Kimberly Garrison | Having a ball with ballroom

LONG BEFORE the television show "Dancing with the Stars" I was a big fan of ballroom dancing and rarely miss the PBS show, "America's Ballroom Challenge."

Secretly, I have always wanted to master these dances - and I wanted my husband to be my dance partner, too.

A few weeks ago, I took my reluctant, total jock husband to our first private dance lesson at Society Hill Dance Academy on 2nd Street.

Society Hill Dance Academy is the brainchild of entrepreneur and dancer extraordinaire Shana Vitoff. She fell in love with ballroom dance at the ripe old age of 18 and decided to pursue her passion with rare persistence and fortitude.

"I was 18 at the time, waiting on tables, and I fell in love with country-western dance," said Vitoff. Then her dance partner suggested that they take a ballroom dance class and she was thrilled.

Unfortunately, her partner bailed at the last minute, but that didn't stop the determined Vitoff. She not only loved ballroom, she also wanted to teach it, so she showed up at the dance studio every day for two weeks until they hired her.

"Within a year I was the top salesperson," she recalled.

The gutsy Minnesota native was hotly pursued and recruited by another ballroom dance studio in Philadelphia where she would work for five years before courageously opening up her own studio in 2002.

"All over the world, ballroom dance is considered a serious sport," Vitoff said.

Indeed, it is. I was pleasantly surprised not only by the great leg workout but also the great workout my core received. Salsa, swing, fox-trot and the waltz are not only fun, they're also excellent ways to get in more exercise.

Among the benefits of ballroom dancing:

_ It's a great cardio and full-body workout.

_ You'll burn as much as 200 to 350 calories an hour, depending on how much you weigh and whether you're doing fast or slow dances.

_ It improves posture and grace.

_ It increases self-confidence - especially with the opposite sex!

_ Ladies, it'll make you feel gorgeous and glamorous.

_ Gentlemen, you're the leader, and the lady has to follow your lead. (My husband's face lit up when the instructor told us that!)

Other not so obvious benefits include making new friends, rekindling romance in your relationship or maybe even finding love, which Vitoff says has happened at her studio.

I can certainly see why. Vitoff's elegant studio is one of the finest I've ever had the pleasure of dancing in, and her professional instructors are a fun and fabulous bunch.

As soon as we arrived, our wonderful instructor, Kate Slovich, put both my husband and I at ease. In less than 30 minutes she had us seductively looking into each other's eyes as we did some sizzling salsa moves.

Boy, was that fun!

If you are not up to that type of intensity, no sweat. There are classes for singles, couples, kids and groups in nearly every dance style imaginable. And every Thursday night's a dance party starting at 9 p.m.

Group classes are priced as low as $150 for 10 sessions; private lessons are available, and your first is complimentary.

So if you're looking for a new way to spruce up your workout then give ballroom dancing a try. Salsa, cha-cha and Lindy hop your way to improved health and fitness. *

Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com).

E-mail her at

kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo! Chat with her on her Daily News weblog, the Girlfriends' Locker Room, at www.girlfriendslockerroom.com. Her new podcast, "Philly Fitness and Health," is available for download every Thursday at www.philly.com.