Ballroom draws local dancers to the floor

Ann Durocher-Steven’s life is all about dancing.

It was at a ballroom social dance in New Orleans nearly three years ago that she met her husband. “Either I dance into her heart or she danced into mine. Either way we’ve been dancing every since,” Jim Steven said.

Enticed by ballroom dancing’s romantic flair and relaxing style, Durocher-Steven took up the hobby in 1999. When she and Jim met, the two continued dancing and their whole social life expanded.

“Like any sport, dancing is challenging,” Durocher-Steven explained. “You can have fun while having a great work out without bumps and bruises of playing a contact sport.”

The Houma woman is chairperson of the 2007 Louisiana Gumbo of Ballroom competition in Baton Rouge June 1-3. Anne and Jim are among four local people competing for top honors.

When Ann and Jim arrived in the area three years ago, there wasn’t a place for them to enjoy their passion for ballroom dancing. Thus, the couple opened Studio 371 on School Street in Houma.

“We wanted to make Houma a dancing community, like other cities in Louisiana,” Durocher-Steven said. “We are excited because Houma dancers have the potential to be as competitive as dancers in Baton Rouge.”

Baton Rouge will serve as the Mecca for this year’s dance-off.

Now in its eighth year, the Gumbo of Ballroom is sponsored by the Louisiana DanceSport Gumbo Chapter in affiliation with Houma’s USA Dance Chapter 5031 and Baton Rouge’s Saturday Night Ballroom.

The amateur showdown of South Central Regional Championship couples is the preliminary for the National Championship, which will be held Aug. 3-5 in Louisville, Ky.

The regional professional/amateur competition will be held in Houma next year, Durocher-Steven said. The local chapter will serve as host.

“In the amateur competition the dancers compete in chosen categories with a partner of their choice. In the pro-am competition, the chosen amateur dancers compete along with his or her instructor,” she explained.

In both competitions, highly trained ballroom dance judges critique the amateur dancers. Durocher-Steven said the dancers are scored on posture, footwork and form as contestants dance the foxtrot, merengue, salsa, waltz, rumba, quickstep and the tango.

Also among the 220 other national dancers will be Houma husband-and-wife duo Lee and Lenar Whitney, who won several top honors at last year’s competition in the New Comer category for both the smooth- and American rhythm-style divisions.

“Our goal was to get some of the Houma dancers exposed to the ballroom culture as well as get other people interested in the sport,” Durocher-Steven said.

Since last year’s event, the Whitneys have places in other regional dance competitions outside of Louisiana.

Competing comes naturally to Lenar Whitney. It marries into her full-time work as owner of Lenar Dance Company, a Houma studio. The longtime instructor said her favorite dances are the Cha Cha and rumba.

“Dancing is so cultivating. I feel effervescent when I dance,” Lee said.

The Whitneys plan to compete in the amateur category again this year. However, they do intend to dance separately in the pro-am competition. New Orleans instructor Brad Petrie and Percell St. Thomas will team with Lenar, while Tammy Clark will partner with Lee Whitney.

Because Durocher-Steven’s duties as competition chairperson have kept her so busy, husband Jim will make an appearance in the pro-am competition with another partner n Clark. It’s the first time Jim and Clark have competed as partners. To get ready for the dance-off, Jim had to learn the West Coast swing, a dance he said was the hardest he’s had to learn to date.

Pitrie will also team with Anne Mohana, the theatre arts director and a religion teacher at Vandebilt Catholic High School, in the pro-am competition.

Mohana has a very strong dance background, having gotten her start as a child at age 3. “I’ve always been a dancer. When I dance at Studio 371, I feel right at home,” she said.

Mohana’s journey in Louisiana dance competitions ends this year; she’s moving to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in theatre arts education.

A fan of the rumba, cha cha and tango, Mohana isn’t much of a social dancer. She says instead she dances for competitions.

Making the switch from ballerina to ballroom star has had its share of challenges, Mohana admits. Learning to work with a partner in the foxtrot and the smooth dances has been the most difficult.

“I’ve always danced alone. I have to learn how to dance with a partner now. My biggest problem is not the steps, but feeling the movement and the rhythm of the person I am dancing with,” she explained.

Aside from the actual dancing, the attraction to ballroom, the female dancers agree, is the attire. Unlike the men, who are limited to formal shirts, slacks and vests, the women can show off their unique style in a dress that matches the flavor of the dance, Durocher-Steven said.

It’s for certain, a veritable gumbo of dance skills and styles will be on display at the Holiday Inn Select in Baton Rouge when the amateur competition kicks off. It runs Friday, June 1, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The final judging will be held Saturday, June 2, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The pro-am competition is set for Sunday, June 3, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the same venue. Tickets are only $15 a day of the performances.

For more information, contact Durocher-Steven at (985) 853-0030, or call (225) 627-6154.

Ballroom draws local dancers to the floor