Blaire Miller has quite a busy schedule as the senior vice president and manager of international banking at Standard Federal Bank in Troy, yet the 44 year old Beverly Hills resident manages to do some very fancy footwork indeed.

Miller is one of the top ranked amateur women ballroom dancers in the nation in her age group.

A recent check of the leader board, called the Dancesport SuperBowl, places Miller, along with her professional partner and instructor Glenn Clark, first in the Midwest Region in the Smooth, and Standard dance styles (see comments below), second in Latin and third in Rhythm.

Performing in front of crowds is nothing new to Miller, who also is a professional violinist. She has played with the Birmingham Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra for the last 20 years. Competitive dance just added another element to her repertoire.

"Performing can be very nerve wracking," she says. "I've learned how to do that as a musician, but it's really different when you're doing the same thing with your body."

Clark says Miller is one of the best students he's ever had and that her training in musical performances comes into play during competition when she really needs to keep her focus and composure.

"She really feels the music and is able to block out the crowds and the distractions and 'be in the zone,' when she dances," he says. "Even her hand movements are different because she plays the violin."

What drives Miller to compete, not just in one or two dance patterns, but all 24 which requires as much as 15 hours a week spent in training, time traveling to competitions and shelling out money for gowns that can cost between $500 and $2000?

She just loves it.

"I kept thinking I would give up something along the way, but I love all of the dances," she says. "There's nothing more fun than a sassy cha cha or a very Brazilian samba. Or a waltz or a tango! Besides, I hate sitting on the sidelines. I have a strong desire to achieve higher levels. It shows you're interested in good performance,"

But dancing for Miller isn't always about high achievement. Sometimes it's just about having fun and spending some time with her 8 year old daughter.

"We taught kindergartners at Detroit Country Day to do the tango and they performed with roses and everything! It was so cute the parents almost lost it!"

Having a Ball

They move as one. As the music begins, each couple begins to glide around the dance floor heads straight, bodies erect, million dollar smiles on their faces as they move in a seemingly effortless flow to the lilting one-two three rhythm of a waltz.

They make it look easy, but this is no walk in the park. This is a hard driving competition, where professional ballroom dancers and their amateur partners sometimes 15 couples at a time are jammed onto a 40 by 60 foot dance floor, jostling for position with 90 seconds to impress a judge with their grace, finesse, footwork, technique and showmanship.

At this level of performance, ballroom dancing is elevated to an athletic competition in tuxes, tails, gowns and high heels that takes tremendous energy, conditioning, training, concentration and sacrifice to get to the top of the sport. And some of the best regional and national competitors can be found right here in Oakland County.

"Dancing is the most strenuous sport I have ever played," Mark Brock says.

The professional ballroom instructor, who teaches at the Troy Dance Studio, should know. Brock, 52, played minor league and semi professional football before turning to dance. He says he once calculated that he danced 1,000 times over the course of a five day competition. He adds, half-jokingly, that he gets more physically battered on the dance floor from flying feet and elbows than he does playing hockey.

Brock and his amateur partner, Natalka Cap, burned the floor at a competition in Atlanta recently, earning the title of U.S. pro/am mambo champions. Cap is a recent newcomer to dancesport, as it's called. She's been competing for only 21/2 years but has quickly rocketed to the top of Rhythm and Latin categories, which encompass such dances as mambo, cha cha, samba and bolero. Brock purposely moved her along, recognizing, "that I had something special in Natalka."

"I got in by accident," she explains. "I went with friends to a dub in Royal Oak where there was salsa dancing. I didn't know I could do that."

Within a year, Cap had learned the sensuous but precise moves of the Argentine tango and was hooked. Cap says she loves to perform.

"The biggest thing is the energy in the room," she adds. "That's what gets me out on the floor."

Another top amateur competitor, Blaire Miller, got the dancing bug five years ago when she signed up for some lessons with Glenn Clark at his Southfield studio, Stardust Ballroom Dance.

She started out wanting to dance at social occasions, but by her own description, was "quickly addicted" to the combination of technique, strength and artistry involved in competitive ballroom dancing.

"I immediately loved the performance part of it," she says. "But as you advance ... there's a lot of physicality and athleticism involved. You work and work until your muscles have a lot of memory around the movement."

Miller is a bank executive and Cap sells medical supplies. Amateur ballroom dancers come from all walks of life. So what is the common thread that makes them champions?

"You have to be highly dedicated," Clark says. "You have to want to do it and I think that you have to love it. And it has to be fun. If it's not fun, I don't think people would do it. They work all day and then they come in here at 8 at night, they're very focused and they really want to dance."

It's not unusual for Miller, as well as other amateur ballroom dancers, to spend many hours a week practicing memorizing patterns, working on technique and projecting personality. And the training intensifies as a competitive event approaches.

"You have to think about this sport 24 7 " says Frank Novak, a 48 year old, self employed home improvement contractor. "It's constant, repetitive input. By the time a 'comp' arrives, you'd better have your homework done."

He and professional partner Suzy Brecht of Rhythm 'N' Shoes Dance Studio in Bloomfield Hills, compete in what's known as the Smooth style of dancing, which includes waltz, foxtrot, tango, quickstep and Viennese waltz.

And the pride in partnership is evident.

"Frank just won top advanced male at the Midwest Invitational," Brecht says.

Novak quickly corrects her.

"We won it," he says. "I can't dance it without you!"

Brecht and Novak have some particular challenges out on the dance floor. There are set roles played by men and women in ballroom dancing. As a female professional instructor, Brecht has to play both those roles well to teach Novak the routine and then fall into place as "the girl."

"Women teachers have to be able to lead, show their men how to lead and then follow without looking like they're leading," she says with a hearty laugh.

And once out on the packed, fast moving competition floor, if she and Novak have to make a sudden mid course correction in their routine, he's the one who has to think on his feet.

"It's like what you have to do if someone pulls out in front of you in traffic," Novak says. "You don't want to crash into them and you hope the pattern you choose is correct so she (Brecht) gets the message in an instant."

The next big event in the pro/am world is the Ohio Star Ball, which takes place Tuesday through Nov. 23 in Columbus, Ohio. Miller and Cap will be there with their professional partners. Cap will be defending her title as the American Rhythm pro/am women's champ.

Competitive ballroom dancing can be a life long pursuit, especially if these participants have their way. Dancers are placed in age appropriate categories so they compete against their peers.

Cap, for one, plans to do this for a very long time.

"My favorite dance is the Argentine Tango," she says. "That's the one I want to dance until I'm 80!"

Shall we dance?

Competitive Ballroom dancing involves many different styles and categories. Here is a quick reference:

Dancers can compete in novice, bronze, silver and gold and advanced or open categories.

There are four styles of dancing: American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Latin and International Standard. There are a total of 24 dances under those four headings, from the foxtrot to the cha cha.

Many of the basic dances are the same, such as the tango for Latin and Rhythm, but the style and technique vary. In International, the couples much touch continuously, while in American style, they can part and even dance side by side.

Source: U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association; professional dance instructors.