ISU students who are interested in dancing are finding campus organizations a great place not only to try new skills, but maybe to meet someone special.

The Iowa State Ballroom Dance Company and the ISU Ballroom Dance Club are student organizations that let anyone interested in ballroom dancing become a member.

The Dance Company focuses more on competitions and technique, while the Dance Club is more for people interested in experiencing the social aspect of dancing, with socials happening every Friday night for members to come and have fun.

April Dunn, junior in interdisciplinary studies and competition team coordinator for the Ballroom Dance Company, has been dating club president Chris Muller, senior in materials engineering, for about three years.

Dunn said they both joined the club around the same time and started dancing together. Both had taken lessons prior to joining the club.

“Even though we’re a couple, we dance with everyone [at practices],” Dunn said, adding that dancing with different partners helps make you a better dancer.

Many couples who have met through ballroom dancing started dating and are now married. An example is the previous director of the Ballroom Dance Company, Jill Reynolds, who met her husband at the company and now lives with him in Texas.

Keith Evans, graduate student in economics-agriculture, and Courtney Grosso, ISU alumna, make a routine out of going to the Ballroom Dance Club’s Friday night socials.

Grosso said after they started going out, they realized they had dancing in common. Now they like to go out dancing on the weekends.

“It’s a way to get him away from studying,” Grosso said.

Another frequent dancer at the Friday night socials is Dee Weber, 76, of Ames.

“I’m the grandma of the group,” Weber said.

Weber said she comes every Friday night just to be around the younger people and watch them dance. She likes to dance, and has danced since she was a teenager. Swing dancing is her favorite.

“Single people come here because they like to dance,” said Valerie Williams, founder of the ISU Ballroom Dance Club.

Williams said there are other places in town to go dancing, but the club prides itself on playing a variety of music.

“We play anything from polka to Argentine tango,” Williams said.

Jackie Hansel, publicity co-chairwoman of the Ballroom Dance Company and sophomore in apparel merchandising, design and production, said she started ballroom dancing last year with lessons.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet people and have a lot of fun,” Hansel said.

Hansel said although there are a lot of couples in the company, there are also a lot of singles, as well.

ISU Ballroom Dance Company is comprised of roughly 125 students. About 35 dancers compete around the region in dance competitions.

“Once you catch the bug, it’s hard to stop,” Dunn said of why she loves dancing. “We may argue on the dance floor about proper technique and choreography, but ballroom talk stays on the ballroom floor. We keep ballroom and our lives separate.”