Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) offers various opportunities for students of any major to get involved and explore their artistry. One of the newest clubs established is the Point Park Ballroom Dance Sport Club. This club is run by founder and President Elizabeth Woodberry, a junior dance major with a musical theater minor and Coach Rozana Sweeny, a dance professor.
Woodberry founded this club with the intention of spreading her love for ballroom dance to Point Park.
“I wanted to start the club because I have always loved ballroom, and I have wanted there to be more opportunities for ballroom within the Point Park community,” Woodberry said. “I hoped to form a team that could go to competitions as well as have classes open to the community for an opportunity to dance.”
A ballroom dance club is a rare and important opportunity for students. Within the dance world, ballroom dance styles have been steadily increasing in relevance and popularity. Commercial and concert dance choreography is sometimes influenced by ballroom or Latin dance. More recently, dance conventions offer ballroom classes to expose students to the style. As this progress is made in the dance world, it is crucial these impacts are reflected by the the COPA program.
The Ballroom DanceSport Club offers a wide range of classes. Each class is a different style which is explored through technical and professional teachings. Sweeny is a professor of Latin dance. She is also a former national and international Latin dance and ballroom champion and professional world cup finalist. Today, she is a national judge for the USA by the National Dance Council of America (NDCA), a certified professional dance teacher by the NDCA and a World Class Adjudicator and member of World Dance Council. Sweeny also owns Art & Style Dance Studio in Etna, which teaches Latin dance styles.
“It is important for Point Park to have a ballroom dance club because it’s a different form of dance, which has more partnership work and connection work, which is normally not highlighted in the other genres,” Sweeny said. “In Latin dance, you have to learn to work with a team member to create the same rhythm, speed, and style which is challenging and good for young artists.”
The realm of ballroom dance is extensive. One of the ballroom dance club’s objectives is to help students excel in all styles of international dance. This includes styles such as the cha cha, paso doble, Viennese waltz, jive, rumba and more. Each style differs with drastic individual characteristics. The jive, for example, is a fast-paced footwork style, while the Viennese waltz focuses on graceful, partner connection.
Not only is ballroom dance a beautiful art form, but it has also been internationally recognized as a “DanceSport” by the World Dance Federation; very few dance styles are officially titled with this recognition. A well-known DanceSport is breakdancing, due to its viral representation in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Ballroom dance received this identification due to the demands for physical strength, teamwork and competitive aspects characterizing this dance style.
The Point Park Ballroom DanceSport Club was established in March 2024 and has since taken off. Also, the club stands out significantly due to the option to join the competition team. Because of the club being new, the audition process to join the competition team is not yet finalized. Regardless, the club has major up-and-coming plans.
This fall, Point Park’s Ballroom DanceSport Club is attending the Ohio Star Ball. In the spring, they plan to attend the Arnold DanceSport Championships and the USA Dance nationals. By joining, you can choose which competitions you want to attend. Those who join will be assigned a partner.
Woodberry said that when she competes, it is a special experience for her.
“I competed with Lincoln Kosyla last year in the spring at the Philadelphia DanceSport Championships. It was so much fun, and such a good experience to watch professional ballroom dancers,” Woodberry said. “We also made so many good connections in the ballroom dance community.”
The ballroom dance club looks forward to officially competing at the collegiate level this year. Class scheduling updates are posted on the club’s Instagram page at the handle “Point Park Ballroom.” Currently, student-taught classes are on Sundays in GRW 7, 2:00-3:00 p.m. The intermediate/competitive technique classes last from 3:00-3:45 p.m. the same day. Newcomer classes are also held on Monday in LH 301 from 4:20-5:00 p.m., with intermediate/advanced competitive technique classes lasting from 5:00-5:30 p.m. The club provides ballroom shoes for those who are interested.
