Velasquez teaching 'old school' dancing with a partner
PORT CLINTON - When new students walk into their first class at Dance Suave, they sometimes carry with them a misunderstanding about what it means for a man to lead the dance. Dance Suave owner and instructor, Steven Velasquez, teaches what he calls “old school” partner dancing: the man leads and the woman follows. But sometimes Velasquez has to define what that means on the dance floor.
“There is a misconception as to what leading means. Sometimes men think it means the man is dictating the dance,” he said.
Nothing, Velasquez explains, could be farther from the truth.
Velasquez calls dancing a conversation
“Dancing is a conversation. The man suggests a topic, and the woman can follow or not,” he said. “If a woman is manhandled on the dance floor, nobody wins.”
Leading a woman across a dance floor is not about guiding her steps. It is about fueling her emotions.
“A man who leads well will make a woman feel good about herself, like Cinderella. That man will have many dance partners, regardless of his skillset,” Velasquez said.
Velasquez teaches partner dancing, with a high focus on ballroom dancing, and offers individual and couples classes at Dance Suave. He teaches basic dance moves and helps students master technique, but the mood of the classroom centers on embracing what dancing does to your soul, not to your footsteps.
“I want to remind you that you are a beautiful woman,” Velasquez said. “I want couples to rekindle their relationship. I want them to enjoy their time together. I’m not interested in creating cookie-cutter versions of me. You can go home and make it your own.”
Velasquez has performed in CASA Dancing with the Stars
Velasquez has choreographed and/or performed in CASA and Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center Dancing with the Stars fundraisers for several years in Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca and Wyandot counties. During the day, he is a professor of physics at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, as well as a professional photographer and father of two with his wife, Cassie, who also has a background in dance.
A long-established background in martial arts created an easy transition to dance when Velasquez took his first ballroom class in 1996.
“My background was in martial arts when an opportunity presented itself to try ballroom dancing. I initially noticed I picked up patterns very quickly because of my martial arts training. I had been doing katas for so long that the dance patterns came easily, although they were mechanical,” he said.
As he practiced, refinement developed, and now he teaches his students how to advance from technique to grace. The transition can take time, as Velasquez serves as instructor, encourager and friend.
“Dancing at a high level is not a simple thing,” he said.
But the challenge doesn’t have to be frustrating. Once people find the courage to walk into the dance studio the first time, they discover that in the midst of music and movement, the studio is a space to pause.
“The hardest type of dancing is the one that carries you through the door,” Velasquez said. “Once you get in here, your one hour of dancing is an hour of respite from whatever is going on in your world. Whatever is bothering you, this is an hour away from that.”
Dance Suave is at 3260 E. State Road in Port Clinton. For more information, call 567-938-5154 or visit the Dance Suave Facebook page.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Velasquez calls dancing a conversation
