To some people, when they hear ballroom dance they picture the waltz or maybe they have slightly more knowledge from watching Dancing with the Stars. That’s how I learned about what ballroom was. I am an avid Dancing with the Stars fan-- Shawn Johnson and Bindi Irwin were two of my favorite competitors. After watching many a season of these celebrities learning to ballroom dance, I wanted to learn to do the same. During my freshman orientation, I was told about the ballroom dance club at RIC. I stored that information in the back of my mind and went about my summer of preparing to move on campus and begin my freshman year.

The fall semester began, so I went to the activities fair and came across the ballroom club table. I took a flyer and decided to go to the first newcomer lesson the following Sunday. Even though I was incredibly terrified to go alone, I am so glad I went.

From the moment I stepped into the ballroom that night, I fell in love with the team that would soon become my family. Being a member of the club doesn’t mean you have to compete at the ballroom competitions, but I knew I wanted to from day one. I was so excited to learn, go to practice every week, dance with my new friends, and prepare to compete in my first ballroom competition. We danced two styles every week, starting by learning the tango, swing, cha cha, waltz and foxtrot. Every week I was being challenged, even getting to dance with more experienced members of the team which only made me want to work harder. I found something to look forward to every Sunday night.

People are encouraged to get involved on campus, and I can say with full confidence that I am so glad I pushed myself to go out and be involved with some kind of group. Through the ballroom team, I have made new friends I would never have met otherwise. I even got some friends from other groups to try ballroom dancing, as well, and they love it, too. Many members of the team compete at least once a semester, but even without competing members can make friends from around the RIC campus at weekly lessons as well as meet people from other RI schools at social dances held throughout the semester. The social dances allow us to dance with different people and learn from each other, as well as be social as the name suggests and just meet new people who love to dance like we do.

Outside of being on campus, being on the ballroom team has introduced me to a whole other community, as well. Throughout the semester I get the opportunity to go to various college competitions and spend the day with my team, as well as the teams from other schools like Brown University, URI and schools from other states. During the summer, when we aren’t having class at RIC, some of the team members take lessons together off campus and go to social dances where we see students from Brown and URI, as well as some Massachusetts schools and adults who love ballroom as much as we do. The ballroom community has stretched far beyond our little campus at RIC, and I’m getting the opportunity to meet all kinds of people and make friends from schools all over southern New England.

Before coming to RIC and joining the ballroom dance club, I wasn’t the most social person and was content with my little core group of friends. Now, I love going out and meeting other dancers at social dances and learning from each other. This club has done so many wonderful things for me, and I’ve only been apart of it for a year. At the end of my first year, I decided I wanted to get more involved and ran for the executive board. I’m now the webmaster of the RIC ballroom club and I am loving every second of watching the team grow. Being involved on campus can be so rewarding and I’m so glad I found my place.