Exercise Enchanted
The benefits of stepping onto the dance floor far outnumber the fears keeping you a safe distance from it
Back in 2010, Susan Scott, of Captiva, had no idea that performing in Dancing with the Islands’ Stars, a competition held on Sanibel, would garner her three perfect scores and, ultimately, swing her life in a new direction. Today, she’s an accomplished ballroom dancer and the owner of Enchanted Ballroom, on Sanibel.
“I danced the cha- cha to Michael Jackson’s ‘ Billy Jean,’ ” says Scott, who partnered with Steve Wilkie, the owner of Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios, in Stuart. Afterward, Wilkie asked Scott to keep dancing with him. She obliged. A plethora of awards and her own studio followed. She’s just opened a second Enchanted Ballroom, in Bonita Springs, which is run by professional ballroom dancer Stephan Zhivkov, with whom Scott also competes.
Anyone can dance, she says. Many seek out her studio to help them gain their footing, so to speak, for a wedding or a special event. But there are also those who come looking for a change of pace. ( Pun intended.) Coordinating
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY ARE KNOWN TO BE REDUCED BY DANCING, MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT.
uncooperative hips and legs among other awkward beginners has a way of bonding people quickly.
It’s easily glossed over, but dancing burns calories, too. Lots of them. It is a moderate- intensity cardio workout, after all. Mentally, the potential gains run just as deep.
“Any exercise, concentration, movement, learning, integrating mind and body, listening to music and having social contact are great for improving mental, physical, spiritual and neurological health,” says Stacey Brown, MA, LMHC, NCC, CCBT, of Fort Myers. But dancing, in particular, she says, involves so many simultaneous brain functions that its benefit is far reaching. Depression and anxiety are known to be reduced by dancing, movement and social engagement. To experience the effect to its fullest, consistency is key, as with any exercise. “If you only dance once a month, it won’t have the same results,” Brown says.
For those who take to it wholeheartedly, thoughts can quickly turn to competing
PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER DANCED AND THEN TRY TO DANCE, MANY FIND THAT THEY CAN LEARN TO DANCE AND LOVE IT.”
— CINDY STARNES, EMCEE, NATIONAL DANCE COUNCIL OF AMERICA
and then, naturally, placing. Competitions aren’t hard to come by. They’re being staged virtually everywhere on every scale, from local to worldwide, amateur and professional. ( A good place to start your search for one is World Promotions’ website, worldpromotionsinc.com.)
Cindy Starnes, of Fort Myers, has been a National Dance Council of America– registered emcee for the last eight years. She’s also an accomplished ballroom dancer. In March, she competed in StarStruck 2014, a benefit for the American Red Cross that was held in Bonita Springs. The emcee hosts the competitions, which is equal parts coordinating the dancers and judges and energizing the audience. Think Tom Bergeron.
“I love ballroom dancing because it combines every level of our being— emotional, intellect, creative, social and mental,” Starnes says.
She also appreciates that it’s an act performed in tandem and, at its height, in absolute synchronicity. Though, the love for dance is at its purest in those first awkward steps. “People who have never danced and then try to dance, many find that they can learn to dance and love it,” Starnes says.
Dancing is in her blood. Her father, The Honorable Hugh E. Starnes, a retired senior circuit judge, is a longtime competitive dancer. And her mother owns Janet Marie Studios, in Fort Myers.
For those just discovering dance ( or about to), Starnes offers the following advice: “Find a dance studio and go to their weekend social dances. Also, try their group lessons during the week. You usually don’t need a partner at all because they rotate the male and female students during the lesson. Don’t be afraid to try some private lessons. You won’t be sorry and you will meet tons of new friends and have a fabulous new hobby.”
Even mastering just a few steps puts you ahead of the majority, a fact you’ll likely discover within the first upbeat dance at your next wedding. Ann Marie O’Phelan lives in Southwest Florida and enjoys exercise and trying new things.