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economist suntribune sports recreation thursday jan 31 2002 17 staff photomike barrett staff writer stefania rizzi gets into the swing of things with her partner patryk wasiak at the york dance academy not strictly ballroon from page 16 going with their natural instinct said the former dance and fitness consultant and choreographer who has been in the business for more than 30 years if you understand the basic principles of the dance youre doing youll look good and have fun first up the merengue hustle a four- step variation that proved unsuccessful for me pushpull theres got to be that resistance there said ms tucker plac ing her hands on top of mine and tight ening her grip when i danced with patryk wasiak my dance partner there was more of a connection if theres no resistance theres nothing to move off of you have to make sure theres resistance or else youre like a rag doll try it again doh palms sweating face flushed and feeling slightly embarrassed i couldnt master a simple step- 1 reluc tantly performed the routine again feel the rhythm dont look down and- let patryk lead i reminded myself not an easy task considering i like to be the one in control back step right step forward quick step quick step right foot forward swing to the left left arm on his right shoulder and back into position thats right said ms tucker you got it phew not bad i thought- s ok well change pace a little bit said ms tucker as i looked at my partner with alarm lets try the rumba yeah i thought to myself a chance to redeem myself and let patryk realize i dont always have two left feet after completing the basic box step and nailing the cuban motion and new yorker break i looked up and saw patryk grinning finally i thought i had to trade you in he said though my timing and co-ordina- tiph were sometimes off and the steps jike me i began to understand what attracts people to thesocial activity ballroom dancing which gained popularity during the early 1920s and is considered to be among the most popu lar leisure activities in the world has experienced a resurgence since its noble beginnings primarily an activity enjoyed by the privileged in 18thcentury england it is estimated more than one million people enrol in ballroom dancing lessons each year in the united states social dancing as ballroom dancing is most commonly called will always have mass appeal and be trendy ms tucker said it really is a great social skill said ms tucker adding she has had couples meet and eventually marry after attend ing one of her classes at social events its more beneficial if you can dance as opposed to sit down at a table all night or bebop it wasnt until ms tucker started studying social dancing that she gained an appreciation for music when i first started out i listened to the music arid not just the lyrics she said ending the class with the swing i started thinking well theres a good rumba sound in that or a mambo theres a nice chacha sound i really started to pick out the beat rather than just listen to the lyrics said ms tucker who teaches social dancing to about 50 people each week looking back id have to say the night wasnt a total bust apart from the bruised toes i gave patryk you did well for your first class and not having any dance background ms tucker said encouragingly patryk has more rhythm but you did fine one day you will be able to dance and talk at the same time she chuck led been there done that is a regular column where staff try to keep upvith experts in a wide variety of relaxed non- new from page 16 stimulate organizations and communities to establish masters swimming programs communicate effectively with members we work out in a supportive atmosphere and we all encour age each other its a lot of fun even when youre hurting ms jones said of the newmarket masters which was formed seven years ago if you ask the people in our club who come out regularly theyll tell you they just love to train and they enjoy the cama raderie its like people who go out to run three times a week said ms maclachlan of the markham club which celebrat ed its 20th anniversary last year terry cruickshank spokes person for the 21yearold stingrays confirmed a relaxed atmosphere factors heavily into attracting members our environment is lowkey and nonthreatening for the novice and good for the athlete who has experience masters seasons last from september to june but york regions clubs maintain an open door policy and stress its never too late to join each organization r though might have its own prerequisites in general clubs want people with some swimming experience as long as a person is a rea sonably strong swimmer thats what we want to see ms jones said while the newmarket stingrays have no swimming requirements the club struc turespractices to accommo date each individual we have six lanes at the ray twinney complex and theyre divided into groups a b and c the workouts done in each lane are reflective of the swimmers abilities distances and time intervals are geared for the lane mr cruickshank said york regions clubs tend to balance between those wanting to compete and those wishing to stay fit maybe about onethird of our members go to meets the rest come and swim laps we dont pressure them said ms maclachlan a former competi tive high school arid university swimmer for those with a competitive edge masters clubs provide training for meets during the season that culminate with the provincials in etobicoke april 5 to 7 and the nationals in saskatoon may 17 to 20 every second year theres a world championship which this year is in new zealand in march a unique aspect of masters meets ms maclachlan said is competitors are grouped not by age but by performance timgs as a result an event can have individuals who are 20 40 or even 60years old in the pool together the thinking is that id rather compete with people who can swim as well as me since i want to improve on my own time she said a member of the markham club since 1993 ms maclachan said masters groups have expe rienced some minor problems including juggling schedules which have hurt enrolment ms maclachan added members with families sometimes have problems attending practices another challenge is a short age in pool facilities and swim time however with increasing publicity ms maclachlan is optimistic more people will sign up s3s7 1 conseil scolaire de district catholique centresud ou il fait bon grandir de la materhelle a1a12f ly 38 8 ecoles secondaires j r v11 900eleves v educatioride qualite dans un t 7 milieu francophone etcathbliquei j transport scolaire gratuit- 1 h v dadmission frrui a iecole laplus 33 s3 h4 a s3 s3 if sviiiltv t- www onca h s- v setp m ii l 81 ft pi mi ma sm shsjlasbab fa region de york ecole saintjean ecole secondare js fetv 1 sows m recreational activities ft t x 1 i v- yljikjajrr 90 promenade cardinalcarter walton 210chemin aurora bloomington ouest 9057270131 aurora- 9057274631 ecole sainte- marguerite- ecole lepetitprince 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