Aurora velasco

Ballroom and Latin Dance Information
Aurora Velasco
avelasc[at]mail.sdsu.edu
February 25, 2009
EDTEC 541, Thursday 4 pm

Problem, Need, or Opportunity
There has been heightened interest in ballroom and latin dance over the last few years, especially due to the popularity of the television show Dancing with the Stars. Many people express this interest, yet are unsure of certain things such as what types of dances are under the “ballroom and latin dance” umbrella, where to go for lessons, and what attire is required. A website with multimedia such as dance videos, hyperlinks to ballroom studios, and general FAQ’s would allow these people to obtain the information they need in order to decide if ballroom and latin dance is for them.

Audience
The intended audience is people of all ages who have an interest to learn ballroom and latin dance. There is no age specific range as in my experience I have come across people from adolescents to senior citizens who would like to learn more about ballroom dance. A secondary audience this web site would serve would be the family and friends of those people who might be taking dance lessons as it will allow them to become familiar with the same information so as to be able to support and encourage their loved one better.

The technical skills this audience has include being able to navigate the World Wide Web through a web browser on either a PC or Macintosh computer. They are also bringing to the table a basic understanding that ballroom and latin dance is a form of partner dancing.

User's Needs
I interviewed several people who are new/prospective members of my ballroom and latin dance club. I asked them questions, primarily what they would like to see while they research if they want to get more involved in the ballroom club or ballroom dance in general. The main things they commented on were the following.

• List and information on the different dances involved in ballroom and latin dance
• Information on where to obtain dance lessons
• Information on where to purchase dance attire/shoes
• A history on how ballroom dance came into being
• What kinds of music you can dance to
• Dance steps, or step charts to refer to

I have inferred that, since my target audience only has a minimal understanding of ballroom dance, that they would prefer to see much of this information in a visual manner, versus just a text list. For example, instead of only listing out the various types of dances, having video clips demonstrating what each type of dance looks like would probably be much more beneficial so they can really see if it is a style of dance they would be interested in learning more about.

Environment
Most of the audience will be accessing this information from both their places of work, as well as from their homes at their leisure. In both locations, access to hi-speed internet is assumed as it has become more the standard in recent years than it used to be. There will be some audio involved on the website, such as from the video clips, but will not be absolutely necessary to at least get a grasp on a particular type of dance if a user cannot turn up the audio in their cubicle, for example. Then later when they are home they could watch the video again at their leisure to hear the style of music for the dance. For the most part they will be working alone, getting the information they need to pursue taking dance lessons, or just to become more familiar with what ballroom is.

Resources and Limitations
Text and information for the site I would be able to write quickly on my own, as I have many years of experience in ballroom dancing. I can list all of the various dances that ballroom and latin dance entail, as well as come up with general FAQ’s that I’ve come across in the years I have danced and worked with other dancers. I already have many videos and photos that I have taken and edited from my own dance competitions, so optimizing them for this web site will be fairly easy and there are no issues with copyright as I own them. Other information, such as places to take lessons and buy dance attire/shoes I will research on the internet to obtain addresses and phone numbers.

Since most of the information I already have available to me, the web development should not be very time consuming so I feel that I will definitely have adequate time to complete this site. Also, I do have all of the tools I need on my home computer, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and iMovie for any digital video editing I may need to do.

General Solution
There are many users that I have come across that express an interest in learning more about ballroom and latin dance, so this is a web site that I could direct them to in order for them to get a basic understanding of what it is, where they can go to learn HOW to dance, and where they can go to purchase appropriate ballroom dance attire and/or shoes. They would get to the web site, and see a photo or two right on the main page of dancers in action, so as to get them excited for what they’re about to learn. In terms of navigation there would be several pages they could go to for information. An “About” page that would briefly talk about the history of ballroom and latin dance; a “Types of dances” page that would list all of the different types of dances involved in ballroom and latin dance as well as clips of videos for each dance to demonstrate what it looks like; a “Links” page that will contain information and links to various ballroom dance studios and stores; and a “FAQ” page that will cover some frequently asked questions about taking lessons, what to wear, etc. These pages and their information will give the user enough basic information so then they could decide if they really want to pursue taking dance lessons. It will also give them enough info to determine if someone else they know might enjoy doing the same.