About Us
Mandeville Ballroom Dance Studio is all about "Dancing on the Northshore!"
Mandeville Ballroom hosted its first dance March 2006. It all started with a few people, a borrowed sound system, and several CDs worth of great dancing music. For two years, Mandeville Ballroom hosted monthly dances and special events, until in March 2008, on its second anniversary,
Mandeville Balllroom Dance Studio opened it's doors to the community. Offering quality weekly lessons, dance parties, and private lessons,
Mandeville Ballroom truly strives for excellence in offering adult ballroom dance instruction and cementing it's place in the community as a fun social outlet.
~We continue to strive for excellence in offering weekly dance lessons in American style social dances-
~Swing dance, Ballroom dances(Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot), Latin Dances (Salsa, Merengue, Rumba, Cha Cha).
~We help aspiring dancers to transform into confident dancers, so they can enjoy dancing to many songs in many different situations.
~We offer a less expensive, healthier alternative to watching a weekly movie- social dance parties.
We constantly strive to build a warm and friendly, skilled dance community on the Northshore.
Your Instructor - Aaron D. Smith
As a life-long Mandeville resident, Aaron played soccer in the Mandeville Soccer Club and earned a black belt at Mandeville Karate Training Center. Aaron graduated in December 2005 from Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) with a B.A. in Entrepreneurship, then began working full-time for Latter & Blum Realtors, inc. He soon left Latter and Bloom to focus his attention on sharing his passion by starting Mandeville Ballroom. Aaron currently runs the studio and works part time, meeting audio visual needs. His story is like many young men: shy from the beginnning, always avoided social situations, especially dancing. But as he tells it, a series of events drastically changed his life:
"I began dancing as a Sophomore in college. A friend of mine invited me to a surprise birthday party for a mutual friend. He insisted that there would be a Swing Dance competition and that I would be competing. Of course, I refused. After a while, he relented. Having talked to his fellow party organizers, he decided it would be best to have a Swing Dance performance at the party (I was excused). So, the performance team, having never danced before hatsoever, went online to "learn" how to dance. They came up with a very clever exhibition, complete with a fight scene. The only problem was the dancing. It was atrocious! It was nothing like any Swing I'd ever seen. So I felt compelled to find out what Swing actually was. Coincidentally (or Providentially) A family friend told me that her daughter taught dancing locally, and kept insisting that I take classes. I arrived to my first class and stayed for two hours that night! I immediately fell in love with the different dances and the social freedom they afforded me. I felt so empowered and confident!"
Looking for a way to practice more with others of like mind, Aaron subsequently began the Southeastern Swing Dance Club. Once the local chapter of the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers' Association (USABDA) caught wind of the SDC, Aaron was recruited on the board of directors. Additionally, he assisted with the Highschool dance clubs (MHS, FHS).
Aaron, though an accomplished dancer and instructor, is a lifetime student of the art of dance- always striving to improve his dance skills through coaching, workshops and training from nationally and internationally recognized instructors and professional dancers.
General Information
Welcome to Mandeville Ballroom! Let us help you feel confident on the dance floor at any occasion!
You might want to create a beautiful routine for your Wedding dance or meet new friends who share your passion for the thrill of gliding across the dance floor. Or perhaps you've watched enough "Dancing With the Stars" and you're now ready to be part of the fun!
LESSONS--> Learn to dance Swing, Salsa, Waltz, Foxtrot, and more in our exciting group classes, or get that personal touch in our private lessons. Whether you are learning to dance for fun, or your big wedding dance, you'll find what you need at Mandeville Ballroom dance studio. Call now to schedule your free introductory private lesson!
PARTIES--> Party hardy! Put your new skills to use by checking out one of our world famous dance parties! (Okay, maybe not "world famous") We offer weekly (family-friendly) dance parties, with an electrifying mix of danceable music, great for Salsa, Swing, Tango, Ballroom, and many other styles of social dances.
