'Dancing With The Stars' Makes Ballroom Dancing Fashionable and Trendy

Written by Jan Westmark - Celebrity News Service

West Palm Beach, FL (CNS) - The ABC hit reality show "Dancing with the Stars" has dazzled audiences for several years now with glitz, glamour, celebrities and amazing professional dancers. The show has also managed to make ballroom dancing fashionable and trendy.

Steve Wilkie, manager of the Fred Astaire West Palm Beach Dance Studio in West Palm Beach, Florida, talked with Celebrity News Service about the impact that "Dancing with the Stars" has had on ballroom dancing across the country. "The show has had a wonderfully positive effect because it has shown people that anybody can ballroom dance -- young, old, men and women," he said.

He went on to add that tough football players such as Jason Taylor and Emmitt Smith, who both appeared on the show (Emmitt won season three with professional partner Cheryl Burke), have also helped make ballroom dancing look more masculine. "Strong masculine men dance and have a great time," Wilkie said.

Doreen Scheinpflug, a professional ballroom instructor and high-level competitor, added that the show's behind-the-scenes filming of the dancers practicing for "Dancing with the Stars" has also turned out to be great. "It really shows that this is a sport," she said. "A lot of people like to dance for the fitness aspect of it, and a lot of people thought that ballroom dancing was only for old people."

Scheinpflug said the only downside to the television show is that many people show up for lessons the first time and expect to become great dancers immediately. "They don't realize that on the show the celebrities are practicing eight hours a day," Scheinpflug said, adding that she can't complain, however, because the show has raised awareness about ballroom dancing.

"'Dancing with the Stars' has opened up ballroom dancing to a whole new generation of people," Wilkie said, adding that when his Fred Astaire dance studio had its grand opening Tony Dovolani from "Dancing with the Stars" came and took part in the studio's kick-off. "We had a lot of people here because they were familiar with Tony."

Tony, who started dancing at a Fred Astaire Dance Studio when he was 15, and has gone on to star on "Dancing with the Stars" and appear in the Jennifer Lopez film "Shall We Dance?"

"The show really has brought in a younger generation and shown them that dancing can be fun," Wilkie said.

For more information about Fred Astaire Dance Studios visit their website at www.fredastairewpb.com or call Steve Wilkie or Doreen Scheinpflug at the Fred Astaire West Palm Beach Dance Studio at 561-478-1400.