Joel Marasigan and Clara Marasigan did not know that ballroom dancing would change their life when they joined UBC Dance Club several years ago.
Neither Marasigan nor C. Marasigan danced before joining the club but they progressed to become ballroom dance champions. After some years travelling around the world, they returned back to Vancouver in 2006 and founded their studio on West Broadway: JC Dance Co. Their aim is to spread the spread the dancing experience to as many people as possible.
The next event will take place on Thursday 12 at 12 p.m. at Scotiabank Dance Centre. The Dance Centre will offer Discover Dance! a noon series that showcases the diversity of the British Columbian ballroom dance scene. The series will be informative and lively shows of ballroom dancing that will contain performance, questions to the artists and even audience participation.
“We want to involve more people dancing ballroom,” said Marasigan. They both agreed that the dancing discipline is not acknowledged by Vancouverites. TV shows such as Dancing With the Stars spread the benefits of dancing, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
The duo's main goal is to bring the experience to the people. However, there is place for the most competitive who wish to be challenged as well as space for those who only want to be spectators. Someone who wants to focus on ballroom should be “a structured and studious person because it requires a lot of dedication,” said C. Marasigan.
With effort, tenacity, perseverance, discipline and passion for their profession the duo converted themselves from amateurs dancers to world champions and dance instructors. They were not supposed to be dancers. Marasigan majored in biochemistry and C. Marasigan majored in physiology and occupational therapy, both at UBC. But they agreed that beyond their academic pursuits, university was a school of life for them.
“When you have fun, the experience becomes richer and the goal becomes better,” said Marasigan. Teaching and dancing ballroom is their main commitment nowadays. Both see dancing as “passionately fun” and intend to bring that love of dance to a wider audience.
So they will keep on spreading the message that Ballroom equals to “fun for your whole life.” And this is what they will be showcasing Thursday March 12 at Discover Dance!
Correction: A previous version of this article said that Joel Marasigan and Clara Marasigan's company was The Dance Centre, when in fact it is JC Dance Co. The Ubyssey regrets this error.