For someone that has never danced, stepping onto a ballroom floor can feel intimidating. There are unfamiliar steps to learn, a partner to navigate and, perhaps most dauntingly, the feeling that everyone else already knows what they are doing.

At Fred Astaire Dance Studios, in Mequon and Pewaukee, the message to newcomers is simple: They are not supposed to know how to dance yet.

“In coming here, you are not supposed to know how to dance,” says Hayk Arshakian, owner of both studios. He compares the experience to entering a school or college: People arrive because they want to learn something new.

This philosophy helps create an environment where people of different ages, backgrounds and abilities can begin at their own pace. Victor Caneo, manager of the Mequon studio, describes it as a welcoming, safe place where a structured curriculum can be adapted to each person’s goals and interests.

Movement That Does Not Feel Like Exercise

Dance offers many of the qualities people seek from a traditional fitness routine, including movement that challenges balance, coordination, mobility, endurance and strength. Caneo says students can also experience improvements in aerobic fitness while participating in an activity that is relatively low-impact on the joints.

“Dance is unique because people often forget that they are exercising,” Caneo says. “You’re moving your body and improving your balance, coordination, flexibility, endurance and strength, but at the same time, you’re listening to music, learning something new, expressing yourself and connecting with another person.”

This combination can transform movement from an obligation into something people look forward to.

“When exercise becomes something you genuinely look forward to rather than something you feel obligated to do, it becomes much easier to stay consistent,” Caneo says. “Dance gives people goals, accomplishments and, most importantly, joy—and that can keep someone moving for years.”

Arshakian similarly emphasizes consistency. Like other approaches to supporting physical well-being, he says, the benefits of dancing develop when people continue showing up.

A Place to Put Down the Phone

The wellness benefits that studio leaders observe are not limited to the physical body. Arshakian points to what he calls “cumulative stress,” or the relatively small frustrations and pressures that can build over time when they are never fully released.

A difficult day at work, traffic, unwanted calls, emails and the continual demands of modern life may seem minor individually, but together they can weigh on a person. Dancing creates an opportunity to step away.

With music playing and another human being present, students can temporarily leave devices, emails and other distractions behind.

“In a world of social media, emails, teams meetings and AI, nothing can replace true human interaction,” Arshakian says. “People put down their phones, tablets, watches and computers, disconnect and act as humans should—with each other.”

That human element is central to the culture of the studios. Students do not necessarily arrive looking for a community, but friendships and a sense of belonging can develop alongside their dance skills. The Fred Astaire community also extends beyond southeastern Wisconsin through events and competitions that connect dancers around the country and world.

For some students, those relationships become particularly meaningful during difficult seasons of life.

Students Share Their Stories

Caneo recalls one student who came to the studio after losing several family members during the pandemic. He says she had lost hope and a sense of purpose, but found companionship and support within the dance community. Over time, she progressed to performing in front of others and became more willing to embrace new challenges.

Another student living with severe Parkinson’s disease has experienced periods of better mobility and less noticeable trembling while dancing, according to Caneo. Her experience illustrates what movement can mean to someone navigating physical limitations.

Arshakian says some of the transformations are reflected in comments students hear outside the studio. Friends and family may notice that a dancer appears happier, less stressed, more confident or even carries themselves differently.

Dancing Through the Years

Ballroom dancing can also provide an appealing way for older adults to remain physically, mentally and socially engaged.

“One of the wonderful things about ballroom dancing is that there really isn’t an age limit,” Caneo says.

Students continually learn patterns, respond to music and make decisions in real time, engaging the mind while the body moves. Physically, dancing encourages balance, mobility, coordination, posture and overall activity. Unlike a solitary workout, it also inherently involves interaction with other people.

“Fred Astaire isn’t simply a place where someone comes in, takes a lesson and goes home,” Caneo says. “Students develop friendships, attend parties and events, travel to competitions and become part of a community.”

For older dancers in particular, he says having lessons, gatherings and other activities on the calendar can provide something meaningful to anticipate each week while helping them remain active, confident and connected.

This combination of physical movement, cognitive challenge and social engagement makes dancing a multifaceted wellness practice. It is also one that can evolve with a person rather than ending at a particular age or skill level.

Learning One Step at a Time

The Mequon and Pewaukee studios offer private and group instruction for people at different stages of their dance journeys.

Programming has included:

• children’s group classes
• teen hip-hop
• ballet barre
• ballroom instruction and dance technique
• alternative dance classes
• wedding preparation
• social dancing
• competitive training

There is no requirement to arrive with rhythm, experience or a dance partner. The starting point is simply a willingness to learn.

Beyond regular lessons, the studios connect with the larger community through charitable benefits, demonstrations and events. Inside the studios, that same sense of connection develops in smaller ways every day: a new step mastered, a friendship formed, a performance attempted or an hour spent moving to music instead of looking at a screen.

For Arshakian and Caneo, those moments help explain why dance can become much more than a hobby. It can offer exercise without the monotony, challenge without isolation and a space where people can reconnect with their bodies and one another.

Sometimes wellness begins not with another workout to complete, but with music, another person and the courage to take the first step.

Fred Astaire Dance Studios - Mequon
6375 W. Mequon Rd., 2nd Floor, Mequon
262-241-1221
FredAstaire.com/Mequon

Fred Astaire Dance Studios – Pewaukee
615 Ryan St., Ste. 200, Pewaukee
262-691-8181 
FredAstaire.com/Pewaukee

For more information about classes or to schedule an introductory lesson, contact the Mequon or Pewaukee studio.