Bringing the Ballroom to the County Fair

The image most people have of a County Fair involves farmers, rides, games of chance, food vendors, and the occasional home arts exhibition.

Ballroom dancers rarely work their way into this stereotypical image.

But then, the Middlesex County Fair is not your stereotypical county fair.

No less than two schools of ballroom dancing will show their stuff at the Middlesex County Fair this week. South River’s Ballroom Dream appears from 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, and East Brunswick’s Alluring Ballroom will appear from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5.

“This is our first appearance at the Middlesex County Fair, as Ballroom Dream,” said Jeff Volvovsky, one of the group’s founders. “We have been open four months at the current place. Our prime directive is to assist everyone who walks into our doors achieve their personal goals and to then exceed them.”

One way Ballroom Dream tries to get students to push past their initial goals is by encouraging each and every one of their students, who hail from across Middlesex and Monmouth counties, to participate in the school’s performance team, and in some cases to try out for the competition team.

“Our competition team has been around for several years,” Volvovsky said. “My wife (and fellow school founder Darya Sushko) used to train them in another studio until she opened hers. They compete once a year at National Championships, which is in Baltimore and throughout the year on various other competitions. The last one they went to was the Manhattan Dancesport Championships in July and the one before USA Dance Regional Competition 'Summer Sizzler,' in May.

“Anyone can be a part of the competition team, however they need to work very hard to compete. Some of our students don't have a partner, but they still can participate in the competitions, dancing with their teachers.”

While this year marks Ballroom Dream’s first appearance at the Middlesex County Fair, it marks the fourth for the Alluring Ballroom dance studio, which was founded by Natalia Stepanova in 2004.

A native of Kiev, Stepanova immigrated to the United States 14 years ago, and found a new hometown in East Brunswick. “This is a good location,” she says. “We’re performing (at the fair) a fourth time. We like it a lot.”

Like Ballroom Dream, Stepanova says many of Alluring Ballroom’s students come in as singles, not pairs. “Usually our students get to Alluring Ballroom as single dancers so we try to match them in the best partnership.”

Alluring Ballroom’s students primarily reside in Middlesex County, but some come from as far as Staten Island. “Our students are very different goals to achieve,” Stepanova said, “from becoming confident social dancers to USA National Champions.”

Stepanova also reports the school is prepared to mix up their 2011 performance a bit from years past. “We’re ready to present an exiting program this year,” she said. “We have a new program in the studio for very young dancers, starting from12 months old: Cha-Cha With Your Baby. We’ll show some elements from this program. We’ll also demonstrate our Latin program, games, prizes, line dancing and more.”

For more about Ballroom Dream, visit them online at www.ballroomdream.com. For more about Alluring Ballroom, visit their web site at http://www.alluringballroom.com/.