It's not a gym, but Shall We Dance promises its students a workout.
Deborah Frechette and Bob Blake opened a second Shall We Dance location on the Northwest Side in early May. Frechette and Blake's other location is at 4101 E. Grant Road.
Frechette said ballroom dancing is the perfect alternative for people who want to exercise and get in shape but want to avoid the gym.
"When most people want to diet or want to get in shape, they go to a gym and it beats the hell out of them," Frechette said. "For months, you feel horrible. You're exhausted. This is a form of exercise that literally someone who's 100 pounds overweight can come in and start doing."
Shall We Dance, 2850 W. Ina Road, Suite 100, offers private lessons in ballroom, Latin, swing and country-Western dancing.
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Anyone can ballroom-dance, Frechette said.
"Ballroom dancing itself is actually really, really supportive of every shape, age, size. It's really something everybody can do."
Frechette has had students with hip and knee replacements take lessons.
Shall We Dance mainly offers private lessons for singles and couples, and it hosts a weekly studio party for its active students.
The newest location will host its first studio party at 8 p.m. Friday. Guests are welcome to attend.
The first Shall We Dance studio opened in 1997 and moved into its current Grant Road location in 2002.
Frechette opened the studio with Blake three years after she started dancing.
"We love our students," she said. "Dance attracts really good people."
The decision to open a second location was done to accommodate people who don't live in the middle of town.
"With Tucson expanding so much into Oro Valley, people were wanting something out here, and there really wasn't anything," Frechette said.
"We were finding they were giving up on coming down to central because the ride was really long and the traffic was getting worse."
Instructor Aaron Wegner said the Northwest Side location is ideal.
"It's got a lot of potential, and it's growing really fast," he said.
Wegner said he took up ballroom dancing about a year ago for the same reasons his students sign up for lessons now.
"It's active," said Wegner, who has worked as an instructor for six months. "It's social. It's a professional environment. We have a great staff. They look out for your interests."
Most of Blake and Frechette's instructors split their time between the two studios.
The newest studio has two dance floors, including a competition-sized "floating" floor. Floating floors have layers of wood and cushioning to limit shock to the knees.
Business at the first studio has always been good, Frechette said, and she anticipates her new studio will be just as popular.
She said some of the recent popularity surrounding ballroom dancing might have a little to do with television dance shows, such as "Dancing With the Stars."
But she cautions that people won't learn what they see on "Dancing With the Stars" after just a couple of lessons.
"It's much more basic — almost like organized walking," Frechette said. "You are really focused on syncing and on the music. You don't have to start at 900 mph."
May I have this dance?
What: Shall We Dance.
Where: 2850 W. Ina Road, Suite 100.
Phone: 229-3202.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays.
Classes: New students can receive four lessons for $25, but some restrictions apply. Call for prices or go to the Web site, www.shallwedanceaz.com.
