Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made ballroom dancing look so easy.

Thursday, March 21, 2002

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made ballroom dancing look so easy.

Time and time again, they’d glide across the movie screen, their movements perfectly synchronized, their clothes unwrinkled, their hair un-mussed.

They could even do it in roller skates.

Unfortunately, most people can’t dance like Fred and Ginger without some help.

That’s where Bridget Swank, the owner and instructor of Bridget’s Dance Conservatory, comes in.

Swank says she taught country line dancing and jazz aerobics classes in the fall and is currently offering classes for adults interested in swing dancing, the electric slide, the waltz and jazz aerobics.

"There’s been an interest in them from around the community," Swank says. "There’s not a lot for adults to do in this town on a date except go to a bar, go to the movies or out to eat."

However, Swank says taking dance lessons together is a better way for a couple to spend a date because "it gets them interacting with (each other) and they can learn a lot about each other by doing this."

Waltz classes also have the added benefit of being useful-especially at weddings. She says she started offering waltz classes "mainly for couples getting married and want to look good on the dance floor, who don’t want to have two left feet."

Any dance class, though, "is a fun way to exercise. It’s not like doing sit-ups and push-ups. When you dance, you’re exercising, but you don’t know it after awhile. It’s a lot of fun," she says.

Angie Klein, 36, of Austin, who took jazz aerobics lessons in the fall, agrees. "I’m not a huge exercise person and I don’t think anyone really likes to exercise. It’s just not fun. But I thought this was really a lot of fun."

She laughs and says "I think we spent more time laughing than anything else. Bridget would do a really nice sequence of steps and we’d try it, realize it looked nothing like hers and would start laughing."

Klein, a teacher at Banfield Elementary, also coaches volleyball and says "this was something fun to add to my exercise routine. It made the hour go by really fast and we were sweating by the time we got done."

She credits much of her enjoyment of the class to Swank. "Bridget is an amazing dancer and and amazing teacher. She can gear her classes to any age, any level of coordination," she says. "It was a lot of fun. I plan to start up again next month … I also think it would be really fun if I could get my husband to take ballroom dancing or swing dancing lessons with me."

Swank offers classes "once a week for 45 minutes, so it’s not a huge commitment and it’s $10 per couple per time. If they want more, they can do it by the month for $40 per couple," she says. "Really, you can’t beat that. Who can go on a date for only $10 anymore?"

She gives classes for adults on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and Saturday evenings and will cater to her students. "If a couple wants swing dance lessons at 4 p.m. on Saturday, I can probably do it then," she says.

After all, you can’t be the next Fred or Ginger without starting sometime.

Bridget’s Dance Conservatory is located at 1119 Fifth Place SE. For more information, call 434-4119.

Klein, a teacher at Banfield Elementary, also coaches volleyball and says "this was something fun to add to my exercise routine. It made the hour go by really fast and we were sweating by the time we got done."

She credits much of her enjoyment of the class to Swank. "Bridget is an amazing dancer and and amazing teacher. She can gear her classes to any age, any level of coordination," she says. "It was a lot of fun. I plan to start up again next month … I also think it would be really fun if I could get my husband to take ballroom dancing or swing dancing lessons with me."

Swank offers classes "once a week for 45 minutes, so it’s not a huge commitment and it’s $10 per couple per time. If they want more, they can do it by the month for $40 per couple," she says. "Really, you can’t beat that. Who can go on a date for only $10 anymore?"

She gives classes for adults on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and Saturday evenings and will cater to her students. "If a couple wants swing dance lessons at 4 p.m. on Saturday, I can probably do it then," she says.

After all, you can’t be the next Fred or Ginger without starting sometime.

Bridget’s Dance Conservatory is located at 1119 Fifth Place SE. For more information, call 434-4119.

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com