Excelling in the art of dance requires patience, swanlike grace, and a pair of feet strong enough to squeeze two lumps of coal until milk comes out. Fill your dance pail with today's Groupon: for $17, you get one general-admission ticket to Session IV of the Cactus Classic professional ballroom-dance competition from Shall We Dance (a $35 value). The event is held on Saturday June 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort.
Entering its seventh year of heated hot stepping, the Cactus Classic gathers dance champions and enthusiasts together in a fierce, feet-fueled competition for over $8,300 in prize money. Judged by experienced dancers Toby Munroe and Harmony Lyris, Saturday’s Session IV begins at 7:30 p.m. with an open dance floor backed by live music, offering attendees a chance to cut a rug through means other than saw-soled pumps. An awards ceremony and a pro show, featuring performances by the champion couple and passive-aggressive cheering from the runners-up, round out the hip-swaying event.
Like Tarzan’s legendary bachelor pad, the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador features up-to-date accommodations amidst a wild natural landscape. Its spacious ballrooms provide ample space for sashaying and a plethora of seats from which to see it.
Shall We Dance
Named the Best Place to Take a Dance Class in 2012 by Tucson Lifestyle magazine, Shall We Dance boasts experienced instructors that help instill dancing wisdom and undeniable rhythm in people looking to twirl and sidestep across the studio’s hardwood floor. Students pair up during group dance lessons or work one-on-one with instructors during private lessons as they are shown how to gracefully execute an arsenal of dance steps in styles such as salsa, Argentinean tango, swing, and waltz. The studio also offers weekly dance parties (held Friday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.), which provide a casual setting for students to practice with different dance partners, ready couples for weddings, or prep solo dancers for musical housecleaning sessions.