What Is Round Dancing?
Round Dancing is a form of social ballroom dancing where dances are choreographed to a specific piece of music and lead by a “Cuer.” These dances consist of figures taken from international ballroom standards and consist of all the rhythms therein… Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Tango, Bolero, Jive, West Coast Swing, etc. Unlike ballroom, Round Dancing is broken down by Phase (II-VI) and in each phase dancers learn a set of steps by their name. This allows the dancers to dance any dance choreographed in that rhythm and phase. These dances are lead by a “cuer” who prompts the dancers with the next step just in time for it to be danced. This provides quite a different look to your average social ballroom dance floor as all of the dancers are doing the same routine in unison. It also allows for dances to be significantly more complicated as the man does not have to come up with the choreography on the spot. The activity is ever expanding and there are now over 10,000 choreographed dance routines.
About Us
Mitchell Thompson comes from a family with an extensive background in square dancing, so it was only natural for him to get involved. He did so by learning to square dance and joining the Rocky Mountain Dancers performance group at the young age of 13. He enjoyed squares, but it wasn’t long before he discovered that his real passion was for rounds. Under the tutelage of John Herr, he learned to cue. Two short years later, in 2005, he became a member of Roundalab and started both cueing dances and teaching round dance classes. He loved it and has been doing it ever since. In a short time he became one of the prominent cuers in the Denver area. He now cues for over 10 clubs across Colorado and teaches both group and private lessons on a regular basis. He teaches all levels of round dance, but particularly enjoys teaching beginning rounds because he loves being able to bring new people into such a great activity. He has also choreographed several dances and taught his own choreography at both state and national conventions. He met his dance partner, Chelsea, at his first national convention: Denver, CO 2004. In 2013, they started teaching together and really bonded over their passion for dance. They were married in November of 2017. They dance phase II-VI and have recently gotten involved in social ballroom dancing. They look forward to seeing you on the dance floor!
