After a lifetime of ballet, tap and jazz Luba McCutchan tried something new.
McCutchan, a junior entrepreneurship major, is the president of Cardinal Ballroom. She joined the Ball State ballroom dancing club during her freshman year after encouragement from a friend.
Although she has been dancing and performing since age four, Cardinal Ballroom was her first experience with ballroom dancing.
“I love just the challenge and the difference it was because I was so used to my style of dance,” McCutchan said.
She was accustomed to dancing by herself growing up, so adding a partner was something new.
“Throwing someone else in the mix was just really fun for me,” McCutchan said.
Her partner, Brian Bordner, is also a junior and assists with running Cardinal Ballroom as the vice president. Unlike McCutchan, Bordner did not start dancing at a young age.
“I’m an oddity compared to my partner,” Bordner said. “I actually started my sophomore year here.”
Bordner also came to a lesson on advice from a friend. Although his friend did not come back, Bordner fell in love.
“I stayed just because I love learning new talents and hobbies and furthering my abilities in things,” he said.
Cardinal Ballroom holds free weekly lessons on Wednesday nights for two hours. McCutchan said they may practice one dance, multiple dances, hear from speakers or even have a social hour.
Apart from those lessons, there is open studio time every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. Anyone is free to come practice, but most of the attendees are competitive members.
Competition is not a requirement to join the club. McCutchan said the group has a competitive team of 20 members, McCutchan and Bordner included, while the other members just come to dance socially.
Bordner self-identifies as a competitive person. “I dance my best when I’m being watched,” Bordner said. “I love competitions for the caliber of dancing we put out.”
McCutchan has the same competitive spirit. “It’s kind of nice to see your hard work pay off and where you rank up,” she said. “I’m pretty young in ballroom so it’s nice to see where I could be at the end of my college career.”
McCutchan hopes to open her own dance studio later in life. She and Bordner have discussed continuing ballroom together after college, possibly taking it to a professional level.
Cardinal Ballroom has two more competitions in April as well as the annual showcase. This year’s showcase will be at Cornerstone Center for the Arts on April 14.
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