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Pick School of Ballroom Dancing first opened its doors in 1961. Like
most businesses with longevity the school changed names and locations
over the years but its commitment to the trade and dedication to quality
are still uncompromised.
Rhona Pick and her professional dance partner Roy Hinton first started
the International School of Ballroom Dancing on Divisadero and California.
Although it was a good location they were restricted from offering practice
parties to their students and after three short years they were forced
to move. The current location, 380 18th Avenue, offered the stability
they needed. Built prior to 1906, the building withstood the great earthquake.
Longtime residents of the neighborhood remember dancing on the same
floor when called the Alexandria Ballroom in the 1920s.
Renamed to the Hinton Pick School of Ballroom Dancing, it hosted the
undefeated United States West Coast professional ten-dance champions,
Roy Hinton and Rhona Pick. The dance team trained and competed throughout
the US and Europe representing the United States in world championships
in Berlin (1966), Zurich (1968) and London's Royal Albert Hall several
years in a row. Amidst their competition and practice schedule, in 1968
Roy and Rhona also started San Francisco's International Grand Ball
Dance Championship. The annual competition still draws dancers from
around the world.
The celebrated dance team retired from professional competition in 1974
and Roy left the business after a difficult knee surgery. In 1975 Rhona
continued with the Pick School of Ballroom Dancing. What makes the Pick
School different from other ballroom dance studios in San Francisco?
Just look at the walls. Not the pictures of great dancers but the professional's
Code Of Ethics framed by the office door; that you won't find anywhere
else. Rhona Pick demands a certain standard of qualified teaching at
the Pick School, regardless of industry fashion, and the traditional
philosophy works.
"When you stop dancing a part of you just dies," says Rhona. "Physically,
it has been hard, but it is the most wonderful profession." Rhona Pick
continues actively managing every aspect of the school and teaches each
week preparing professional instructors for their exams. The challenges
of operating a successful ballroom dance school make Rhona both grimace
and smile, but she can honestly say with unwavering surety, "I wouldn't
change a thing."
Today, Pick School of Ballroom Dancing is a prestigious school with
an unblemished reputation. It is a place where one goes to learn the
wonderful art of ballroom dance, and indeed, numerous world champions
have graced the dance floor at Pick, presenting breath-taking shows
and seminars to wide-eyed dancers.
The school's alumni roster boasts dancers who have gone on to establish
distinguished careers of their own. Some have taken up careers as professional
ballroom dancers while others have founded their own studios elsewhere.
Be a part of San Francisco's classic ballroom dance school. Let Pick
School of Ballroom Dancing teach you to dance, today.