Original Article can be found here: http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/wiser/1428486,CST-FTR-find13.article
Choose your partner
DANCE CLUBS | Pairing up on the floor can lead to more for adventurous singles
February 13, 2009
There are places where the women dress up, the men are eager to dance and strangers pair up without hesitation or awkwardness. On Monday nights, that place is Zocalo.
The restaurant and tequila bar at 358 W. Ontario offers a salsa class for $5, followed by open floor dancing. It draws a diverse, dedicated crowd that is redefining "the mating dance."
Instructor Rick Mangram encourages the couples to get close. "Ladies should always say yes, until you smell alcohol on his breath," he says, which gets a big laugh.
As TV shows such as "Dancing With the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" put the spotlight on all forms of dance, singles are venturing out to try it for themselves. It doesn't hurt that dancing often seems to lead to more.
Ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff, for instance, dated her "DWTS" partner Mario Lopez, and has just announced her engagement to co-star Maksim Chmerkovskiy (known as "the bad boy of the ballroom"). Young actors Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper are now dating, after dancing their way through "Mamma Mia!"
In the Latino community, dancing is nothing less than physical flirting. "I think dancing is elemental -- it's an excuse to get up close and personal with someone you barely know, and who knows where that will take you," says Teresa Pedroza, 38, of Palatine, who had her first dance with her future husband at a barbecue. "Culturally, I think dancing with the opposite sex is a very acceptable 'sport' that most parents don't object to."
Mangram, instructing at Zocalo with Izabella Woronko, has seen many singles meet on the dance floor. "Some of them become dance partners, and they tend to build a relationship by dancing and practicing with each other to form a bond, which is a love through dance," Mangram says.
Watch a dancer's posture and smile and you'll learn infinitely more than small talk will tell you. "A person who is relaxed and very smooth when they dance can show that they are there to have fun and relax -- or maybe that person is just a laid-back person," Mangram says. "A person with a lot of energy can be very outgoing and love to be outdoors."
The energy at Zocalo on Monday night feels like a Friday. The men outnumber the women, and there's a bit of glamor involved, from the strappy, metallic dance shoes to the graceful flourishes in the taught routine.
Angela Ballard, 34, of Uptown changed into a black dress after work. She and a girlfriend go dancing at a different place every night. "It's a very welcoming community," she says. New partners connect hand-to-shoulder. "It certainly breaks the barrier of intimacy right away," Ballard says.
"It's a life skill," says Mark Lawrence, 23, of Winnetka. A Bank of America co-worker of his got interested in salsa after a vacation in Colombia, and now Lawrence tags along with him to clubs. "We've met so many people," he says. "It's a lot more relaxed than going to a hookup spot with loud music. That gets old."
John Paul Balderas, 26, of Pilsen first noticed girlfriend Connie Garcia, 22, when she was dancing the cumbia -- Colombia's traditional dance -- at a restaurant. "She looked like she was having fun," Balderas says. He doesn't consider himself much of a dancer, though. "That's why we're here."
There are a number of things to consider when you're looking for the perfect partner -- in life, or on the dance floor.
"Their passion, their sensuality," says Misty Reyes, 43, of Portage Park. "They have to be patient when they're leading and make sure that it's all about you. The man should put you at ease. Just like in lovemaking, you know?"
Peter Parada takes Carmen Camarena for a spin around the dance floor at Zocalo restaurant and tequila bar. In the Latino community, dancing is like physical flirting.