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ST. CHARLES – Want to glide over the dance floor like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? Spice up your life doing the salsa? Waltz the night away?
A new dance studio in downtown St. Charles has become the place for people to explore those possibilities and expand their social horizons.
Professional dancers Debbie Wiess and Ben Blekfeld have opened LUX Dance Studio, offering instruction in the full range of social dance styles.
“There are so many reasons to dance,” Wiess said, adding reasons include fitness and meeting new people.
The dance duo remodeled a large space inside a vintage commercial building at 1 Illinois St., Suite 120, St. Charles, creating an elegant ballroom atmosphere.
But the key to the new business is the personalized instruction and passion for dancing that Wiess and Blekfeld are bringing to the endeavor, backed up with their solid training and experience as dance professionals.
“We work well together,” Blekfeld said. “We have the same work ethic and vision. We pride ourselves on making it fun.”
Wiess trained in modern dance with the Chicago Academy for the Arts and Columbia College before performing with the prestigious Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York.
Blekfeld studied dance and theater at Millikin University in Decatur, honing his skills in ballet, tap and modern dance, before moving into repertory theater and then working for many years as a ballroom dance instructor with a nationally known franchised studio.
Along the way, Blekfeld and Wiess teamed up as dance partners, and both found homes in St. Charles.
“Eventually we decided we wanted to open our own space,” Wiess said. The studio has been open for a little longer than two months and celebrated its grand opening with a night of salsa dancing Jan. 18.
Out on the expansive 41-by-36-foot dance floor, walled with mirrors and under gleaming chandeliers, clients are practicing the steps to any dance they wish to learn, from the tango to swing or even the polka.
Plenty of the studio’s clients are couples, but Wiess or Blekfeld is more than willing to take the hand of a single.
“You don’t need a partner,” Wiess said.
LUX takes a customized approach to instruction.
“We’ve really found a way to connect with our clients,” Wiess said. “The best way to learn is one-on-one from a teacher.”
Whether its rhythmic Latin dances, country and western two-steps or traditional styles, Wiess and Blekfeld have it covered.
“When people come in – whatever their interests – it’s our goal to get them there,” Wiess said. “We focus on their interest.”
The duo also can take care of fledgling dancers whose goals are less defined.
“Some people say, ‘I want to learn to dance’ whatever that means,” Blekfeld said. “If you don’t know what you want to do, we’ll help you figure it out.”
There’s more involved than just LUX’s instructional offerings.
Wednesday nights are billed as “practice parties,” and there are frequent blowouts with live bands in the studio.
“You can add a lot of topography to your social life,” Blekfeld said.
LUX also organizes dance parties for their clients at local night spots and restaurants, including nearby Eden on the River.
“If you learn how to dance, you want to be able to show it off,” Wiess said.
The emphasis is on social dancing, so LUX is not a ballet studio or academy, although there is a ballet bar along one interior wall for good effect.
LUX offers a special program aimed at getting ready for that big wedding day, schedules Monday evenings for newcomers and Tuesday evenings for lessons in salsa dancing, which is currently one of the hottest dance styles.
Thursday evenings are often reserved for the Lux on Location off-site parties.
Saturday mornings are available for social dancing classes.
If you go
WHAT: LUX Dance Studio
WHERE: 1 Illinois St., Suite 120, St. Charles
PHONE: 630-940-2586
EMAIL: info@luxdancestudio.com