The American Style Congress

Six Lectures from Ballroom Dance Superstars

By Alexzandra Enger

This summer I had the great fortune and immense pleasure of attending the American Style Congress, which came to Minneapolis along with the Twin Cities Open. I'd never been to the American Style Congress before, so I had no personal experience off of which I could base my expectations. I'd never attended a ballroom dance lecture before, either; all of my instruction had come from in-person group or private lessons. I'd heard about the Congress before, of course, as several of my fellow dancers from the University of Minnesota attended in years previous, so I'd heard a few stories about what to expect.

"You probably won't do any actual dancing," one said, "It's basically a lecture on ballroom dance. Sometimes they have demos, but that's about as interactive as you'll get." I'd sat through countless hours of college lectures, so I figured this wouldn't really be much different.

"Take lots of notes; they fire information out at you pretty quickly." Again, sounds a little bit like a college lecture but way more fun because it's about ballroom.

"Watch out for Sam Sodano's lecture. That one's pretty much guaranteed to be pure gold." This seemed to be a common thread amongst all the people I'd talked to. My fellow dancers, dance mentors, and coach had all remarked on how particularly special Sam's lecture would be.

Soon I'd find out just how much truth laid behind these tales.

I arrived just before the Congress was slated to begin; I'd just been there the night before for the professional show, so I didn't waste any time trying to find my way to the ballroom. I collected my tickets—one for the morning session and one for the afternoon session—and determined to get the most out of this opportunity I could, I found a seat in the front row. Notepad and pen in hand, I settled in and prepared myself for the impending inundation of knowledge.

There were six lectures in all, covering both smooth and rhythm. Two of the professionals from the night before, Andre and Natalie Andre Paramonov, held a captivating rhythm lecture on the cruciality of precision and connection, with some Cuban motion sprinkled in for good measure. Edward Simon's smooth lecture emphasized the importance of proper body motion for building shape and volume in order to deliver the beautiful, expressive emotion that draws you into a dance. All through the day, magnificent dancers and teachers poured knowledge out onto the floor for eager dancers to soak up.

The headliner was Sam Sodano's lecture. I'd actually call this more of an interactive discussion; Sam had a special way of engaging the crowd. At more than one point, the entire room was on its feet, dancing along to Sam's Cuban motion instruction. Sam went back to basics with his lecture, but he did so in a way that didn't make you feel as though you were doing a basic rumba box step a million times over. The foot placements and weight shifts were so precise that every time you watched the professionals demonstrating, you'd notice something completely new about such a simple motion as a rock step.

Even though I'd been in the same room for upwards of seven hours, I didn't want it to end.

As I walked out of the ballroom for the last time this Twin Cities Open season, I reassessed my prior expectations about the Congress.

Did I dance very much? Well, not nearly as much as I would have had it been a group class, but then again, I hadn't come for a group class. I had been expecting to soak all the information up with my ears, eyes, and pen, so the several occasions we were encouraged to rise and try the motions out for ourselves were special treats. I hadn't been expecting to dance, and I regretted not donning my practice shoes after the first instance of kinesthetic learning.

Did my pen blaze a fire across my notepad? Oh, most definitely. Except for the times I was dancing, my writing hand didn't stop moving. By the end of the day, I'd mastered the art of writing in a straight line without so much as a glance at the paper.

How gold was the golden egg Sam's lecture was promised to be? My storytellers from before the Congress couldn't have under-exaggerated any more. Engaging, humorous in all the right places, and active, Sam's lecture was the perfect piece to cap the American Style Congress.


I beyond satisfied with my experience at the American Style Congress, and I highly recommend that if you have the opportunity to attend, you take it! I promise, you won't come away with anything less than a dance bag filled with invaluable notes, a giant smile on your face, and a special, ballroom-dance happiness.