from our coach, Russell Monk
• Brown Ballroom alums are always members of the team (and are considered students pricing-wise)
• Brown alums who did not join the team while they were students are considered affiliates for pricing and must get special permission before joining.

Beginner Club accepts people with no prior experience in both the Fall and Spring semesters. Signups are taken at the first club class of each semester – see the calendar for more details. Team, however, only accepts Newcomers in the fall, with signups at the first fall club class.