Dancers looked to their partner across the floor as “Rock this Town” played in the background at The Winter Dance on Dec. 11 in Velzy Commons.

The Ballroom Dance club hosted the event to teach people of all ages how to dance. The Ballroom Academy of Dubuque were also in attendance. They gave lessons and showed each dancer how to perform lifts with their partner. The dance lessons lasted for about an hour and by the end everyone was dancing, switching partners and showing off their lifting skills.

Young danced with old, girls danced with boys and girls danced with girls. Even the adviser of the Ballroom Dance club Caryn Stanley joined in on the fun. Each time she saw someone without a partner she offered to dance with them and often took people back out onto the dance floor. It seemed as though people were more eager to join Stanley on the dance floor because of the live music that played throughout the event.

“This is the first year we’ve had a live band at one of the dances,” Stanley said.

Local band The Wundos performed at the dance. They performed everything from rock & roll favorites to pop classics. Everyone seemed to enjoy the variety of music that the band played and the event itself seemed to be enjoyed by all. Even though the number of members in Ballroom Dance club were down this year, the event was deemed a success.

“On our roster, we have around 30 members and about six of them are heavily involved in events like these,” Stanley explained. “We normally have at least one dancing event each month, but due to the fluctuation in membership we have had to cut down on the number of dances.”

However, cutting down on the number of dances proved to not be such a bad thing. Stanley explained that by reducing the number of dances each month, they can focus on the larger dances and make them even better.