Ryan Vazquez graduated from OU in 2001, but something about the Sooner Ballroom Dance Club continues to bring him back.

Vazquez was one of the first students to enroll in ballroom dancing in fall 1999.

He said he decided to try the class because he had taken some swing classes in his junior high physical education class. But after he attended a few sessions at OU, he was hooked for five semesters and even joined the Sooner Ballroom Dance Club.

"It's simple, it's fun, I like it and I want to get better at it," Vazquez said.

Vazquez isn't the only Sooner jumping on the ballroom dancing bandwagon.

Michael Pone, adjunct professor in the School of Dance, said the ballroom dancing class has increased from 73 students in one 1999 class to 600 students in three classes today.

The local ballroom dancing trend may be part of a larger trend.

Pone said ballroom dancing is sinking into everyone's consciousness because of the national attention.

"For a long time, ballroom dancing was related to something that their parents always did," Pone said. "But with these competitions and shows on TV, students are realizing that younger people in bright costumes are doing it too."

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was the highest-rated broadcast TV program among all adults 18 and older, according to Nielsen Media Research. TLC is scheduled to premiere its "Ballroom Bootcamp" this month.

Pone said Molly Shi Boren brought ballroom dancing to OU soon after she and President David L. Boren arrived on campus more than 10 years ago. Molly Shi Boren talked with Pone about how she attended ballroom dances while she was a student at OU, and she wanted students to experience the same enriching culture, Pone said.

While in past years the ballroom dancing program recruited students and publicized during orientations, Pone said many of their current students heard about the ballroom dancing class by word of mouth.

Patrick Macklin, computer engineering senior, stepped into the ballroom dancing community three years ago when he and seven of his friends decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Macklin said as male students, they were a little apprehensive about getting involved in the class.

"It was a struggle at first, but now I'm living proof that anyone can have fun while dancing," Macklin said.

For Macklin, ballroom dancing became more than a class for credit hours; it became an extra-curricular activity.

Today, Macklin is the president of the Sooner Ballroom Dance Club where the organization is seeing an increase in student participation as well.

Every Tuesday, the Sooner Ballroom Dance Club gives lessons on beginning and intermediate levels.

The classes cost $15 for a five-week session or three dollars a week. On Fridays, the first floor atrium of Sarkeys Energy Center turns into a dancer's haven where students can tango, salsa, waltz and any other dance imaginable.

In its eighth year, Macklin said the club is growing steadily and sees about 800 people a week between the two sections.

Jennifer Place, zoology senior, has been involved in ballroom dancing for a year and a few months and currently takes the beginning level class.

Place said many students may be reluctant to try ballroom dancing because they don't want anyone to know they have "two left feet," but most ballroom dancing students are accepting because they were in the same position when they began.

In her bright skirt with matching top, Cadeleine Hoelscher, University College freshman, moved across the floor, scooting her feet to the Latin beats.

"Ballroom dancing is so much fun and it's growing in popularity because you don't have to have a lot of experience to try it," Hoelscher said. "You can do it for any occasion, whether it's a date or just one random night."

Kate Linkous, professional ballroom and Latin dancer, was invited by the Sooner Ballroom Dance Club to simply render a service and find places for them to practice their newly learned moves.

Linkous said most people stopped doing ballroom dancing in the '50s and '60s because it was too structured and people weren't fans of order. The only place a person could find ballroom dancing was in studios.

Linkous agreed that the increase in ballroom dancing in younger generations is attributed to the media showing the hobby as a "hip" thing to do.

Pone said steps are being taken to make ballroom dancing not only a social sport, but a competitive one as well.

Officials are working to get ballroom dancing into the Olympics. However, there is a moratorium on recognizing new sports because there are too many.

At the end of every semester, instead of having a final, ballroom dancing students have a formal event, or prom, where they dance in evening wear using the steps and jives they practiced for four months.

Pone said he thinks the program will continue to grow in the social aspect of dancing, and there's tentative talk that OU will form a competitive ballroom dancing team in the future.
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