Students of the Month - August 2019

Meet Jonathan Rothstein, born and raised in Chicago and Rhoda Rosen, just a small town girl from South Africa who has been in Chicago for 20 plus years now. They’ve been coming to Ballroom Dance Chicago for just two summer months, but they’ve already made the studio their home. We asked them a couple of questions so you can get to know them better. Make sure to say “hello” when you see them in the studio!

Why are you learning to dance? 

[We wanted to dance for] fun, family weddings on the horizon, and because we spend way too much of our days in our heads. We thought that dance would be one way to do this while being a fun way to spend our date nights.

We didn't have goals coming into the lessons, but now we love the idea of communicating non-verbally on the dance floor. There's an intimacy to dancing because it necessarily requires a responsiveness to each of your partner's moves. We want to become more fluent in the language of dance.

Why do you keep coming to Ballroom Dance Chicago?

Have you seen us dance? There's so much more to learn, it's fun, and we're really enjoying it. We haven't found a favorite style yet. We're enjoying everything we're learning. [Plus], the instructors [at Ballroom Dance Chicago] are knowledgeable, experienced, professional dancers and instructors - patient, kind, and effective. Special shout to Shailey, who introduced us to the space and whose enthusiasm made us want to come back and to Matthew for his incredible creativity and talent.

What are the next steps in your dance journey? 

[We’re excited to go dancing], as soon as we stop tripping over one another's feet! No, really, we're gathering confidence to give it a shot and eager to do so.

Any advice to people coming in for their first lesson?

Go ahead and have that glass of wine before class.