Dancing

Dancing has always been a large part of Alex Prodinov’s life, but only in the past year

has the commitment really increased. Growing up in a Greek Christian Orthodox church in San

Luis Obispo meant she danced all the time. Common dances like the Syrtos were always fun.

Dances were always part of social events, which made them more fun for Alex. For example she

said they would all dance “on Easter, [and] you dance all together during the Greek Festival… I

always loved it” (Alex). Church also introduced her to an official dance team at Cal Poly. When

she was in 9th grade she joined a Cal Poly dance team that she learned about through her church.

Wanting to continue Greek dancing she kept doing it through that team until the team stopped.

During this time, Alex also was on the swim team. Her commitment to the swim team was only

due to her friends on the swim team. They were her main motivators, she wasn’t that interested

in swimming itself. However, she enjoyed dancing so much that she never missed a single

practice all of high school, despite not having any close friends on the team. For the most part the

team was all college students, so while her friends were her connection to the swim team,

dancing was her connection to the dance team. COVID pulled the dance team apart during

Alex’s senior year of high school, so she took a break from it and realized she was bored with it

when the group reformed. Commented [1]: Good intro and great way to
introduce the subject.
Starting college at Cal Poly, Alex resolved to focus on her degree. Having chosen to be

an electrical engineer, she knew that was going to have to put in a lot of effort if she wanted to

pass all of her classes. We’ve all been through the start of college now, and I’m sure we can all

relate to focusing on just school when starting college as everyone talks about how much harder

and more serious these classes are. Alex tried out a couple engineering clubs with her resume in
mind. Not knowing people in these clubs and not having much interest in them she didn’t stick

with them for very long.

Alex had swam for a total of 12 years. Clearly she had some sort of commitment to that

team, definitely friends and a routine to keep her there for over half of her life. The problem with

swim team is it wasn’t the at of swimming that kept her there. She claimed herself that she

wasn’t very good, though I think it is safe to assume she isn’t cutting herself enough slack, and

she wanted goals that she could complete and see improvement in herself.

So she joined Ballroom. Commented [2]: I like the use of the short
paragraph great switch up.
Ballroom is similar to Alex’s church group in that it is organized dancing with other

people, but otherwise it’s completely different. At church the dance moves are traditional

routines at Greek Easter Orthodox. Ballroom dances are organized by different styles. Smooth

and standard dances include the waltz, tango, and foxtrot. Latin and rhythm style dances would

be the cha-cha and rumba. Then the nightclub dances are more informal, some of the dances

being the salsa and west coast swing. When I heard of all of these dances I mistakenly assumed

that each one of these dances are specific routines, and that makes the judging easier. I made this

assumption as I had heard of specific dance moves, but what I didn’t know is that you pair up Commented [3]: I like you tying yourself into the essay
really shows you were part of this research
with a partner and learn your own routine. This way you can practice those that dance and get it

perfect.

Realizing quickly that she always liked dancing way more than swimming, and that now

she has something to improve at that she really enjoys doing, she devotes herself to Ballroom.

When learning about Ballroom, what particularly grabbed her attention is that membership dues

cost $50. She reasoned that the cost proves people’s commitment, and would mean that she has

to commit as well. It means that people are actually there to improve themselves as well as have
fun. Just this quarter, she also signed up for lessons outside of the normal Ballroom hours. This

means she practices dancing for roughly 10 hours a week.

The club itself is organized so that every practice they focus on one of the different

styles. Learning the specific steps and routines each partner pair needs to know for the

competition takes up most of the time with a weekly social as well. Open practices on Sunday

are optional as well, but Alex makes sure to go to every single one. Continuing what she did in

high school with the Greek dance team, she doesn’t miss a single practice except for one unlucky

time when she got COVID right after the start of winter quarter. Visibly frustrated she exclaims

that if it weren’t for getting sick she would have a perfect attendance record. I notice that when Commented [4]: If possible I think directly quoting
what she said would make it more impactful, but great
paraphrase nonetheless.
you include dancing in high school that means she has had a perfect record for years.

The next big part of the club is of course, the competitions. Alex has only been to one so

far, excitedly telling me about the logistics and her experience. When I mentioned her first

competition she exclaimed, “oh my gosh, [was] so much fun.” It starts at 8 am, and goes all the

way until 9 pm and it is broken up into three main sections. First the smooth and standard dances Commented [5]: The use of quotes made her jump out
more in this part of the essay great job.
are performed. These ones are the waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep.

According to Britannica, the waltz is a popular ballroom dance “characterized by a step, slide,

and step in ¾ time” (Britannica). These dances have been part of ballroom dances for a long

time, the waltz being invented in the 1800s (Britannica). It was seen as shocking to polite society

at the time, but has been kept alive the two hundred years since, and is still danced all over the

world. The second section of the competition are the latin and rhythm dances. The cha-cha,

rumba, and samba make up some of these dances. Alex says that these dances accentuate hip

movement, and they tend to be more flirtatious as the Cal Poly Ballroom website describes

(Alex/Cal Poly). The last section is nightclub. As Alex puts it, “for nightclub like everything
goes out the window.” The dances don’t have the same dress code as the others, partners can be

switched, and the dances are a little more free form. Here, you can dance the West Coast swing,

Alex’s favorite dance. The West Coast swing was created in San Diego, CA in 1938 and is

danced to current pop songs, as Cal Poly’s ballroom website states.

This is a picture of Alex’s dance shoes. They are tan, have heals about two inches high,

and have a sandal-like set of straps. The suede soles of the shoes were chosen to help dancers Commented [6]: Good job integrating the image so
smoothly into the essay.
slide while still having enough traction to perform the moves they practice so rigorously. As

Angela Demure exclaims in their blog, “the sole of a dance shoe is the “soul” of a dance

shoe”(DeMure). The sole of dance shoes are what make them more unique compared to street

shoes. The three main types of material chosen for this job are suede, leather, and rubber

(DeMure). Suede is the most common sole material, especially for competitive dancing as suede

doesn’t hold up as well at a club or outside (DeMure). Leather is better for going out in, and

rubber is used for practice shoes. However the rubber dance shoes aren’t made to provide

traction as running shoes do, which seems like it would be a hindrance while dancing. All of

these pairs of shoes can be fairly

expensive as shoes tend to be, so

buying them symbolizes Alex’s

investment in dance. Alex showed me a

pair of shoes that leads wear that cost

$159 dollars, but through a quick

google search I found plenty of dance

shoes that cost well under $100 too.

 Shoes tie closely to what the dancers wear as well. All the different dance styles require

different dancesport costumes, so everyone has to plan ahead depending on what they are

competing in. The shoes are therefore connected as well. Ideally they don’t distract from the

dancing so that in competitions that is what stands out. Alex’s pair of shoes are tan to more

closely match her skin tone, and blend in more. The added height from the heel seems to be Commented [7]: If possible explain why this is
something that is done.
common for all the shoes worn in competitive dancing, as both the leads and follows wear shoes

with heels (Alex). This also adds to the challenge. Alex assures me that the shoes are very hard

to balance in, and I can imagine going through dance routines makes that all the more difficult. I

personally have worn heels and can confirm that high heeled shoes take focus to walk in. I can’t

imagine what they would then be like to dance in.

For the future, Alex plans on continuing to dance. She wants to be able to look back at

today in two years and be impressed with how much she has improved. To achieve this, she

plans to continue dance lessons over the summer when the club takes a break, and to continue

enjoying dance. I find this inspiring as I have been struggling with motivation. Her source of

motivation stems from the desire to commit to something and enjoying ballroom, so to follow in Commented [8]: Great way to bring in the call to
action and good wrap up.
her dance steps, I just have to choose something I enjoy and make a plan to improve my skill at Commented [9]: nice little reference like the humor.

it.

One Paragraph Response:

- Good essay I was able to see where you used the interview as evidence and the analysis

following it was great. Your use of the image was good as well, you tied it into the essay

smoothly. When you talked about making assumptions from the dances I was able to tell

that was something front uo directly talking to her so I felt that was a first hand account
and it was a good part in the essay as I’m sure the other readers would do the same. I’d

say maybe use the fact she was in swim a little less or maybe you could turn that into

how due to her having zero interest in it she was able to drop it easily in order to focus

more on her passion because at the start it felt a little out of place until you brought up

her devotion for ballroom dancing. The conclusion was good and glad to see you still

kept your humor. It's a nice signature from your writing. The call to action and how you

relate to it also lets readers put themselves in your feet if they wish to do the same.
 Bibliography

1. DeMure, Angela. “What You Need to Know When Buying Dance Shoes.” DeMure

Dance, DeMure Dance, 22 Nov. 2022, https://demuredance.com/blog-

posts/2018/12/27/shoes-shoes-shoes.

2. “Waltz.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/art/waltz.

3. “Ballroom Styles.” Cal Poly Ballroom, https://calpolyballroom.weebly.com/ballroom-

styles.html.