An ordinary banquet room at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare was transformed into a scene right out of “Cinderella” over the weekend as hundreds of dancers clad in ballroom gowns took to the floor.
Nineteen student dancers and three instructors from Sterba’s School of Dance in Naperville carefully waltzed past judges during Chicago’s Crystal Ball Dancesport Competition.
For some students, this was their first experience of donning false eyelashes and artificial tanning solution. For others, it was a familiar yet much anticipated escape into the world of ballroom dancing.
“You don’t look like yourself when you are competing,” said dancer Robin Schmidt of Naperville, who is a nurse by trade. “The part of you that’s buried in everyday life–you let it all out on the dance floor.”
Most of the students, ranging in age from 6 to the mid-70s in this group, compete against their own standards as they dance to music that includes steps of the rumba, tango and Viennese waltz.
“You never realize how much goes into a basic step. It isn’t just one, two, three–here we go. There’s so much to it,” said instructor Mandy Alacks of Downers Grove as she explained the complicated footwork required in competitive dancing.
But like any vacation, as the end of it nears, there is some longing for the normalcy of everyday life.
“By the end of the weekend, you never want to see another feather, rhinestone or piece of stretchy fabric again,” joked student Emily Wachowicz of Bolingbrook.
