: youtube.com/watch?v=EYUGsmdXeB0

Scuba diving and ballroom dancing have a connection

Article by Carlett Spike Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Evan Krape | Video by Jason Hinmon February 15, 2018

Two classes among the great ways UD students took advantage of Winter Session

Winter Session is a great time for students to explore unusual classes at the University of Delaware that they may not have time to take during the fall and spring semesters. The four- and five-week classes allow for students to develop new and interesting skills.

Cathleen Fuller, a senior studying philosophy, has completed most of her major requirements. She used Winter Session to fulfill some of her remaining elective credits, by taking ballroom dancing and scuba diving.

“I saw ballroom was an option and I saw it had open seats,” Fuller said. “It was one credit and the scuba class was two credits. My dad scubas, so I wanted to take that. So this was perfect.”

It's all about the shoes.

During a recent ballroom class, Fuller mimicked the movements of her instructor, Holly Powers. They were going over the rumba. On the first day, Powers encouraged her female students to wear heels, explaining that they needed to dress up for the class final — which is staged like a competitive dance show. Wearing her white pumps with purple and red lips, Fuller was the only student that chose to do so on that day.

Powers broke down the steps, demonstrating the routine for the leader and follower. The students practiced a few times on their own, before Powers turned on the music and everyone found partners.

“Confidence is what’s sexy,” Powers said to the class. “Who doesn’t want a confident partner?”

UD’s ballroom class was started decades ago. Powers, a UD alumna, took the course while she was a student. She was also a member of the ballroom dance team and credits everything she knows to the previous instructor, Pat Grim. After graduating, Powers continued to dance competitively — placing third in the silver level of nationals while five months pregnant. In 2016, when Grim decided to retire, she asked Powers if she’d like to take over her class.

Ballroom dancing class members practice steps.

In four weeks, students learn the basic steps of the cha-cha, rumba, swing, foxtrot, waltz, and tango. Given the tight time frame—meeting less than two hours, three days a week— only a couple of days are dedicated to each dance. Most students have no previous experience. Powers said she hopes her class can help students explore a new avenue of the arts.

“I want them to walk away with a new experience and with an understanding that dancing isn’t scary,” Powers said. “It should be something that you just try and as long as you don’t fall down and hurt yourself it’s all good.”

Her class, which is part of the College of Health Sciences and was held at the Carpenter Sports Building, has attracted students from different backgrounds and different majors. One of those students, Daniel Lawless, is a senior studying criminal justice. His mother initially signed him up for the course, but after one class he realized he enjoyed it.

Dance class members practice twirling their partner

Twirling on the dance floor, like other acquired skills, takes practice.

“I thought it was going to be a little awkward,” Lawless said. “It hasn’t been any bit of a disappointment. It’s been a lot of fun and I was definitely happy when I realized I can definitely do this during winter.”

Another student, Ruomin Xu is an undeclared first-year student, but hopes to study accounting. She signed up for the course because she wants to learn to dance. She said she found ballroom dancing has pushed her outside of her comfort zone.

“I didn’t feel very comfortable [dancing] with a stranger on me because I do not know everything about my partner. When we tried to dance, we discovered we are both international students and we can speak the same language so with that I feel really relaxed,” Xu said. “Although this dancing has no relationship with my major, I think I can feel happy in my academic life at UD and I can meet different people and strengthen my social life.”

That’s what Powers ultimately wants for her students.

“It’s just putting yourself out there and realizing, ‘Oh wait, nobody laughed and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,’ ” Powers said. “Then hopefully they can apply that to other situations.”

Or it's all about the fins.

While heels were the only item Fuller brought to ballroom dancing, she needed to obtain a wetsuit, flippers, mask and booties for scuba diving. Through the course fee, the University provides the students with tanks, regulators and vests. Fuller’s father is a certified scuba diver, so he helped set her up for the class.

“I was going to use my dad’s equipment, but when I went to pick it up, my father surprised me with my own equipment,” Fuller said.

Her black wetsuit has a distinctive pink stripe traveling down the length of her leg.

Offered through the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, scuba diving courses have been offered at UD for more than 25 years. Completing this course brings students closer to obtaining a scuba diving certification.

“Students come out of the course having completed two-thirds of what’s required to become a fully certified lifetime scuba diver,” said Chris Donnelly, UD’s diving safety officer and scuba instructor. “They only need to spend one more weekend on their own time to complete that certification to become a full blown certified scuba diver.”

Donnelly and his wife, Kelly Donnelly, own Blue Horizons Dive Center, a Pennsylvania-based scuba store. Through their shop, they offer a weekend dive and camping trip in April at Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where students can complete their certifications.

UD student Cathleen Fuller (left) and diving instructor Kelly Donnelly during scuba diving class at the Carpenter Sports Building

Emily Mozal, a former scuba student who is now certified, said diving in the lake for the first time was a memorable experience.

“To be underwater was really really cool,” Mozal said. “Even though Dutch Spring doesn’t have much marine life, it does have large items on the bottom of it, like big cars and a fire truck.”

(The cars and trucks are sunk there intentionally to be training aids for divers.)

Scuba at UD is held on the pool deck of the Carpenter Sports Building. It is split between pool skills and academic lessons. Most of the students in one Winter Session introductory class were in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and one day hope to use their certification for career purposes.

Students demonstrate the surface sign used to indicate a diver is OK

“I really want to be able to do scientific diving for my career and be able to perform research later on in life,” said Eric Moyer, a marine biology senior. “I think that’s such a cool and immersive experience and I didn’t want to miss out on it.”

Even those outside of the major are drawn to the class because the certification can open many other doors.

“I am joining the Marines and I’d like to get a jump start on a combat diver certification,” said Davis Russell, a senior studying sports management. “So this is a good way of laying a foundation for that.”

Students prepare tanks and respirators, masks and fins on the side of the pool.

On a recent Thursday morning, the class met on the pool deck of the Lil Bob. They placed all of their equipment on the edge before hopping into the shallow end. Once in the water, they finished assembling their gear. It was their first time fully suited in the water. Dave Smith, another instructor who helps with the course, walked the students through the safety checklist. When everyone was clear, they practiced by first putting their face in the water to breath. Then Smith asked them to submerge their bodies by kneeling in the water. Within 30 minutes they were scuba diving in the deep end of the pool.

Megan Cain, a senior studying environmental science, remembers taking that first breath underwater.

“It’s kind of like a panic moment at first,” Cain said. “But then you are under water and you’re still breathing and you’re kind of like, ‘What the heck just happened?’ It’s really cool, but it’s kind of like you have that instinct to stop breathing as soon as you go under water, so it's weird to keep going as you descend.”