Every Monday and Tuesday night millions of viewers tune into ABC’s “”Dancing with the Stars.”” On Saturday members of the UA Greek community tried to learn to put their own hips to work as they tried mastering the tango.
Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity hosted a dance class called Tango el Gato in an effort to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
Daniel Einfrank, a chemistry senior, and active member of the fraternity, coined the idea to tango.
Einfrank, who has been a member of the UA ballroom dance club for a couple of years, said he was always confused as to why more members of the Greek community were not interested in dancing.
Dancers from the club attended the event to demonstrate techniques and hopefully generate some interest in the sport.
“”Ballroom is very visual,”” Einfrank said. “” If you can’t see what it looks like, it’s going to be hard to replicate it.””
Tyler Quillin, a philosophy and English sophomore, said he came to tango with his girlfriend as a part of their anniversary celebration.
“”We’ve been wanting to tango ever since we got together,”” Quillin said.
He said he and his girlfriend enjoy swing dancing but had long wanted to try another form of dance.
His girlfriend, Diana Heyer, a business management and theatre arts sophomore, said swing dancing is the complete opposite of the tango.
“”Swing dancing is more social, it’s easier to dance with different people and is very loose,”” she said. “”Tango is more sexual, so it’s kind of awkward to switch it up and it’s also is very structured.””
Zachary Madick, vice president of the fraternity and a business sophomore, said he was pleased with the event but that it was not what they had originally planned.
“”Only about 100 people attended, when we were expecting close (to) 200,”” he said.
Einfrank said that ticket sales initially were going slowly at $20 per ticket, which included a free meal catered by Cheba Hut.
He said the economy could have influenced people, but they should remember that dancing is something they can do for the rest of their lives. In total the event raised about $1,000 dollars.
Overall the guests, who included students and teachers, who did attend said they were pleased and that the event was worth the money.
Nicole Gaudette, a pre-pharmacy sophomore said even though she and her partner experienced a few missteps, enjoyed the experience.
“”I’m having a great time. My partner and I are learning all these different steps, and even though he stepped on my toes, he hasn’t dropped me.””
